There was Pharrell Williams—and his hat—at the Oscars this past Sunday. He danced with Best Supporting Actress Lupita Nyong’o and made Meryl Streep shake her shoulders. He got Amy Adams to body roll. The performance was the latest in Pharrell’s current wave of transcendent moves: At the Grammys in February, Pharrell basically lived on the stage, accepting awards for Daft Punk and performing with the legendary Stevie Wonder. Near the end of the show, even Smokey Robinson seemed awe-struck by the sleek Virginia native. Pharrell is winning at life, in case you hadn’t noticed.
It’s all part of his evolution. As a member of N*E*R*D with Chad Hugo and Shay Haley, Pharrell was a hipster before it became cool. He was the dude with fitted clothing and skateboards, with Vans and tattoos to spare. In recent years though, Pharrell has cleaned up his image and sound, dropping the rock and covering up the ink. He made a bunch of songs for a kids movie and got married. That explains G I R L’s buttoned-up approach. This past year, Pharrell became the undisputed king of summer by producing, appearing, or starring on glossy pop hits like Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines,” Daft Punk’s “Up All Night,” or his own “Happy,” and its innovative 24-hour video.
But while these songs are infectious, they’re also very safe, barely scratching the surface of anything deep, personal or revealing. Such is the case with Pharrell’s G I R L, a clean collection of straight-ahead dance tunes focused on different aspects of feminine vigor. It’s an ode to women that contains the same feel-good energy of Pharrell’s previous work, yet these edges are polished with bright mixes and ornate instrumentation, a sound he’s honed since 2011. “When you listen to music of the old, you hear the musicianship and the musicality,” Pharrell recently told HipHopDX. “You would hear the humanity in it, and that made it interesting. I was like, ‘Man, I just want to sort of fuse some of those things together.’” As a result, G I R L scans as Pop, with just enough soul beneath the album’s smooth surface.
However, there isn’t much happening lyrically. From “Marilyn Monroe” to “Gush,” it’s clear that Pharrell wants you to move and nothing else. On “Hunter,” he borrows Debbie Harry’s stilted rhyme flow and almost gets away with this cheesy line: “Taxidermy is on my walls / With the full description of the killing ‘cause I’m a hunter.” It looks even cornier written out, but again, it’s not about the words here. As a vocalist, Pharrell doesn’t go beyond the same falsetto he’s used since the early-2000s. On “Gust of Wind,” he filters the hook through Daft Punk’s modular synthesizer. G I R L is light fare for the most part, something you play en route to the club or as the soundtrack to your house party. Pharrell is able to get notable features from pop starlet Miley Cyrus (“Come Get It Bae”) and R&B singer Alicia Keys (“Know Who You Are”), both of whom sound comfortable atop his sound. On “Brand New,” Pharrell and Justin Timberlake continue a seemingly lifelong obsession with Michael Jackson: Did they really take Mike’s adlibs from “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough?” Is that a little Jackson 5 on the bridge? But it’s on “Lost Queen,” G I R L’s impressive two-part centerpiece, where Pharrell truly shines. As the song’s first half concludes, we hear waves crashing along a shore. Then the musician returns with a laid-back addendum, which is easily G I R L’s best moment.
So while G I R L is too surface-level at times, it hits the target it’s aimed for. Pharrell wants summertime airplay, and any of these songs could survive on the radio. It’s also a nice tribute to feminine vigor, adding another notch to Pharrell’s ever-growing list of achievements. He has plenty to be happy about these days.
Its ight i gess
Pharrell shud just stick to producing and being on hooks
Dopeeee
I like this album, the G I R L’s vibe is amazing, but I miss beats of him like he made on snoop’s drop it likes hot, luda’s money maker, t.i.’s freak though…
yo DX stop reviewing albums…you guys think giving low numbers makes you edgy and fresh
y’all are lames that don’t get no dussy
TRU
Man, get the fuck out of here. How is giving an album a 3.5 score considered hating? Go ahead I’ll wait for your otherwise illogical and irrelevant response. In the meantime, I’mma go in the bathroom and fuck this coked-up Columbian bitch for about a few hrs. Talking bout we don’t get pussy, ha.
3.5
Obviously Marcus J.More isn’t HAPPY
Kanyetothe niggasssss KTT ALL FUCKING DAY
5/5
Shut the fuck up, nigga. Point is, it’s an album directed at the bitches, none of which you get, faggot. Fuck out my face, fuckboy, before you get smoked.
……
Ross fans gonna be heated.
This is a good album, 4 out of 5.
my friends call me wigga so i say the word nigga. niggaaaaaaaaaaa
Jichael Mackson
OMG THIS GOT RATED HIGHER THAN RICK ROSS ALBUM?!?!?!?
FUCK THAT SHIT
It is better than any Rick Flop album, and this sucks.
Mastermind sucked more than a Vietnamese Prostitute on 2 dollar Tuesday.
wait so HiphopDickX is rating this 3.5 and Rozay a 3.0… fuck this shit
nothin but poppy BS… miley cyrus collab? fuck naw, no thanks bitch nigga
Ill take Mastermind over this, mastermind gon sell 250k while this shit album sells 80k anyway
sorry to break it to ya but Mastermind is only going to sell 160k MAX,
Miley has on of the best albums of 2013 and is still winning.
Miley got a dope album still, better than 99% of the wack rappers out including fatty ricky roazay
Miley has one of the worst albums of 2013.
No mention of “Gush” no credibility
he making grown man music
Yep, pop music is straight grown man music.
The 1st time I listen to the ‘G I R L’ album was after listening to the new Babyface/Toni Braxton album…. I shouldn’t have done that! that Babyface/Toni Braxton alobum is FIRE… the ‘G I R L’ album is GARBAGE!!!
love the album! i just streamed it on itunes and absolutely fell in love http://smarturl.it/GIRLitunes
Have these guys ever given anything below a 3? it’s like they’re scared to give something a bad review
They gave Juvenile’s album 2 stars. Next time do some research.
I noticed that, but shit album in particular is alright and deserving of a 3.
5 are masterpiece
4 is great so 4.5 is almost perfect
3-3.5 is ok to good
2-2.5 is bad to terrible
and 1 isnt even music its just trash
the point in this is (opinions aside) its really hard for an album to be so terrible most have some thing to carry it forward some may have good production maybe a hit song to carry it through. But to get a 2 or lower you have to be down right terrible and pharrell though i dont like him is a good producer with some good taste
Why are people talking about lyricism? I mean Pharrell is a producer and a fucking good one at it, this album predominately focuses on the beat structures and the instrumental.
Not sure I understand the hate behind this album. It’s an easy 4 out of 5. Plenty of hits on it.
the hate comes from Ross new album getting a bad rating LMAO
fgnfgn
This album is nothing short of phenomenal! Musically it is a masterpiece. Stop with this lyrics bullcrap because the lyrics are exactly the way he wanted them to be! Album is dope!
It was terrible to me.He is a great producer and you can’t deny his cultural cache but this album offered nothing challenging or interesting.It’s like the critic said, “aimed at a specific target” which he hit bullseye.
five stars
One of the best albums of the year!!! Check out this awesome version of “Happy”!!!
http://smarturl.it/pharrell
The modern day Quincy Jones. Love it! 🙂
get that money homie! had’nt had a chance to sit down & chill to the ablum yet… but, i will do
great album
Normally I wouldn’t give Pharrell a chance but the Happy single and the other song off the soundtrack not on the album made me pay attention, Its a great listen, the second half especially. Pharrell has really grown and found a sound thats his own. 4/5 foreal!!!!!
First half of this album is hella boring. Period.
Pharrell is a shitty knock off wannabe prince these days.
Pharrell can’t hold a solo album.
Why does he wear a hat that once belonged to the park ranger on Yogi Bear?
Everything Pharrell does is fantastic, and this album is no exception. I’ve been stoked ever since the “Happy” single came out. Recently Pharrell released a video for the song, and I highly recommend checkin’ it out: http://smarturl.it/pharrell
pretty dope album,4 stars
This album is absolutely awesome! and yes he did hit the nail on the head in regards to his audience choice “WOMEN”!