Anderson .Paak mixes culture and comedy in root-reconnecting film ‘K-Pops!’

Grammy award-winning rapper and singer, Anderson .Paak, is exploring his Korean roots with his directorial debut film "K-Pops!", which is due for release in U.S. theaters on Friday.

Rather than delving into his own emotional struggles with his dad, .Paak decided to do a heartwarming story about a father and a son reuniting during a K-Pop competition show.

"I'm a wholesome kind of guy," the R&B singer told Reuters in a Zoom interview.

“Comedy, laughter, love, music, food, culture has always been the way to cope,” the “Come Down” singer said.

“K-Pops!,” distributed by Aura Entertainment, follows a Los Angeles musician and father, played by .Paak, who is looking to revive his career by moving to South Korea and joining a K-Pop group to compete in a music contest.

After reuniting with his long-lost son, he decides to prioritize his role as a father over his career as the two become closer.

.Paak has personal links to South Korea. His mother was born there during the Korean War and adopted by a Black-American family in the historically Black city of Compton in Los Angeles County.

.Paak said he was inspired to make “K-Pops!” after bonding with his son during the global pandemic by making videos with K-Pop music. However, not everything went as planned.

The singer started writing the script when his son was 8 years old and obsessed with K-Pop, but by age 11, his son was more interested in heavy metal bands like Slipknot.

On top of that, he said the process of making his debut film brought both challenges and rewards.

"I got my ass kicked a lot of times, just like, first time film, traveling, learning how to write a script, acting, doing original music, doing K-Pop music, learning about the structure of K-Pop music, doing Black music, trying to figure out how we're going to bridge it, the different managements and timing and everything. It was insane," he said.

Despite the obstacles to making the film come together, .Paak is passionate about its message.

"I hope people want to pick up an instrument; want to listen to some music they never listened to. I hope that they want to spend more time with the family,” he said.

-Rollo Ross and Danielle Broadway/Reuters