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Pharrell Says Writing His Hit Song ‘Happy’ Wasn’t A Happy Time At All, In Fact It ‘Broke Him’

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Pharrell Williams’ life story is officially on the big screen. The famed producer’s Lego style biopic, Piece By Piece, can be viewed at your nearest theater and to promote it Pharrell is opening up about some major moments in his career.

During an interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, Pharrell made a shocking confession about his optimistic hit, “Happy.” The track, which featured in Despicable Me 2 and its soundtrack served as positive reinforcement for listeners. But according to Pharrell writing the smash “broke him.”

“I had written 9 songs that were rejected,” he said. “It was only until you were out of ideas, and you asked yourself a rhetorical question, and you came back with a sarcastic answer, and that’s what ‘Happy’ was. How do you make a song about a person that’s so happy that nothing can bring them down? And I sarcastically answered it and put music to it, and that sarcasm became the song, and that broke me.”

However, Pharrell managed to find the silver lining, saying: “It’s so crazy for us to think like as individuals, everything comes from us. Your ideas, everything that you get, is coming from a library of existence. Nothing is new under the sun.”

In the past, Pharrell admitted that after a while he grew annoyed with the record just like the rest of us after it become unavoidable.

Watch Pharrell Williams and Morgan Neville’s full interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe above.

Pharrell, Lil Yachty, And Swae Lee Enter The ‘Doodleverse’ With Their Futuristic New Single

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Pharrell Williams’ plate is always filled with a new creativity venture. Although this year’s installment of his Something In The Water Festival has been postponed until 2025, the “Airplane Tickets” musician has kept busy with others things. Most recently, his Lego Movie about his life, Piece By Piece, is heading to theaters soon.

But his exploration into animated worlds is far from over. Today (October 4), Pharrell teamed up with Lil Yachty, and Swae Lee for the futuristic new single, “Doodleverse.” On the track, each entertainer lets their imagination run wild while bringing in listeners to an already established animated universe.

“On the other side when you realize that nothin’ is unobtainable / On the other side when you realize that nothin’ is unachievable / On the other side when you realize that dreams are reality / And all the Doodles live happily / And colors blend together magically,” sings the trio.

Pharrell and Lil Yachty expand on that positive momentum on the song’s bridge, singing: “So many things get lost in grey / Like details and things that we’re tryin’ to say / All colors come from black and space / And then make white when they pixelate.”

Listen to Pharrell’s new song “Doodleverse” featuring Lil Yachty and Swae Lee above.

Pusha T Reveals The Official Title Of Clipse’s Long-Awaited Album, Which Is, Of Course Produced By Pharrell

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the clipse
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Just when you thought musical comebacks were a done deal, Clipse entered the chat. Although the sibling duo, comprised of Pusha T and No Malice, have kept themselves busy with other personal ventures, they fans have desperately yearned for an album.

Last month, Pusha T confirmed that the duo were finally on one accord about a full-length project. They’ve even came together to premiere a new track during their surprise performance at Louis Vuitton’s recent fashion. But no further details were shared regarding the project. Well, until now. Over on Instagram, Pusha T revealed the official title for Clipse’s long-awaited album.

“In celebration of this weekends’ Denim Tears 5th anniversary party,” he wrote. “Where Clipse will be performing ahead of their new album, ‘Let God Sort Em Out.’”

The caption seemed like a simple promotional obligation for the fashion brand’s event, until followers realized that he bread crumbed the album name.

As part of a sit down with Vulture, confirmed that one half the Clipse’s longtime producing team The Neptunes, Pharrell Williams, is also onboard for the upcoming release. “Pharrell producing everything is also an ode to the type of music and the type of albums we want to make,” he said. “We still want to make full bodies of work. These are movies, man. These aren’t just songs. This isn’t just a collection of joints we went in and banged out.”

But don’t expect to see Chad Hugo’s name anywhere in the credits. Unfortunately, it appears Hugo’s legal battle with Pharrell has spilled over into Clipse’s willingness to work with him.

Pharrell Spices Up The ‘Despicable Me 4’ Soundtrack With The Groovy New Song ‘Double Life’

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The Despicable Me franchise has been very good to Pharrell: He’s been involved on the music side of things since the first movie, and the second film’s breakout hit “Happy” was a No. 1 single and is the biggest song of Pharrell’s career. Well, Despicable Me 4 is set to hit theaters in July, and ahead of that, Pharrell has a new song from the movie, sharing “Double Life” today.

The tune isn’t as general and movie-agnostic as something like “Happy” (“Who will you be tonight? / That’s the question / Who will Gru be tonight? / That’s the question,” goes the song’s refrain), but it has a great groove and that Gru refrain is actually catchy as hell. This probably won’t be a world-changing single like “Happy,” but it’s in the upper tier of kids movie soundtrack fare.

This follows the Black Yacht Rock album Pharrell quietly released earlier this year. Uproxx named it one of the best albums of 2024 so far, and Uproxx’s Aaron Williams noted, “The most compelling thing about this album is watching a master at work, with a focused goal, crafting some of the best music of a long and storied career in service of shedding light on an oft-maligned musical mode.”

Listen to “Double Life” above.

What Did Drake Buy From Pharrell’s Jewelry Collection?

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Drake 2022 Till Death Do Us Part Rap Battle Event
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Drake is no stranger when it comes to living in the lap of luxury. So it’s not surprising that in his new video for a track titled “Jumbotron Sh*t Poppin,” he wanted to bring fans into his world of opulence — dazzling diamonds, beautiful women, and fast cars. Throughout the video, the Candian crooner can be seen sporting several different (and costly) pieces of jewelry. But where does one purchase such precious stones?

Drake loves having exclusive items, so it would make sense that he would sport jewelry formerly owned by Pharrell Williams, who is known for his eccentric style and taste. This past October, the NERD producer hosted an online auction in which he sold off his personal jewelry and other items.

In the video, Drake was spotted with three pieces of jewelry, including “a 14K three-tone N.E.R.D pendant chain ($2,184,000), a white gold brain pendant chain ($725,000), and a skateboard pendant chain ($103,750),” HipHopDX estimates. In total, the rapper allegedly spent over $3 million to acquire the jewelry.

Drake’s long-running musical success not only continues to fill his love of expensive things but also allows him to afford them. Her Loss debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart after its release, moving roughly over $400k album-equivalent units in its first week. Since then, the album has surpassed over one million sales in the U.S. and over a billion streams on Spotify.