Posted 5th December 2007 in Pharrell Williams, The Neptunes, timbaland
With pictures from the imminent release of Pharrell’s Louis Vuitton Jewellery line leaking, we ask the question where has the old Pharrell gone?
Where’s the humble guy who would respond to comments about sales like this:
Timbaland professed to have a simple, unassailable philosophy. ”My thing is ‘Who sold the most records?’ ” he said. ”That’s my friendly competition.” And who sold the most records? ”Me. That’s without a doubt. If you look at the charts, one year, I broke three artists, back to back, and they all sold at least 900,000 copies. Petey Pablo sold 900,000, ‘Raise Up’ was an anthem, and they still play it in the armies and over in Kuwait.”
When I told him Timbaland’s theories, Williams shook his head vigorously. ”No way,” he said. ”That’s cancerous to my spirit. Knowing how many times a song got played on the radio? No. I’d much rather be in the studio, listening to a Burt Bacharach record, listening to chord progressions, studying them and teaching myself to go somewhere else. I want to pull energy from other worlds into my music. Life, love, science, religion, history, that’s what I want to pull into my music. Let’s face it — you make a certain amount of money, and after that, no matter how much money you make, it all feels the same. The only real true joy that is new to me every day is discovering music. I don’t know how Tim thinks about sales and then goes and makes a beat. That ain’t my world. Tim’s a genius, though.”
That’s the Pharrell we know and love not the new one tryna whore himself out to all kinds of creative avenues, just remember what you said P,
Williams, though, is leery of the hype. ”The Neptunes are not the answer to everything at all,” he told me. ”Some people treat us like that, and that’s wrong. They’re just going off of the charts, not the music. They make statements like: ‘What’s in the water down there? The Neptunes and Timbaland!’ We’re not Michael Jordan, and we don’t think we are. We still look at ourselves as rookies trying to get drafted.”
That was a few years ago, and now that he’s back in the studio with Chad I hope and pray the old musical mind-set will come back, we need more creativity in the music!
The full article where the quotes were taken from can be found here.
The article was found by the Thomas Crown people in the side bar.
P is only being forced back in now b/c the Clipse situation reminded him that he is losing his touch. No hating on Robin Thicke or Chester French but the ‘tunes need to listen to get back on that Hell Hath No Fury vibe.
iknowtheledge – you already know!
Comment by Franchise on the 5th December 2007 at 7:35 am
P is only being forced back in now b/c the Clipse situation reminded him that he is losing his touch. No hating on Robin Thicke or Chester French but the ‘tunes need to listen to get back on that Hell Hath No Fury vibe.
iknowtheledge – you already know!
Comment by Franchise on the 5th December 2007 at 7:35 am