'K-Pops!' tries hard to connect

Anderson .Paak stars in and directs this ego trip about a drummer's journey.

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Anderson .Paak, right, stars as a delusional drummer traveling to Seoul in “K-Pops!” with his real-life son, Soul Rasheed.

(JAKE GILES NETTER Aura Entertainment)

The neo-soul singer Anderson 13 .Paak has Grammy awards and a smile that could power the city of Oxnard, where he grew up playing drums in church, confident that he was born to entertain. His optimism and heart are inspiring - a kid of Black and Korean heritage who shouldered losing both parents to incarceration and still emerged with a buoyant persona.

So he'll be fine hearing that his directing debut "K-Pops!" isn't very good.

Like his faintly autobiographical character B.J. says with a grin, "Haters gonna hate." It's the first time I've heard someone deliver that line and truly believed they meant it.

The script, co-written by .Paak and Khaila Amazan, is about a percussionist pounding fruitlessly on the door to success. We first meet .Paak's B.J. in 2009 Los Angeles drumming at a liveband karaoke night with a group of fellow workaday musicians played by his real life backers, Free Nationals.