Pharrell Williams is a slender man. But is he THIS slender? His proportions look off on this GQ cover. Pharrell covers the February issue of GQ, which is “The Legacy Project” issue, where they’re profiling various musical entertainers who have had big impacts in the past year. Pharrell undoubtedly deserves the cover, and GQ also profiled Mark Ronson (yes!), Sam Smith, Lil Wayne, Karen O, Nas, Stevie Wonder, Kim Gordon, Iggy Azalea and more. You can see Pharrell’s full interview here. Like… I enjoy Pharrell. I watched his interview with Oprah and he made me cry. But in print interviews, Pharrell sometimes comes across like a space cadet. Not stupid, just… like he’s the poetry and the light and vibe and you can’t tie him down with WORDS, man. Some highlights:
His work on T.I.’s Paperwork: “I wasn’t happy about the T.I. situation. They did that record hoping for radio play, and they got nothing out of it…. Great, you got your No. 1 hip-hop song. But what does that do for your sales?”
Numbers, man: “It’s all math. You have a certain number of bones in your body. You have seven holes in your face. There are nine planets, a sun, trillions and trillions of galaxies. Everything quantifies to numbers.”
Dude, this is deep: “The more suspended experiences you have, the more you’re not bound by physical time.”
Working with Kelly Clarkson: “With Kelly. I think we break her out by going to the sync department at Sony. Go put her music on Sons of Anarchy, go put her music on House of Cards. Her songs are so sync-friendly, it’s not even funny. This album is flawless. Let’s get it.”
Why he does The Voice: “The ability to reach so many people at the same time.”
His assistant, art director and choreographer are all women. He surrounds himself with women: “Women have a way of expressing themselves that I can relate to more honestly. I am a sensitive person, so I want to be with sensitive people. They’re pretty magical, the women that are here. They sense things before it happens.”
It sounds like Pharrell is putting on an act for the reporter, but I swear to God, every print interview I’ve ever read with Pharrell is like this. I’ve seen on-camera giving interviews and when you actually see him, he doesn’t seem this… out-there. But he really is off in his own little world. As for his idea that women are more sensitive and magical and they can sense things before they happen… God, I don’t know. I’m happy that he’s so in touch with his feminine side and I’m happy that there’s a man with a lot of power in the music industry standing up for the ladies. But spare me the whole Ladies Are In Touch With the Moon’s Essence and Their Uterine Divinity Shall Light A Path To Our Collective Future stuff.
Photos courtesy of Pari Dukovic/GQ.
I just enjoy him. I think “space cadet” is an awesome way to describe him, and he recognizes inequality for women so he goes a little overboard. I wouldn’t mind during my time of the month some music vampire telling me the uterus makes me so magical. I’m down.
Ha ha ha! I love him.
I’m sorry that he’s gonna get so screwed for writing Blurred Lines by the Marvin Gaye Estate. I took a music class, i learned everything is appropriation in some form or another in all Art mediums if you know how to look.
I used to love Pharrell but ever since he became a “New Black” and did the Elle cover and in the Native headress I can’t stand him.
Also he seems to have aged a lot in the past year, for so long he looked really young and now not so much. Maybe that’s what happens when you do/say racially insensitive things? LOL
I think what he did was wrong, but I find it a tad hypocritical when people are so outraged by this, yet were completely okay with Charlie Hebdo’s “satire” ( what happened to them was of course completely wrong and ahugw tragedy).
Also, in this years VS show, the models wore Romani inspired costumes and no one bat an eyelid.
I agree, what happened to the journalists at Charlie Hebdo was a tragedy but I never agreed with their “satire”. It wasn’t even satire, a lot of it was so offensive I couldn’t believe people actually supported it. The jokes about the girls kidnapped by Boko Haram were disgusting and I don’t know how anyone thought it was appropriate to put the head of a black woman on a monkey’s body.
I think in general the media doesn’t really care too much about cultural appropriation but I have seen people call out VS for their costumes
I have seen people call out VS for their Native American costumes, but not for Romani ones. I also don’t see outrage when kids dress up as Romani people for Halloween.
Making fun of somebodies religion is totally different to ripping on the colour of someones skin. You probably know nothing about the magazine but it’s messed up how you’re insinuating that they deserved it some how. Shame on you
I’m not insinuating that at all. I’m just stating that some cultures get to be mocked without the public caring. You can not deny that there us a lot of anti-Muslim sentinement going on right now.
I’m Christian and I wasn’t offended with their satire of Jesus. But if depicting Muhamed is forbidden in Islam, I don’t see a reason why do it. There were other ways to do it.
@Spooks – but that’s all the more reason to do it (depict Muhammad), though, in my opinion. It shows it’s on equal ground with regard to other topics they’ve broached and mocked. It shouldn’t matter that Religion A has no official edict banning certain portrayals and Religion B does; if one is subject to mockery then so is the other. And if the issue is simply the portrayal itself – not even necessarily the content of the portrayal – that people railed against, then again, even more reason to do it. Untouchable elements, but only in certain cases, is not right (if so, then where is the equal outrage and violence for, as Anna mentioned above, the depiction of a black woman’s head on a monkey’s body? Is this not even *more* sacred, something that is inherent in one’s genes, rather than a belief system that a person chooses to follow and in most cases is not under any constriction to remain within?). I think the outrage itself, and belligerent uproar that anyone would dare to defy THEIR religious beliefs (as far as I know, no other religious tenets forbid its followers from portraying Muhammad) and do what they are prohibited from doing, is a good reason to call them out even further. I mean, where draw the line? You say you weren’t offended at Christian satire but that doesn’t mean other Christians weren’t, yet no one anticipated a violent uprising in response to however Hebdo chose to depict Jesus. Why is the onus of responsible behavior on those whose job it is to poke fun (or whatever) equally, rather than the rest of the population to be mature enough to ignore that with which they don’t agree instead of issuing calls for violence and apologies?
What is a “New Black”?
His quote: “The New Black doesn’t blame other races for our issues. The New Black dreams and realizes that it’s not a pigmentation; it’s a mentality. And it’s either going to work for you, or it’s going to work against you. And you’ve got to pick the side you’re gonna be on.”
source http://gawker.com/the-curious-case-of-the-new-black-a-conversation-1649462578
Oh wow he’s a heartbreaker you can tell. What a sweetie.
Okay.
I disagree. It’s not okay to lump women into one group, even if you do this by putting them on a pedestal. Women are not some magical creatures with superpowers. They’re people. Like you.
I meant more like “Okay, love, whatever you say.” :pats him on the head:
Stevie ‘Fricking’ Wonder. lol
I didn’t think he was saying all women were magical, but was referring to the ones with whom he works.
I agree, the headline made it sound worse than it was. But it was close. I also reeeeeallllyy can’t stand the “Ladies Are In Touch With the Moon’s Essence and Their Uterine Divinity Shall Light A Path To Our Collective Future stuff” (nicely put!) Also, eh, wasn’t he involved in ‘Blurred lines’?
Would love to hear a conversation between Pharrell and Matthew McConaughey….nobody would know what the hell they were rambling on about!
Alright, alright, alright
That would be hilarious! 😂
Ha, yes.
They would careen off of the highway and into the cosmos.
No problem here if Pharrell wants to acknowledge the divinity of women, but Pharrell, baby, you wrote Blurred Lines.
Oh, that’s nice but but…as a mother who is used to being praised by her kids sometimes, I would say “OK, OK, WHAT do you want now?”! Haha….
I admit it, I am magical. Kneel before me!
It´s sweet, but a little much. Back in the days when he sang “your ass is a space ship I wanna ride” seemed more genuine. I prefer horny Pharrell.
Hahaaa, I forgot that one. It’s too bad the journalist can’t answer something like that.
I mean… this is Pharell. He’s always been this way. It’s not an act. He’s always positive and such a dreamer. He’s compassionate and cares about the feelings of others. Gotta love him!
On another note, I DO kind of wish he wouldn’t shy away from talking about the negative things that are happening in the world. At the same time, I realize that the man just wants to make music. That’s what he loves. He doesn’t have to be a political activist.
I love Pharrell. I’m glad a man in hip hop is in touch with feminism, hopefully it opens up more men to the idea…
Also I love that headboard in the last picture!
I love his pjs! Very few men can rock those.
He is not one of those men.
charlie: lol
i cant with people like that. its not a turn off because he is a man, im equally turned off by women like that. he should marry Shailene Woodley he could worship her divivine magical woman powers while she sunbathes her vagina.
Eh, he’s a good egg. A bit trippy, yeah, but his heart seems to be in the right place.
Pharrell knows Women>Unicorns. We are almost as awesome as Bubbles!!!!
I can’t argue with him. We are awesomeness!
I’m always back and forth with this dude. Yes, he’s done so many ridiculous videos objectfying women (even if they wanted to be), but, at the same time, I got a soft spot for him.
And yes, he’s right about women. Some women are assholes and some men are great, but I truly believe that women are better by nature in general. I’d choose a daughter over a son, can’t lie.
Somehow I was reminded of the only female main character on the admittedly very strange cartoon Uncle Grandpa: Giant Realistic Flying Tiger. She looks just like the name says. I am Tiger, hear me roar. Actually, she roars but doesn’t otherwise talk, although Uncle G seems to understand her in nuanced detail. Rainbows stream out of her backside when she flies.
He’s a total space pixie. And look at those PJs, socks, the bag, and that purple hat. Without this spacy-ness, we would have never had Happy. Michael Jackson was kind of the same way in some respects. At least PW doesn’t seem to have turned to drugs to manage his spacy-ness.