Between Las Vegas residencies, Super Bowl halftime gigs and countless collaborations, Anderson .Paak has directed the music videos of Leon Bridges, H.E.R. and Hailee Steinfeld.
Now, at 38, the California-born multihyphenate musician is making his feature directorial debut with “K-Pops,” in which he plays BJ, “the biggest undiscovered drummer frontman since Phil Collins.” When BJ joins the house band of an idol competition series in Seoul, he discovers that his long-lost son is one of its contestants.
The eight-time Grammy winner — who is of Black and Korean heritage — co-wrote and produced the feel-good family comedy, which also stars Yvette Nicole Brown, Jonathan “Dumbfoundead” Park, Jee Young Han, Kevin Woo, Cathy Shim and .Paak’s real-life son Soul Rasheed.
Ahead of the title’s world premiere on Saturday at the Toronto International Film Festival, the first-time filmmaker told The Times about representing K-pop properly onscreen, collecting big-name cameos and sharing scenes with his son.
Where did the idea for “K-Pops” come from?
Since 2016, I’ve been away so much because I was constantly on tour. You leave with your kid in diapers, you come back and he’s so grown. It’s crazy how fast they grow up. So when the pandemic hit, I got to just hang out with my kids in the house; my son and I made a bunch of funny little skits for YouTube. I saw how naturally funny and talented he was, and it was just so fun to do something together.
I’m also Korean, but I didn’t know much about my Korean culture until I met the mother of both of my children, who is fully Korean. A lot of times, I’d come in the house and everyone’s speaking Korean, eating kimchi and listening to K-pop. Sometimes I felt like the odd man out. When everyone is talking about BTS, I’m like, “OK, but what do you know about BET?”
Some people I met with were pretty apprehensive about me directing and writing this, but that’s what I wanted to do. This whole thing was because I wanted to spend more time with my son, and I wanted to be there with him every step of the way.
Your character isn’t too likable at first. Who’s he based on?
A part of that character is definitely me coming up and thinking I knew it all, that my talent could get me everywhere, and that there was nothing better than playing for a packed bar on Saturdays and Sundays and getting drink tickets. It wasn’t until I got a family that I started wanting more things for myself.
So I wanted to tap into that with this character, him being so oblivious and selfish and in his own world, with my real band the Free Nationals playing themselves and trying to keep me grounded. [BJ] needed to be able to develop a story arc and have some growth, or else people weren’t gonna be interested in watching the movie.
A few scenes offer introductions to K-pop, like when characters outline the top groups throughout history or the elements of a hit group. Did you feel pressure to represent the genre properly?
Yes. And I realized how political it is, more political than gangsta rap music — like, you can’t have certain people working with each other! I’m a big music history buff and my co-writer Khaila Amazan is a K-pop fanatic, and we wanted to break down some of the history and influences and tap into why these groups are so big.
Every phenomenon in music comes full circle; what BTS was doing was so similar to what the Beatles and the Jackson 5 were doing. The choreography, fashion, each member having their different personality — that’s the building blocks of a great group, from New Edition to New Kids on the Block.
I appreciate that scene at the record shop where BJ traces the roots of K-pop, and all music, to Black culture — especially given the conversation about K-pop and cultural appropriation.
We had to develop that scene quite a bit and even had to reshoot it. What I wanted to get at is, if you love this genre or any genre, and especially if you’re trying to create something original, you need to go back and learn about where it comes from. You’ll see the similarities, the derivatives, the unique takes that people all over the world put on different kinds of music.
I’m not trying to be disrespectful or anything but just to showcase that all these things are connected, and that people are able to make something new and create a phenomenon because there’s people who have done it before, they know how it works, it’s tried and true. And what makes it so exciting is when people put their own spin on it. It’s not about tearing anyone down or saying anyone is taking from anyone; it’s just exploring the history and paying respect. And I wanted to do that in this movie in a fun way.
Let’s discuss those music industry cameos! How did you choose who’d make an appearance? Did you text everyone in your phone?
Pretty much! I used every favor I had left, and you’re probably going to see me pop up on a lot of different songs later, because I owe a lot of people after this. Everything was based off of the script, but I was still shooting for the stars with my wish list — like, if we’re going to have a “come to Jesus” dream sequence, can we get Kirk Franklin?
I couldn’t believe how humble and open everyone was to be part of it, especially for my first time doing a movie. And I’m so proud of the range of different people in this — why are Jay Park and Diplo and Saweetie and Earth, Wind & Fire in the same movie? It brings me back to “The Blues Brothers,” with all these cool cameos that are fun surprises but still make sense for the story.
Your first lead acting role is opposite your now 13-year-old son, also in his first feature. How was he as a scene partner?
He’s so versatile and agile and naturally charming; he doesn’t overthink things and just goes with his instincts. Part of why I wanted him to play this role is because I wanted the audience to feel what I felt when I was making those YouTube skits with him. But I also wanted him because he’s a real kid, not someone who’s been trained for years and all that stuff. Movies like “There Will Be Blood” and “School of Rock,” those kids are so talented, but they’re also just kids and you believe it.
I was a little nervous that he might not want to do it because he’s got to wake up for these crazy call times, do choreography classes and really learn on the spot. Also, movies take so long to make. He got older, and we had to adjust the script on certain things so it also made sense for him and could be something he could be proud of too. I didn’t want him to watch it, say it’s cringe, never want to do this again and really regret it.
But when the cameras came up, he was ready to go, and even though it was a lot of pressure, he never buckled. He was acting circles around me at some points; thank God I got to be in the edit room so I don’t look like a complete hack. It was my proudest moment to work with him; I’ve worked with so many people but he’s my best collaborator by far.
You’ve directed many music videos and now a family-centric feature. What movies do you hope to helm in the future?
More animated stuff, some sci-fi, a biopic of a musician or someone who’s changed the game musically. I just want to do movies that tell great stories, leave the crowd feeling something, and hopefully teach some lessons within it. I’d love to learn more and try to develop a style of my own, and the only way I can do that is by doing more.
Last question: That running joke in which your character gets mistaken for Childish Gambino and André 3000 — is that based on real-life experiences?
Yeah, it’s so funny. They swear I’m somebody else! I’ve dealt with that so many times, where people know the music but they don’t know the face. That kind of self-deprecating comedy and being OK to make fun of yourself, that’s my bag. But maybe they’ll recognize who I am because, after this comes out, I’ll be a big movie star.
