ESPN's The Undefeated Releases the First in a Four-Part Story About the Family of Musician Anderson .Paak

ESPN’s The Undefeated has published the first in a four-part story about the family of musician Anderson .Paak.

What’s Happening:

The Undefeated’s Dwayne Bray has published the first part in a four-chapter story going over the family of Grammy Award-winning musician Anderson .Paak.
Bray has spent the past year reporting the story, as him and .Paak were neighbors in the 1990s.
You can read the first chapter here with the other parts coming out each day this week.

The four chapters of The Undefeated’s Anderson .Paak story:

The Great Army Swap (Wednesday) – .Paak’s father Ronald Anderson was a twin who switched places with his brother in different situations, including in the Army in Korea. A former Army and Navy veteran, Ronald Anderson became infamous in Ventura County, Calif., as an identical twin who tried to murder his wife (.Paak’s mother) after his brother agreed to serve Ronald’s jail time
The Descent (Thursday) – .Paak was part of a strong Black and Korean blended family until his dad became an addict and broke the family up. .Paak’s stepfather, Dennis Willingham, is the son of a Baptist pastor and a gospel singer who grew up around musicians in his hometown of Augusta, Georgia, including James Brown. He introduced .Paak to the drums
The Strawberry Lady (Friday) – .Paak’s mother (Brenda Park Bills) remarried and became a successful strawberry broker and famer in California. As the business faltered, Parker Mills and her third husband, who helped build the business, defrauded investors out of millions of dollars and went to prison for securities fraud
The Triumph (Saturday) – .Paak becomes homeless but keeps making music against all odds and is signed by Dr. Dre. The rest is history.

What They’re Saying:

Dwayne Bray on his relationship with the .Paak family: “I’m writing it from the standpoint of being his former neighbor. At the time I was Anderson’s neighbor and family friend, I didn’t know the attempted-murder case I was covering as a Los Angeles Times reporter was actually the trial of .Paak’s dad – even though .Paak and my son, Dwayne Jr., were good friends then. It took me 20 years to figure it all out and then I have spent the past six-plus years thinking about the family, researching their story, and now, writing about them for The Undefeated.”