21 Busta Rhymes ft Pharrell Williams – Light Your Ass on Fire (2003) There’s an echo of that early weirdness here: “I got a colourful aura,” he offers, “like I got neon guts.” And the beat is terrific: spacey synths over a super-stoned rhythm track. In the Neptunes’ pre-fame days, Williams wrote psychedelic sci-fi rhymes: a Virginia Beach friend remembered lyrics about “space coasters” and laser guns. 22 Lil Uzi Vert ft Pharrell Williams – Neon Guts (2017) 23 Gwen Stefani – Hollaback Girl (2004)Įven on an album that featured productions from Dr Dre, André 3000, Dallas Austin and Jam and Lewis, the Neptunes’ work stood out: battering-ram drums, dive-bombing sub-bass, raw-sounding brass samples, an incongruously sweet acoustic guitar. But behind the familiarity lurks a fantastic pop song, its lyrical straightforwardness balanced by beautifully nuanced production that evokes 60s soul without sounding like an imitation.
The eighth highest-selling single in UK history, Happy is hopelessly, perhaps irrevocably, overplayed: plenty of listeners would doubtless be delighted never to hear it again. Read more 24 Pharrell Williams – Happy (2013)
The main lyrical preoccupations of NERD’s debut album are evident in the song titles – Lapdance, Rock Star, Am I High? – but Run to the Sun is something else: slick funk that sounds like a love song, but turns out to be a regret-filled paean to Williams’s ailing grandmother. The rumours were untrue, but you can’t really blame people for wanting one: Juggernaut is that good. Pharrell’s only contribution to the uncompromisingly dark Juggernaut was a guest spot, rapping over the distorted beats and dive-bombing bass, but it was enough to spark rumours of a collaborative Tyler/Williams album. 28 Tyler, the Creator ft Lil Uzi Vert and Pharrell Williams – Juggernaut (2021) It was repurposed – with Nas replacing Pusha T – for the Neptunes’ Clones album, but the original still wins. A lost classic from Kelis’s second album, which wasn’t released in the US: guest rap from Pusha T, slapping beats, reedy organ, great hook (“Make my record skip, make my record skip”) fantastic chorus.