Saturday (Dec. 2), Anderson ,Paak, in partnership with the Brandon Anderson Foundation, put on Paak House in the Park at McArthur Park in Los Angeles. The community-organized event featured food, games, giveaways and more. The event also bolstered a lineup of performers who donated their time, like Raphael Saadiq, Jhene Aiko, Isaiah Rashad, King and Masego.
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Starting at 11 a.m., attendees had the option of exploring the park while enjoying the food vendors and being treated to local performers. Around 1:45 p.m., Anderson .Paak emerged to welcome the crowd and start the show. Roughly 1,500 people gathered to enjoy a soulful and uplifting performance under the beautiful Saturday sunny skies.
When asked by Billboard how he came up for the concept for the event, .Paak said, “With my Brandon Anderson Foundation, Paak House was the first initiative. I wanted to eventually have a spot where kids can go and be themselves. Learn about music, spiritual growth, good eating habits, kind of like the boys and girls club.” He added, “I wanted to do something that would kick this off so I wanted to team up with other organizations in the community and do it together for the first event with all of the awesome acts as well.”
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Inquiring how the lineup was curated, Paak explained that all of the performers were his “homies” and that they generously donated their time at no charge to come support a great cause. Reflecting on his own childhood and moments that stuck with him, he reminisced about a Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and Jodeci concert he went to with his sister. He talked about the defining moment of that concert, saying, “It was a crazy concert and I just wanted to do music ever since then.”
The Brandon Anderson Foundation is an organization that seeks to serve and uplift underserved communities through financial literacy, music and spiritual wellness. Paak House is deemed a “safe haven” for the next generation, forming key alliances with neighboring organizations to make a larger impact. Visit Paak House at paakhouse.org.
This story was first posted to Billboard.