Anderson .Paak adds more to his multi-hyphenated titles with directorial debut

Nine-time Grammy winner Anderson .Paak has already conquered the charts with huge hits like “Leave the Door Open.” Now, he’s setting his sights on the cinema with his directorial debut, “K-Pops!”

The film, which hits theaters this Friday, stars .Paak as a washed-up musician who attempts to revive his career by joining the house band of a K-Pop competition show in Korea – but soon realizes that one of the contestants is his long-lost son.

It was a deeply personal process for the hitmaker, whose real-life son Soul Rasheed co-stars in the feel-good flick. “It was an absolute joy,” .Paak tells Page Six Hollywood. “I got to do funny stuff. It wasn’t a trauma-based movie where it’s like, ‘Okay, son, we’re gonna have to cry,’” he says with a laugh.

His primary goal in the film is bridging the gap between his own Black and Korean cultures: “Sure, Soul knows about BTS, but does he know about BET?” That’s why .Paak enlisted K-pop stars like G-Dragon and Vernon to cameo alongside soul acts like Earth, Wind & Fire.

.Paak was already familiar with a lot of prominent K-pop groups (he cites Big Bang, 2NE1, H.O.T., Stray Kids, Aespa and Seventeen as inspirations), but went through a boot camp of sorts to fully immerse himself in the genre.

“My co-writer, Khaila Amazan, is a K-pop expert. So before we wrote anything, we went through K-pop one-on-one schooling and learned about the genesis in the 90s, who they were pulling from, the groups that were the pioneers,” he says. “We wanted a mix of the new gen and the older gen.”

.Paak is “absolutely” keen to direct more. “It was the toughest thing. I got my ass kicked. But I would love to do more,” he said. His teen son might need more convincing. “He’s like, ‘You know what, Dad? I just want to go to school. I don’t think it’s my passion, but I had a great time. I’m glad you had a great time. I’ll remember this forever,'” the proud dad says, adding, “Then he’s like, ‘Well, it depends on the script.'”

Guess we’ll have to call Soul’s agent.