Leaving Oxnard/Ventura: Was This the Album Cycle We Wanted From Anderson Paak?

Last Friday marked the release of Anderson Paak’s fourth solo album, Ventura. The project comes just six months after the release of Oxnard, his third album. While the albums were recorded in the same time frame and under the tutelage of executive producer Dr. Dre, the sounds clearly define two different sounds from Paak. Oxnard’s sound brings back memories of Dre’s signature west coast sound with Paak handling the vocals, while Ventura plants itself firmly in the R&B and soul category that helped set Paak apart with his breakthrough album, Malibu.

Unlike its successors, Malibu blends Paak’s rap and soul sound through the album with impressively few awkward transitions. As mentioned above, that blend helped bring the critical acclaim that progressed Paak into a star. His rise was helped by an impressive run of tours, including his own, a run opening for J Cole, and a European trip opening for Bruno Mars. With a reputation as one of the best performers in hip hop and having a breakthrough album under his belt (plus an underrated collaboration album with producer Knxwledge, Yes Lawd!) expectations and excitement were abound for Paak’s follow up.

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