We are super excited to show off some of our Musicians Institute alumni who won big on music’s biggest night! An alum of MI’s Drum program, Anderson .Paak won two GRAMMYs, for Best R&B Album, Ventura, and Best R&B Performance for “Come Home,” featuring a verse from the legendary André 3000! Yes, MI alums are actively bringing André 3000 out of retirement in 2020. 🤯
.Paak has been on a meteoric rise since his first album, Venice, and we are proud to say that some of his wide range of influences and impact on his style can be attributed to his time in MI’s Drum program.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B70q3k-ncui/
Since MI is a college of contemporary music, students are immediately exposed to diverse genres and modern artists, and we believe having this foundation makes them, ultimately, better musicians. In August 2019, .Paak spoke to Modern Drummer about his experience at MI, and said,
Blog Post
"*" indicates required fields
By submitting this form, I authorize Musicians Institute (MI) to make or allow the placement of calls, emails, and texts to me at the phone number that I have provided, including through the use of automated technology, or a prerecorded or artificial voice. I understand that I am not required to provide my phone number as a condition of purchasing any property, goods, or services. I agree to the terms of MI’s Privacy Policy. MI will not sell or rent your information to third parties, and you may unsubscribe at any time.
“…They were exposing me to a lot. Before, I only knew a couple of drummers really, outside of Questlove, other gospel drummers, Chris Dave…. But going to school there, I started getting exposed to Tony Williams, Jack DeJohnette, Mike Clark, Vinnie Colaiuta. These were dudes I’d never really heard before.”
He also had pretty great things to say about our instructors and Hollywood facility, particularly our practice rooms:
“The teachers there were showing me simple rudiments, and they were also breaking down my drum fills and transcribing them…That was where I got to really practice in a room by myself, too. It’s like, all that time that you have when you’re coming up, working on stuff, thinking, “Man, I should put practice in,” you’ve got to cherish those times.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/B7rKFiUn2U6/
For Ventura, .Paak was able to enlist the help of some of the most influential artists in music, including Nate Dogg, Smokey Robinson, and Jazmine Sullivan, which speaks volumes of the sort of impact his talent is making on music today.
While he has listed Radiohead, Thundercat, Clipse and The Beatles as some of his favorite artists, it’s pretty obvious that .Paak is becoming the artist that many future musicians will look up to one day. MI is proud to have been part of his journey!