Today, Feb. 8, is the 33rd birthday of Anderson .Paak., a California musician whose rise to prominence traveled a much different story line than most.

Born Brandon Paak Anderson in 1986, .Paak was raised in Oxnard, CA and started making music when he was a teenager in high school. He got his start drumming at church, the same place where he'd meet his first wife. Later on, he divorced and remarried, while transitioning into his life as a music teacher.

Around 2011, he was working at a marijuana farm, only to be suddenly fired. Newly homeless with a wife and infant, he had to find a way to make money. Luckily, Shafiq Husayn of Sa-Ra hired him as an assistant, producer and more. While working for Husayn, .Paak completed and released his debut album, O.B.E. Vol.1, in 2012, under the name Breezy Lovejoy.

Continuing to create and starting to gain momentum, .Paak dropped Venice in 2014, now with his current moniker Anderson .Paak. The following year, 2015, began .Paak's star turn; he was one of the featured artists on Dr. Dre's first album in over a decade, Compton. Around that time, .Paak also formed NxWorries, his collaborative group with producer Knxwledge; they dropped their album Yes Lawd! in 2016.

Anderson .Paak followed the collab album with his second solo album, Malibu. The album was nominated for a Best Urban Contemporary Album Grammy in 2016. That year, he was also selected as a member of the 2016 XXL Freshman class, alongside 21 SavageKodak BlackLil Uzi VertLil DickyDave EastDenzel CurryDesiignerG Herbo and the fan-voted 10th Spot winner, Lil Yachty.

From depicting his wildest fantasies in the visual for "Bubblin,'" to performing live on Saturday Night Live, 2018 was a year full of triumphs for the West Coast artist. The most notable feat was the release of his latest LP, Oxnard, which was led by the Kendrick Lamar-assisted single, "Tints," and mixed by the legendary ear of Dr. Dre, who also served as the album's executive producer. The 14-track project reached a peak position of No. 11 on the Billboard 200 and featured a star-studded tracklist, with contributions from the likes of Pusha T, Snoop Dogg, Q-Tip and J. Cole. 

Happy Birthday, .Paak!

See Behind-the-Scenes With Anderson .Paak at 2016 XXL Freshman Class Cover Shoot

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