Anderson .Paak, Justin Timberlake & Anna Kendrick Join Forces for "Don't Slack" Music Video from Trolls World Tour (RCA Records)
Trolls World Tour is the long-awaited sequel to wildly-successful 2016 film Trolls. Based on the popular line of Troll Dolls, Trolls 2: World Tour stars Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, James Corden, Kunal Nayyar, Ozzy Osbourne, and Rachel Bloom. It also features the voices of Anderson .Paak, George Clinton, Mary J. Blige, Kelly Clarkson, Sam Rockwell, Icona Pop, Ron Funches, J. Balvin, and Kenan Thompson. According to a Universal Pictures synopsis, Trolls World Tour is centered around Queen Poppy (Kendrick) and Branch (Timberlake) discovering that there are different kinds of Trolls scattered across six different lands, each devoted to a different genres of music: Pop, Funk, Classical, Techno, Country, and Rock. Amidst The Coronavirus/COVID-19 global pandemic, Trolls World Tour will be released on home video/streaming platforms this Friday, April 10, 2020. Trolls World Tour's accompanying soundtrack, executive produced by Justin Timberlake & Ludwig Göransson, features contributions from SZA, Esther, Parliament-Funkadelic, Haim, Dierks Bentley, Red Velvet, Anthony Ramos, and the aforementioned stars. DreamWorks/RCA Records have released two songs from said soundtrack, so far, SZA's "The Other Side" and Anderson .Paak's "Don't Slack," both featuring Justin Timberlake himself. For us, at least, "Don't Slack" sticks out as a song that will easily transcend its affiliation with Trolls World Tour, due in part to Andy & Justin's involvement and sheer top-notch musicality.
"I hope he doesn't mind that I'm gonna say this right now, but we talked about a possible joint project," Timberlake recently told Beats 1 Radio DJ Zane Lowe within a recent interview upon "Don't Slack"'s initial release. "I don't have an agenda to make an album... but if it comes together, then, it comes together. In the meantime, I just want to stack records with people I love and that I'm inspired by," Timberlake explained, adding that he's recorded a "Chicago House record" with Lizzo. Yesterday, an accomplishing music video for "Don't Slack" was released starring Anderson .Paak & Justin Timberlake with co-star Anna Kendrick. It was directed by frequent .Paak collaborator CALMATIC, who has previously worked with everyone from FUN. to Lil Nas X & Billy Ray Cyrus. It's an extremely fun, live-action music video accented with Trolls-reminiscent computer animated elements throughout. "Sidebar: Trying to get two of the most talented people to focus when there's instruments around is impossible," CALMATIC quipped on Instagram. Below, you'll find some additional background information from director CALMATIC himself from a behind-the-scenes feature posted on his blog entitled "FULL CIRCLE." CALMATIC & Anderson .Paak—then, still known as Breezy Lovejoy—first worked together in 2010 on a clip simply titled "Draws Song" attributed to The Breezy Lovejoy Band. Trolls World Tour will become available for $20 on digital streaming platforms this Friday, April 10, 2020. It's companion soundtrack will, presumably, be released Friday, as well, on RCA Records.
"If someone would've told me 10 years ago, that I would be directing a music video for Anderson .Paak & Justin Timberlake, I wouldn't have believed it. I don't think A.P would've believed it either. 10 years ago, I met Anderson for the first time; he was going by Breezy Lovejoy, he had dreads and he was performing in front of, like, 40 people in a small whole-in-the-wall spot in Leimert Park. At the time, I was going around filming all these performers for my blogs and when I seen him playing the drums and rapping at the same time, I was in awe.
I got his number and we connected and shot a video for a song and I got paid $200, which at the time, was a gold mine. Sidebar: we never finished the video, so, technically, I owe A.P $200. We went on to excel in our lanes and meet back up for the "Come Down" & "Bubblin'" [videos]. Fast-forward to today: we're releasing a music video with Justin Timberlake for The Trolls Soundtrack. WTF?!
Check out the brand new music video, Anderson .Paak x Justin Timberlake - "Don't Slack" starring Anna Kendrick, directed by CALMATIC. [Appreciate] everyone involved with making this all come together in a short amount of time. And weirdly, this video is prophetic for what's happening in the world now. Working with Anna was pretty special, too; a true rider and a flawless actor. The real MVP. Working closely with DreamWorks on the VFX side was amazing, as well. This one is special in the fact that it put in perspective how far me and A.P have come. Full-circle moment, indeed."
- CALMATIC (@calmatic)
