The multi-talented Pharrell Williams brings his talents to GQ Magazine as he covers the front of its April issue and unveils what made him unhappy at the beginning of his career.
The fashion-forward “G I R L” artist dares to be different not only in music but also in fashion. Known recently for his notorious brown round top hat (reminiscent of the yellow hat from the children’s character Curious George), Williams is more confident than ever before in his current music and fashion choices. The world is just now catching on.
As a leader in many areas including fashion, Williams is enjoying his primetime spotlight. The “Happy” singer is not just ‘a’ guy anymore; he is ‘THE’ guy. The almost 41-year-old artist admits that being the guy he is today took some time to get there. The Virginia native talks about his unhappiness earlier on in his career, his previous over-competitiveness and feeling lost the first 15 years preceding his current project ‘G I R L’.
Read on how Pharrell got to his happy place.
On his previous record “In My Mind” and his unhappiness early in his career:
“’In My Mind’ was just purpose-oriented toward, like, competing and being like my peers…their purposes and their intentions are just completely different than what I have discovered in myself.” Williams believes his current success is because he is more authentic in his musical content and “it makes it easier to sing about.” The Virginia native admits that his unhappiness in his previous works derived from having “this big body of work…most of which was just about self-aggrandizement.” The singer/producer says, “I wasn’t proud of it.”
On his competitive spirit:
Williams describes that his face was ‘frozen’ when he lost the Academy Award for his Despicable Me 2 soundtrack record “Happy” to the Frozen soundtrack record “Let it Go.” Now more mature in his career, Williams knows that he has to let that competitive spirit perish. “You can only compete with yourself,” says the mature-minded Pharrell. I think it’s so much more interesting to go inward, to experience the outer space that was built for you.”
On being lost the first 15 years of his career:
In retrospect, Williams felt lost in his career since he penned Wrexkx-N-Effect’s hit “Rump Shaker” in 1992. “I didn’t know what happiness was,” says the singer. “My definition of happiness was based on what my peers quantified as happiness…material stuff.” The 40-year-old singer says he now understands the value of life.
(Source: GQ)
