Guitarist José Ríos and keyboardist Ron Avant met
Anderson .Paak while studying at
Musicians Institute in
Hollywood, California in the late 2000s. Bassist Kelsey Gonzalez and drummer Callum Connor joined them soon after and they formed the Free Nationals. The band went on to produce for Anderson and frequently tour with him. The idea for their name came from their mentor
Shafiq Huisayn. Free Nationals is a term which means the first settlers of America before
Columbus came, the people indigenous to the land. They took their own interpretation of this, being 'indigenous to the music' by paying homage to the influential musicians before them. Their performance with Paak at his
NPR Tiny Desk Concert in August 2016 is possibly their most significant appearance to date. The YouTube video has amassed over 104 million views so far, making it the 3rd most popular video in the Tiny Desk series. The band released their debut single "Beauty & Essex" featuring
Daniel Caesar and
Unknown Mortal Orchestra on October 9, 2018. Their second single "
Time" featuring
Mac Miller and
Kali Uchis, released on June 12, 2019, was the first official posthumous song from Miller since his death in September 2018. On December 13, 2019, they released their
self-titled debut album through OBE and
Empire Distribution. It was nominated for
Best Progressive R&B album at the
63rd Annual Grammy Awards. == Musical style and influence ==