Pharrell confesses his favourite things
Some songs more special than others — hitmaker’s top five picks
NEW YORK — Who hasn’t Pharrell produced for?
The hitmaker’s Rolodex includes pop heavyweights from Beyoncé to Justin Timberlake, maestros like Hans Zimmer and Heitor Pereira, and wild cards such as Daft Punk and Scissor Sisters.
The 40-year-old said his diverse background heavily aided in the making of GIRL, his funky new album released this week.
“I wanted to work with all cultures and all kinds of people so it could teach me more about my own craft,” said Pharrell, who has produced songs on his own, but many as part of the Neptunes with Chad Hugo. “All of the artists we were blessed to work with that didn’t look like us, that didn’t sound like us or didn’t dance like us, all of that was the very reason I was able to make this album.”
Pharrell won nonclassical producer of the year at the Grammy Awards in January, thanks to his work on Robin Thicke’s Blurred Lines and Daft Punk’s Get Lucky. And now he’s back on top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart with Happy, which was nominated for an Academy Award.
Pharrell, in a recent interview, breaks down his favourite five songs he’s produced. Pharrell’s Picks: Usher, U Don’t Have to Call from 8701 (2001): Solely written by Pharrell, U Don’t Have to Call was another hit in Usher’s epic run as pop’s leading man in the early 2000s. “He’s just a maestro ... his voice is unmatched ... he supersedes what most people think he can do,” Pharrell said. “I just love when we’re able to do colourful black music. There’s nothing like that. I love all kinds of music and all genres, but obviously just colourful black music is a good feeling for me personally ... We were even able to squeeze in two bridges, which is a rarity for pop radio.” Jay Z featuring Pharrell, So Ambitious from The Blueprint 3 (2009): Pharrell’s first success with Jay Z came when I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me) burst on the scene in 2000, and since the two have collaborated non-stop. “He just continues to get better — it’s like fine wine,” Pharrell said of the rap veteran. “He’s something else. When you talk to him, you see purple. He’s wisdom.” Pharrell featuring Daft Punk, Gust of Wind from G IRL (2014): Pharrell says creating Gust of Wind was like designing a room in your house where some of the accent pieces don’t quite fit. So robots came to the rescue. “A song tells you what it needs, where it goes, or what melody is missing, or if there could be more ... with Gust of Wind, it felt good and I loved the song, but I was like, ‘Man, you know, this just feels perfect for the robots to get on the chorus and harmonize with me,’” he said. “I played it for them and instantly, you know, they’re robots and they just got right to it. There was no lag time.” Missy Elliott, On & On from The Cookbook (2005): “That’s one of my favourite hip-hop beats I’ve done of all-time because it’s so unorthodox,” Pharrell said. “It’s Missy, so you’re working with a person that’s genius. She morphs into anything. Her spirit is super-colourful and larger than life. And she knows how to tap into another zone.” N.E.R.D., Life As a Fish and Inside of Clouds from Nothing (2010): “That was an ode to awareness and the value of awareness,” he said of the reflective groove Life As a Fish. He adds that Inside of Clouds is about “the appreciation for water and what it means to our own biosphere.”