Exploring Pharrell’s Philosophy Of Positivity

In the three decades that Pharrell Williams has been crafting essential party anthems—see the 2001 N.E.R.D. classic “Lapdance,” his 2003 solo breakout “Frontin’,” or the countless songs he’s produced or co-produced for other artists as part of The Neptunes—he’s also woven messages of universalism, meaning the salvation of all humankind, into his lyrics.

This theme is explored in his recent LEGO-animated biopic, Piece by Piece, a career-spanning look into how Pharrell built his hitmaker status; multi-hyphenate cachet; and imaginative, humble outlook, well, piece by piece. But thinking back on the apotheosis of Pharrell’s career, millennial fans may remember the rapper-singer-producer was hardly a stranger to NSFW tunes, like N.E.R.D.’s “Tape You” or “Brain,” which features the following hook:

Do you really even love me
If you do there is no pain
Do I really even love you
Or do I really love your brain, brain
I just love your brain, brain

“Some of my old songs, I would never write or sing today,” Pharrell told GQ in 2019. “I get embarrassed by some of that stuff. It just took a lot of time and growth to get to that place.”

In Piece by Piece, Williams understandably glosses over his more suggestive cuts, minus Mystikal’s “Shake It Fast,” and focuses on the cleaner tracks that shaped his artistry and maturation. There’s a scene in the film where a childhood version of Pharrell finds himself having a spiritual awakening in church, one where he’s anointed through sound. The prismatic sequence is soundtracked by a gospel version of N.E.R.D.’s 2010 song “God Bless Us All,” sung righteously by soul-funk legend Charlie Wilson.

Throughout the original N.E.R.D. version, and especially in the chorus, there lies a message of encouragement amid adversity:

I bet this song make no sense to you
With the world on your shoulders, what can you see?
God blessed us all with the gift to pursue
Just clear your mind and you’ll feel like me

The 51-year-old, who told The Guardian in 2014 that he’s “a Christian on paper, but really a universalist,” has kept his material relatively secular over the years. But since becoming a father in 2008 and a husband in 2013—both epochal journeys illuminated in Piece by Piece—Pharrell found himself further immersed in a positive musical direction.

Most famously, there’s his 2013 smash “Happy,”, which topped the Billboard 100 for 10 weeks. In the song, written for the film Despicable Me 2, Pharrell expresses his happiness in feverish fashion:

It might seem crazy what I’m ‘bout to say
Sunshine, she’s here, you can take a break
I’m a hot air balloon that could go to space
With the air, like I don’t care, baby, by the way, huh

But there are also some deeper cuts where Pharrell encourages fans to master inner authenticity and fine-tune their manifestation techniques. Although it predates his “Happy” era, 2006’s “You Can Do It Too” is both self-reflective and a guide to those with aspirations of stardom. Pharrell takes it back to high school, and in the second verse, he raps:

It’s kinda weird, ‘cause this our dream
Kinda prophetic, you get it
'Cause this, I’ve seen
These type of visions, since I was teen
I told my teacher what I saw, she said I missed Visine

In Pharrell’s subsequent albums with N.E.R.D. Seeing Sounds (2008) and Nothing (2010), the trio—also composed of members Shay Haley and Chad Hugo—enhanced the futuristic sonics that laced their earlier projects. Lyrically, the albums’ moods hinge on angst and sexuality, although Nothing lightly touches on the 2010s political climate on tracks like “It’s In the Air” and “The Man.” But these projects, specifically Nothing, barely scratched the surface on voicing the group’s political ideologies, which wouldn’t come until seven years later on the final N.E.R.D. album, 2017’s No One Ever Really Dies.

No One Ever Really Dies features gutsy and exhilarating production tied with inspirational lines from Pharrell, offered directly to marginalized groups. Arriving three years after Pharrell controversially spoke on his “New Black” concept—which simplified oppression as a state of mind—No One Ever Really Dies was perhaps his apologia, a point where the music matched the intensity of his views. Guest appearances on the album come from André 3000, Gucci Mane, Future, M.I.A., and Kendrick Lamar (delivering arguably the most insistent verse on the album), but Pharrell rhymes in a position of universal alignment on songs “Voilà” and “ESP.”

Joined by his eldest son, Rocket, Pharrell goes into master-teacher mode on “Lightning Fire Magic Prayer,” where he embodies a transcendentalist mindset:

Livewire go through your body
Burn the old, make you anew
It’s a mystical experience party
The universal connection to you
Where do I begin?

Those listeners simply hyped about the rare Rihanna feature on the album’s lead single, “Lemon,” might’ve missed Pharrell’s profound thinking across the 11 tracks. For example, there was “Kites,” where Pharrell alludes to Black Lives Matter and the push for social justice.

We in love at the rally (Hey)
Thought they had to add the clothes (Yeah)
Tonight we unify society (Hey)
All my sisters and my bros (Yeah)

On the five original songs he recorded for the Piece by Piece soundtrack, his first project in seven years, Pharrell brings his evolution full circle, making his musical motivations clear on the title track and referencing his upbringing on “Virginia Boy,” with assistance from Tyler, the Creator.

As seen in Piece by Piece, Williams also has extensive contemplations about his life within Earth’s vastness, which humanizes him with listeners and reveals him to be more than just a notable artist. The movie even presents the late astronomer and scientific philosopher Carl Sagan in LEGO form, speaking to Williams at a challenging time in his career. Sagan’s exploration of life’s origins in his 1980 docuseries Cosmos expanded Williams’ connection to the universe, and this planetary vision returns on “For Real,” where Williams meditates on his existence.

I’ve been starin' at this certain star (Yeah)
‘Cause I’m trainin’ like every night
All alone and the lights are off
Wish that I could do whatever I like
I’ve been wishin' to the universe
‘Cause to be real, I’d be better off
Wanna know what I’m waiting for?
Some kind of sign, like a meteorite

As one of the greatest hip-hop super-producers of the aughts, Pharrell was clearly meant for making music. The 13-time Grammy winner has even said that when he dies, he imagines his life flashing before him as a musical. But halfway through his career, Williams opted to reroute his narrative, change the direction of his life’s course, and take fans in an optimistic direction.