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Anderson .Paak‘s skills as a musician have been on display for over a decade. In 2022, the California-bred singer, rapper, and drummer got to show off his talents as a drummer alongside hit K-pop group BTS in their live Proof online performance.

Anderson .Paak, who performed with BTS, wearing an orange shirt
Anderson .Paak | Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

Anderson .Paak is a talented drummer

Anderson .Paak grew up in Southern California and had a rough time breaking into the entertainment industry. In the early days of his career, before he adopted the Anderson .Paak moniker, he was a drummer for former American Idol contestant Haley Reinhart.

.Paak released his debut album Venice in 2014. He continued to release hits throughout the 2010s with his albums Malibu, Oxnard, and Ventura.

In 2021, .Paak joined forces with superstar artist Bruno Mars to form the R&B group Silk Sonic. They went on to win four Grammy Awards for their No. 1 single “Leave the Door Open,” including the highly-coveted Record of the Year and Song of the Year categories.

.Paak has been known to play the drums during his own shows, and rarely performs as a drummer for other artists nowadays. But in early 2022, .Paak demonstrated his drumming skills for the world when he played drums for Eminem during the rapper’s Super Bowl halftime show.

(L-R) Jimin, J-Hope, Jin, Jungkook, RM, Suga, and V of BTS
(L-R) Jimin, J-Hope, Jin, Jungkook, RM, Suga, and V of BTS | Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

Anderson .Paak played drums for BTS

In June 2022, .Paak sat behind a drum set once again, this time for Korean boy band BTS for their live Proof concert streamed online. The performance, named after their new anthology album, included a concert portion and a Q&A portion as the singers spoke about their past with the band and where it’s heading.

During the show, .Paak played drums during their performance of the album’s lead single, “Yet to Come (The Most Beautiful Moment).” The song harps on nostalgia for past BTS eras and emphasizes that the group will live on.

.Paak, who is half-Korean himself, spoke with the group members after their performance about the song and his appreciation for them. “I love it, it reminds me of church,” .Paak said of the song. He also revealed that his son, Soul Rasheed, showed him just how great BTS is.

“It was my son, because he’s a big fan,” he said. “He made me a fan. And ever since, I’ve been obsessed. I’ve been ARMY.”

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BTS is focusing on solo projects

Though BTS has been around for nearly a decade, they’ve never released an anthology album up until now, as is common for many other K-pop artists and groups. At the 2022 BTS Festa dinner, RM spoke about releasing an anthology album in their ninth year.

Suga then confirmed that the group would be parting ways for a while as they focused on their solo careers: “We’re going into a hiatus now.”

RM acknowledged that he didn’t think BTS would come to a point where a hiatus was necessary, but it reached a point where they were ready to move on. “I always thought that BTS was different from other groups, but the problem with K-pop and the whole idol system is that they don’t give you time to mature,” he said honestly. “You have to keep producing music and keep doing something.”

However, a statement to AP clarified the group members’ comments, as “hiatus” was translated from its original Korean. “BTS are not taking a hiatus,” the statement read. “Members will be focusing more on solo projects at this time.”

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