by Anderson .Paak
Released January 15, 2016 via ArtClub International / EMPIRE / OBE / Steel Wool Records
Reviewed January 14, 2021
Top tracks (based on community voting)
The Season | Carry Me (44%), Heart Don’t Stand A Chance (42%), Am I Wrong (41%)
Malibu by Anderson .Paak is the definition of the perfect summer album; bright, soulful production, unbelievably infectious hooks and flows, and beautifully soothing vocals. It is impossible not to crack a smile while listening to this. Every track makes you want to sing at the top of your lungs, wrap your arms around someone you love, and dance. .Paak’s lyrics are nothing but perfect as well—primarily romantic but occasionally even uplifting and optimistic odes to life itself. Filled to the brim with legendary rap and R&B features, this album is a classic for the ages and one of the best records to come out of the 2010s. – Hadley (10/10)
Malibu is a thrilling hybrid of musical styles both old and new. It adopts grand sensuality and rhythm from the peaks of soul and funk but modernizes them with the sleekness of hip-hop and R&B. The result is an intensely groovy, versatile product rich with high class artistic elements. It all may have been too extravagant a canvas if not for the dynamism of the album’s front man. Anderson's effortlessly smooth vocals sail over these instrumentals with stories and lines as braggadocious as they are heartfelt. His centralizing presence is the dominant force that glues everything together and propels the project over the top. Malibu is one of the most enjoyable showcases of modern popular music, if not one of the best. – Enth (9.5/10)
Every once in a while, an album comes along that is simply difficult to dislike. An album that everyone seems to enjoy no matter their musical taste or the emotion they look for in their listening experience. An album like Malibu, the second studio album from Anderson .Paak. The grooves on Malibu are infectious. The entire project has an almost passive air to it and not in a bad way; the tracks are unpretentious for somebody with such natural skill and ability with music and while the arrangements on songs like “Come Down,” “Am I Wrong,” and “Heart Don’t Stand A Chance” are grandiose, they aren't overly dominating. The ease with which .Paak glides along this tracklist is simply cool. It's clear that even though he singer was early in his career, he was by no means a rookie in the industry. By now we know how enigmatic and mesmerizing Anderson .Paak is, but Malibu was many fans’ first introduction to the “best teef in the game,” and it was one of the smoothest sucker punches of talent we've come to experience. – Pax (9.3/10)
Hadley: 10/10 | Enth: 9.5/10 | Daniel: 9.2/10 | Alan: 8.9/10 | Dominick: 8.8/10
DeVán: 8.5/10 | Jared: 8.5/10 | Cam 8.3/10
