Anderson .Paak had a surprise for attendees of his special One Night Only show at O2 Academy Brixton in London Tuesday: Dr. Fucking Dre.
"This man right here is destined to be a star," Dre told the audience at the free show, per BBC News. "Trust me." Dre then generously hit the crowd with performances of his classic 2001 cuts "Still D.R.E." and "The Next Episode." Sadly, Snoop Dogg wasn't around to join them.
.Paak's new album, his first since 2016's Malibu, is due in the coming months. During a Triple Jchat back in February, .Paak teased some heavy involvement from Dre on the as-yet-untitled album. "That's what I always did it for, I wasn't really thinking about money or fame, I just wanted the respect from the people I look up to musically," he said. "It's amazing."
Dre's influence on his career was discussed further in Showtime's recent Word Is Bond documentary. .Paak, who grew up playing music in church, said he still considers himself someone who came up "out of the hip-hop culture." In fact, he initially thought he'd end up a Dre-esque MC. "I thought I was gonna be a gangsta rapper, I was influenced by Snoop and Dre, and there was nothing bigger than that," .Paak said. He also noted the influence of Radiohead and other "sad white boy" music. "That stuff is all important to me, and it all goes into my artistry, but it's coming from a hip-hop perspective," he said.
