Watch Anderson .Paak Bring Wild Energy To His Kimmel Performance
If you’ve ever seen Anderson .Paak live — and given his busy festival-season schedule the past few years, there’s a good chance you have — you already know he is an insanely gifted performer, an energetic dervish who whips between singing and rapping and playing drums with dizzy ease. And when .Paak performs on TV, he ratchets up the showmanship a few notches, grabbing his platform and getting everything out of it that he can get. That’s what he did last night on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
Last week, .Paak released “Bubblin,” a big and anthemic festival-rap single. (It’s got a great video, too.) Last night, .Paak brought the song to the show’s outdoor festival stage, doing everything he could to turn it into an event. The stage was out fitted with steam jets and packed with clear beach balls — bubbles, see — while .Paak and the Free Nationals, his extremely tight live band, wore all-white outfits.
He was only onstage for four minutes, but in that time, .Paak managed to careen across the stage, dive into the audience, rap while crowd-surfing, rap while leaping on the barricades, and jump behind the drums for a mid-song solo. He’s a one-man spectacle, and you can watch his performance below.
“Bubblin” is out now at iTunes.