Grammy winner Pharrell Williams recently sat down with Hardknock TV to share his thoughts on the progression of today’s music. After speaking on “Blurred Lines,” a collaboration with crooner Robin Thicke, the Virginia producer revealed that it is the people who decide how big a record is destined to become.
He then went on to praise Compton rapper Kendrick Lamar and teen songstress Lorde, two artists he referred to as his “favorite artists at the moment,” for being able to pursue their music careers without the assistance of a major label or radio.
“The people make the decisions here,” Pharrell said. “In fact, everything that goes on on this planet is made by the decision of the human being. Thank God like a lot of new musicians are realizing, you know, that’s when you can sort of effectuate change. That’s why we’re seeing so much great music come out. Cause these kids are like ‘You know what? I’m not waiting on a record label. I’m not waiting on a radio station. I’m gonna put my music up and out to the world. And if it’s meaningful to people then it will catch fire.’ And in a lot of cases we’ve seen it. You’ve seen it everywhere from the likes of the Kendrick Lamars to Lorde. Two of my favorite artists at the moment. They just didn’t care. Put a song up on Soundcloud, shot a video. It’s like ‘Okay, I may sign with you guys or not.’ And I love that. Because she’s 16-years-old. So, she to me is like a shining example of where we’re headed.”
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As one of 2013’s biggest records, Pharrell was asked what his mentality was going into making “Blurred Lines.” He says he merely approached the record with the hopes of making a fun and festive track.
“I didn’t go into it with anything. I actually went into it with no expectation,” he said. “And if anything I just went looking for fun. And looking for something that felt festive. And felt like it would lift people. So, I just went looking for that. You can’t get into a scenario looking for something that’s big or it’s going to sound that way. I’m just happy that the universe rewarded us…And again you can’t take authorship for the success of anything. You really can’t. The success is determined by the people.”
Although Kendrick Lamar did not walk away with a Grammy during the annual awards ceremony, Lorde did take home Best Pop Solo Performance and Song Of The Year for her record “Royals” while Pharrell received a handful of awards including Record Of The Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for his work on Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky.”
RELATED:Pharrell Earns Academy Awards Nomination
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