Watch Anderson .Paak Discuss His Influences, Drumming In New Hip-Hop Documentary Trailer

In a new hip-hop documentary Anderson .Paak speaks on his influences, as well as how he initially planned on being a gangster rapper when embarking on his music career.

READ: Anderson .Paak Says He Has A New Album Coming Out In 2018

“I grew up playing in church. I got a lot of soul influence and everything but I consider myself someone that’s coming up out of the hip-hop culture. And when I really was trying to write music, I thought I was going to be an MC,” .Paak says in a teaser trailer for a documentary titled Word Is Bond. “I thought I was going to be a gangster rapper. I was influenced by Snoop and Dre, and there was nothing bigger than that.”

.Paak also speaks on how being a drummer informs his perspective on music.

“That’s my first tool so that’s how my brain hears music,” .Paak says. “…I wanna figure out the pocket, where I’m gonna be…”

Word Is Bond is directed by Sascha Jenkins, with the documentary exploring “the transformative power of lyrics in the world of hip-hop,” according to a press release. In addition to .Paak, the film will also include Nas, Pusha T, J. Cole, Rapsody, Big Daddy Kane, and others. Word Is Bond premieres at 10 p.m. Eastern on Friday, February 16, on Showtime.

.Paak sat down with Triple J recently where he confirmed that he is working on the follow up to Malibu, and that the album should be coming out in 2018.

.Paak also revealed that Dr. Dre will be an important part of the project, with .Paak adding that Dre “had a heavy role in this new album that’s almost done as well. Just going through the mixing phase. I won’t say any dates but you can definitely expect it this year, sometime.”

He continued:

“It’s dope to be around like legends like that and you can feel the mutual respect. 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. It’s amazing.”