It turns out Anderson .Paak is an honorary Baydestrian. “What the fuck is poppin’? I’m finally home,” the Oxnard-raised MC told the Sunday night Outside Lands crowd, as mist set over Golden Gate Park. “I never play around in the Bay ‘cause you guys show me so much love.”
Rocking a red plaid kilt and a “Fuck ICE” pin on his beanie, Paak took his perch atop his drum kit, presiding over a funky set that was equal parts laid-back house-party feel and instrumental excellence. He and the Free Nationals were locked in, flowing out of Paak’s drum solos into jazzy keyboard crescendos and sunbursts of brass.
While Hozier headlined the main stage, Paak’s legions of fans at the Twin Peaks stage two-stepped to the provocative “Am I Wrong” (“If she can’t dance / then she can’t — ooh”), puffed their chests to to “Come Down” and turned up as Paak brought out surprise guest Cordae for “RNP.” A particularly vibey moment came when the Free Nationals’ keyboardist, Ron Jerome Arvant, delivered a Zapp-esque cover of Sade’s “Paradise” on the vocoder, making everyone’s lips involuntarily curl into a stank face.
In Paak’s ultimate show of love to the Bay, he brought out none other than E-40 to perform “Tell Me When To Go” so his Outside Lands crowd could go dumb together as the festival closed out its final night.
Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso prove they’re on their way to stardom
Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso aren’t household names in the States, but at Outside Lands, their high-wattage star power proved they will be soon. The lovably weird Argentinian rappers took the stage accompanied by a jazz-meets-hip-hop live band with a big brass section, trading verses with a trap cadence while pulling goofy moves like action-figure poses and campy, Mick Jagger-esque hip pops.
