Anyone that has seen an interview or conversation with Pharrell Williams knows that he is a thoughtful artist.
Whether he is having an epic conversation with Rick Rubin or being impressed to the point of tears by the work of an NYU music student or raving over the interview and research skills of Nardwuar, he is contemplative and genuine, about topics beyond just music.
A collection of these thoughts and musings have now been gathered in a book titled Pharrell-isms. Edited by Larry Warsh for Princeton University Press, it is the latest in the ISMS series – other subjects include Andy Warhol, John Lennon, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and more – that takes various interviews and words from artists and turns them into books of quotations.
Like the others, it is a small book – 4 x 6 inches – so this isn’t a book that you read once and put it on the shelf. It’s not even really meant to be read linearly. It can fit in a pocket because it’s meant to be carried with you, so that you can refer to it over and over again, particularly if a section is calling to you at that moment.
Excluding the intro, every word is from Pharrell himself, delivered in small, quick aphorisms that are reminiscent of ancient philosophical texts. This, along with its size and the fact it should be revisited, make it very similar to a book like Epictetus’s Enchiridion. It’s a handbook for everyday life.
Broken up into seven sections including “Life, Family, and Faith” and “Education and Social Justice,” the entries range from “We area all on a journey of self-awareness” to “You can’t copyright a feeling,” to “Once we know the plights of others, we can’t unknow it.”
There are undoubtedly some gems, quotes and thoughts that made me fold the page and mark it to come back to it at a later time.
However, not everything is worthy of a frame or a social media post. While one page may contain a thought-provoking, illustrative sentence such as “Our Constitution was flawed before the ink dried,” it is offset a page later by a mundane statement of fact like, “In this country, women didn’t gain the right to vote until 1920.” While that is certainly true, it’s not unique. It has been uttered countless times over the past century. It is certainly not a Pharrell-ism.
Despite the occasional hiccup, the book does present a full picture of how a musical genius and fashion trendsetter sees and interacts with the world.
Pharrell-isms is available now.
I was provided a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
Christopher Pierznik is the worst-selling author of nine books. His work has appeared on XXL, Cuepoint, Business Insider, The Cauldron, Fatherly, Hip Hop Golden Age, and many more. Connect on Facebook or get in touch at CPierznik99@gmail.com.
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