Directed by Jackson Tisi.
Pharrell Says Go-Go Was “The Second Sound Of VA”
From Atlanta Blackstar:
The “Lemon” performer recently had a more than 40-minute discussion with legendary record producer Rick Rubin all about music in various forms. But when the conversation turned to go-go music and its roots, viewers of the GQ-hosted chat raised their eyebrows.
“Go-go was the second sound of Virginia,” the 46-year-old Virginia native told an amazed Rubin in GQ’s “Epic Conversations.” “It was everything. Everything … It’s such a pocket that if you go outside of D.C. — north-wise, like to New York — you wouldn’t know anything about it. But when you go down south, you can find some of it in Delaware, you can find a little bit of it in Maryland, but not much. And in Virginia, it was just big. In the Carolinas it was big. It was a world. It’s a world.”
But Williams’ diminishing the amount of go-go music flowing from Maryland, which envelopes D.C. where the funk subgenre emerged in the 1960s and 1970s, had many social media users scratching their heads.
You know what? Maybe, when he says Maryland, he’s thinking about it from an entire state perspective — other than the surrounding D.C. suburbs and (with vitriol) Baltimore, maybe Maryland wasn’t big on the sound. In contrast, I can think of all of the times I travelled to different parts of Virginia from North Carolina to see a Go-Go during my college years. Either way, it’s a hilarious misunderstanding.
Big Sean Feat. Pharrell & Detail – What A Year
Big Sean reminisces on an awesome year (although one not without some BS) with the new track ‘What A Year’, featuring Pharrell and Detail.
Busta Rhymes – Master Race (Prod. Pharrell)
This comes courtesy of Q-Tip via his Beats 1 radio show. No clue on if this means that E.L.E. 2 is finally on the way or not.
OverDoz Feat. Pharrell – Last Kiss (Video)
West Coast group OverDoz drop off their new visual for the Pharrell collaboration ‘Last Kiss’ (complete with Pharrell’s hat).
T.I. Feat. Pharrell – Paperwork
The return of Tip and Pharrell. Paperwork: The Motion Picture drops October 21st.
Ed Sheeran Scores First UK Number One Single
Ed Sheeran has taken over the number one spot in the Uk. Ed Sheeran’s single SING which was produced by Pharrell off his upcoming album X which is set to drop later this month is now the number 1 song in the UK. In the past, Ed Sheeran had four top ten singles on the UK charts.
Pharrell x Adidas Stan Smith ‘Hand Painted’ Collection
Pharrell & Collette link together for a project for Adidas collection of Stan Smiths. Pharrell painted 10 pairs of the classic shoe for exclusive release at colette store in Paris. All proceeds will go to the From One Hand To AnOTHER non-profit organization which Pharrell founded.
Ed Sheeran Debuts New Song ‘Thinking Out Loud’
Ed Sheeran went on “Late…With Jools Holland” on Friday night to debut a brand-new song, “Thinking Out Loud,” off upcoming album “x.” which hits stores on June 23. The record will is not the official second single but is the second record to hit the net from the project. The new record was produced by Pharrell and was inspired by Justin Timberlake’s ‘Justified’ and ‘FutureSex/LoveSounds,’
Ed Sheeran feat. Pharrell “Sing” (Video)
Ed Sheeran releases a funny visual for his single with Pharrell off his upcoming album ‘X’ which is set to hit the stores on June 23th.
The Lonely Island Feat. Pharrell & Tatiana Maslany – HUGS (Video)
The Lonely Island (and Pharrell) will hug your girl in their latest visual from The Wack Album.
Pharrell & Nigo Get ‘Happy’ In Japan (Video)
To travel.
Pharrell headed east to party with Nigo in a special edition of his highly-infectious ‘Happy’ single, of which the video clip features the who’s who in Japanese urban culture.
Pharrell & Gwen Stefani Perform On ‘The Voice’ (Video)
Last night, The Voice kicked off their new season with Pharrell and Gwen Stefani as the new judges. Pharrell hit the stage to perform ‘Come Get It Bae’ and later, Gwen Stefani joined him to perform ‘Hollaback Girl’.
iHeartRadio Music Awards: Kendrick Lamar, Usher, Pharrell & More
Check out some of the notable performances at this year’s iHeartRadio Music Awards.
– Usher appeared on the awards show to premiere his new feature on Michael Jackson’s forthcoming album Xscape:
– Ariana Grande continued her grown-up transformation with a sexy performance (which Rihanna was spotted laughing at):
– In addition to performing a pretty dope medley, Pharrell was also awarded the first-time iHeartRadio Innovator Award:
– …and Kendrick. Performing 2Pac. Win.
Alicia Keys, Kendrick Lamar & Pharrell Perform At ‘Spider-Man 2’ Premiere (Video)
Recent collaborators Alicia Keys, Kendrick Lamar & Pharrell Williams (along with composer Hans Zimmer) took to the stage at The Amazing Spider-Man 2 premiere concert (more here) to perform their track from the film, ‘It’s On Again‘. Fans can also find the song on the official soundtrack to the movie.
Random shoutout to Jamie Foxx.
Pharrell On ‘The Howard Stern Show’
Pharrell sits down with Howard Stern for an hour-long interview….among topics discussed, he speaks on Cee-Lo Green turning down ‘Happy’, the success of the single and other hits, writing for Justin Timberlake (and Michael Jackson) and more.
Pharrell “Smile”
After a successful release in the States, Pharrell released his new album in Japan today with a bonus song entitled ‘Smile’. You can take a listen below.
Pharrell’s ‘Happy’ Video Possibly (Probably) Jacked This Indie Film (Video)
Spotted on Eurweb:
Anne Marsen discovered Pharrell Williams‘ “24 Hours of Happy” video on social media and through text messages from friends.
Then, she became aware of the familiarity with his video and an indie film she made.
Marsen made the 71 minute, kickstarted video titled, “Girl Walk // All Day” in 2011.
Spin got the exclusive with Marsen about her thoughts on the video.
“I hadn’t heard of the video,” she said over the phone from her new home in Los Angeles, “and then I checked it out and I was like, ‘Oh my goodness.’”
Williams’ “24 Hours of Happy” video — like Marsen’s “All Day” video with her dancing all over New York City – is of people dancing in similar fashion in public spaces.
Dance moves, clothing, settings and characters are similar in the videos.
Marsen and director of the dance film Jacob Krupnick doesn’t seem mad at Williams, but hope to someday achieve that level of success and get some recognition.
“Jacob and I were saying, we agree, it’s a great thing that dance is getting recognition as a long-form kind of thing, because we want to be making more projects that we’re dreaming up now that are in this form,” said Marsen. “Yet at the same time we feel like we’re not getting the recognition for this.”
A rep for Williams said the We Are From LA team and Williams weren’t aware of Marsen’s video and said their video was created with “Despicable Me 2” in mind.
But Krupnick does see the similarity and thinks it’s a good thing.
“I feel deeply inspired by Pharrell’s music,” he said over the phone. “I’d be thrilled to collaborate on a project with him. And I think, based on the video that Anne has made, on some level it’s also safe to say that Pharrell — aware or not — was inspired by the film we made.”
Pharrell “Marilyn Monroe” (Video)
Pharrell goes on a journey from the dance studio to the main stage to find his dream girl in his new visual off his album G I R L. Pharrell even brought Kelly Osbourne along for the ride.
Coachella, Part 2: Pharrell Brings Out JAY Z, Pusha T, T.I. & Usher
During the second weekend of the massive Coachella festival, Pharrell decided to take it up another notch by bringing out JAY Z, Pusha T, T.I. & Usher (last weekend, he treated fans to appearances from Busta Rhymes, Snoop Dogg, Diddy, Diplo and Gwen Stefani). Probably one of the few performers who gaves good reason to having a two-weekend festival in the first place.
Plenty of additional clips below.
Major Lazer Feat. Pharrell – Aerosol Can (Video)
The first track from Major Lazer’s Apocalypse Soon EP gets the (lyric) video treatment.
Pharrell Sheds Tears Of Joy In Oprah Interview (Video)
Spotted on MTV:
Oprah Winfrey sure knows how to bring the emotions out of people, and on Sunday night on “Oprah Prime,” the veteran journalist and media mogul brought the oh-so-cool Pharrell Williams to tears.
“Why am I crying on ‘Oprah’?” P asked rhetorically, fighting its way through his tears.
During the interview, Williams spoke to the Big O about his #1 Billboard single “Happy” and its slow burn to the top of the charts. “Zero airplay, nothing,” P said of the single he released in June as a part of the “Despicable Me 2” soundtrack. “And next thing you know we put the video on November 21st, all of a sudden, boom.”
The “boom” that Pharrell referred to was the viral explosion of fan-made “Happy” videos, which came from all across the world. When Oprah showed the multiplatinum producer a compilation of all of those different fan videos, he was moved to tears.
“It’s overwhelming because I love what I do and I just appreciate the fact that people have believed in me for so long, that I can make it to this point to feel that,” he said through tears as he pointed to Oprah’s video screen.