Anderson .Paak is an artist whose success continues to elevate. Now over a decade into his career, Anderson .Paak has been able to seamlessly navigate his way through several different paths in the music industry, whether it’s as a solo artist or as part of a collaborative group, releasing music on a major label with the mainstream media backing him, or going the indie route. He’s experienced some huge moments, including winning a few Grammy awards after releasing a couple albums on Dr. Dre’s Aftermath Entertainment, even joining Dre on the Superbowl Halftime Show stage in 2022, and also teaming up with Bruno Mars to release the album An Evening With Silk Sonic, which led to several more Grammy awards and a prestigious Las Vegas residency. Now in 2025, Anderson .Paak started the year by winning yet another Grammy award, this time for his sophomore album with the group NxWorries, Why Lawd?, which has led to the duo consisting of himself and producer Knxwledge going on their first ever tour together.

Known to be an absolute showman when he tours with his band, The Free Nationals, Anderson .Paak has consistently lit up stages in Toronto over the years and his concert ticket prices have only gone up. It’s been just over a year since he last performed in Toronto, doing a show at this same venue that sold out almost immediately despite the high prices; I personally had to miss that one, my last time seeing him being back in 2019 at Echo Beach. For this tour, rather than performing with The Free Nationals, Anderson .Paak would simply have Knxwledge backing him as his DJ, and they’d be celebrating the music they’ve released as NxWorries, which spans two albums released on the indie label Stones Throw Records. Although NxWorries may not have the same brand recognition as Anderson .Paak solo, Toronto fans were definitely tapped in, filling up HISTORY nightclub for this sold-out show.

Opening for NxWorries on this tour would be Rae Khalil, an artist who, similarly to .Paak, blends R&B, Hip-Hop and Soul with her style of singing. After appearing in Season 1 of the competitive Netflix show Rhythm & Flow, Rae Khalil signed with Anderson .Paak’s own record label, Ape Shit Inc, and would be promoting her new album with the label, CRYBABY. I’ll admit I hadn’t paid much attention to Rae Khalil’s music other than her features on NxWorries’ Why Lawd?, but it was dope seeing her own her own lane, as she got the crowd turned up for songs like the Freddie Gibbs-assisted “Carpinteria,” and kept the fans engaged as she also rocked slow jams like “Cisco’s Song.” At one point she’d mention her label wanting her to focus more on rapping, but she seemed perfectly in-pocket singing her R&B jams, and seemed especially hyped to be performing her first ever concert in Canada.

After Rae Khalil rocked a solid half hour set to warm up the stage, there would be an intermission for fans to use the washroom and re-up on drinks as the screens on stage showed random characters like Goofy, Spiderman, and Kermit The Frog dancing to a techno beat. Pretty soon Knxwledge would get his gear set up at the back of the stage and started the show by playing track one off of Why Lawd?, “ThankU,” which features a speech by Dave Chappelle. He’d continue on into track two with “86Sentra,” and the crowd erupted with cheers as Anderson .Paak made his way to the front of the stage while rapping the opening verse.

Always one to be a little flashy, Anderson .Paak came out rocking a full suit with no shirt and a giant winter hat shaped like a crown, proudly spitting the braggadocious bars “and we can go toe-to-toe, anyone you know, young or old’ll get drove in the hearses / I just did the Super Bowl Halftime Show with the GOATs, why the fuck would I wanna do a Verzuz?” With that “86Sentra” verse effectively setting the tone, NxWorries would then take it back to 2016 with a few joints off their debut, Yes Lawd!. Fans who’ve seen Anderson .Paak perform live over the years would get hyped as he rocked these NxWorries throwbacks for the first time in Toronto, performing “Wngs,” “Get Bigger,” “Kutless,” and would pull out a curvy mic stand to rock “What More Can I Say.”

NxWorries setlist seemed to flow in waves, as they’d go from those Yes Lawd! joints into a wave of new songs off of Why Lawd?, including “MoveOn,” “KeepHer,” “Distractions,” and “Where I Go” followed by another wave of Yes Lawd! with “Best One” and “Lyk Dis.” If there’s one difference between Anderson .Paak performing with NxWorries as opposed to The Free Nationals, it’s that the music gets a lot moodier and puts him in a slow dance vibe, as he’d groove across the stage as he sang the slow jams, getting the fans to join in with him. With this being the Why Lawd? Tour, NxWorries of course performed nearly all of their Grammy award-winning album, as their next wave of songs took us through tracks 11-15 in order, bringing on the sad breakup vibes. Highlights included Rae Khalil returning to the stage to perform her feature on “OutTheWay,” and Anderson .Paak bringing out a purse full of roses to toss into the crowd as he rapped his verse to “MoreOfIt.”

After one more Why Lawd? cut with “FromHere,” Anderson .Paak would head backstage and Knxwledge would get to take the spotlight, performing a DJ set for a short segment. Knxwledge would get the crowd grooving to slow jams, curating an R&B set that progressively took us through time, going from the ’60s with The Delfonics’ “La La Means I Love You” to the ’80s with Dr. C. Dexter Wise, III’s “I Ain’t Into That.” The set would eventually go through the ’90s and 2000s, as Knxwledge played some of Foxy Brown’s and DMX’s R&B features, and Anderson .Paak would return to the stage, this time in an all-white outfit to bring the dance vibes.

While Anderson .Paak picked the energy up with a hype performance of “Link Up,” Knxwledge continued to shine as he seamlessly remixed the beat into A Tribe Called Quest’s “Electric Relaxation,” giving the song some added energy to vibe to. This segment may have been the most hyped of the entire night, as they continued on into a throwback performance with “Droogs,” and Knxwledge would do another live remix, pairing Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” with a groovy production to get the crowd moving as they sang along. The bounce would continue as they rocked the song that first put them on the map, “Suede,” followed by the new 2025 single “Everybody Gets Down,” with a group of dancers joining Anderson .Paak on stage.

Nearing the end of the setlist, NxWorries would close out with a performance of my favourite song off the new album, “Daydreaming,” getting the fans to light up their cell phones and wave their arms as they grooved to the blend of R&B with psychedelic rock vibes, capping it off with confetti shooting into the crowd as the guitar solo played. Knxwledge would finally come down to the front of the stage to join Anderson .Paak in saying goodbye to the crowd, the fans cheering as they made their way backstage. The show wouldn’t end there though, as the fans chanted for an encore, and NxWorries returned to perform one last song, the closer to the Why Lawd? album, “WalkOnBy.” Rae Khalil would also return to the stage with NxWorries to perform her featured vocals, making this an especially epic ending to the show.

Overall, the NxWorries show was nothing but good vibes and positive energy. Anderson .Paak is able to take the fans through a wide range of emotions throughout the show, going from bringing on the slow, romantic vibes that make you want to hold your significant other, to miserable breakup songs, to upbeat party records to dance to. It was also dope seeing Knxwledge show off his ear for dope loops and curating the R&B vibes. For longtime fans, this must have been a huge payoff seeing .Paak do a full show dedicated to his NxWorries catalogue, although I’m sure some cuts off his solo albums would have also been appreciated. As Anderson .Paak’s career continues to grow like a tree, this concert showed us that the NxWorries branch of that tree is definitely worth celebrating in its own space.

The Why Lawd? 2025 Tour will continue to make its way through the USA this fall, dates and tickets can be found here!

Check out this playlist of concert videos from all the times I’ve seen Anderson .Paak perform live over the years!

Check out the SYpherSights Youtube channel for more concert videos.

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