Anderson .Paak on His Directing Debut ‘K-Pops!’ and Starring Alongside His Son: ‘Got My Ass Kicked…But I Would Do It Again in a Heartbeat’

Anderson .Paak arrived at the premiere of “K-Pops!” with a lot to celebrate — and his biggest collaborator by his side.

The nine-time Grammy winner debuted his first feature film, a family comedy co-starring his real-life son, Soul Rasheed, that weaves together Black culture and K-pop. The film follows BJ (.Paak), a struggling L.A. musician who travels to Seoul and unexpectedly discovers a tween-aged son competing on a K-pop talent show.

When the pandemic hit and touring came to a halt, .Paak found himself home with an 8-year-old Soul — and quickly realized he had some catching up to do. “He was into two things: he wanted to be a YouTuber and he loved K-pop. I didn’t know about either of them,” .Paak told Variety. “It brought me back to being a kid, making skits with my family and friends.”

From there, a film idea took shape. .Paak said, “I felt really inspired to tell the story — like, what if I didn’t know I had a son that could be next?”

For Rasheed, the inspiration was more specific. “I was really into BTS,” he said, noting that he and his mother had taken .Paak to a BTS concert during the pandemic.

Making the leap to directing was, by .Paak’s own admission, a humbling experience. “It was creative bliss, but it was also the hardest thing — I got my ass kicked,” he said. “So much work. I said it’d be the first and last one, but I would do it again in a heartbeat.”

Representation was also front of mind as the personal stakes were equally high. Asked why telling this particular story mattered, .Paak didn’t hesitate. “I could have pulled from a lot of things in my life, but it was important to do a family comedy where I’m sharing the screen with my son — for people to see Black families, for people to see joy and happiness,” he said.

Rasheed, making his acting debut, said stepping in front of the camera alongside his father came naturally: “He is actually my dad, so it felt pretty natural.”

.Paak also teased that a soundtrack album is on the way, promising “a lot of cool K-pop collabs.” And for fans of Silk Sonic, there’s more good news — he confirmed he’ll be joining Bruno Mars on tour. “I’m on the whole tour,” he said. “Might be some more surprises.”

“K-Pops!” is in theaters on Feb. 27.

See more photos from the “K-Pops!” premiere below.