Rising to global fame with his hit single “Happy,” Pharrell Williams has influenced every corner of music, from cowriting and producing the monumental track “Alright” with Kendrick Lamar to composing music for the Academy Award–winning film Hidden Figures. But his work also extends to fashion, design, and the visual arts, and he has collaborated with leading artists and designers, including Takashi Murakami, Daniel Arsham, and Comme des Garçons. Gathered from interviews and other sources, this compelling and provocative collection of quotations offers new insights into the personality and creative process of one of today’s most exciting and intriguing artists.
Select quotations from the book:
- Self-awareness is a muscle that needs exercise. It needs a regimen.
- You’ve got to continue to reinvent yourself today, all the while thinking about tomorrow.
- Music is the key, the skeleton key that’s opened every door for me.
- There is no humanity without education. There is no education without demand.
- The only way to make life better for yourself, the only true and lasting way, is to make life better for others.
Pharrell Williams is a thirteen-time Grammy Award winner, visual artist, curator, and fashion icon. He is the founder of i am OTHER, a creative platform that brings together music, art, entertainment, and fashion under one umbrella. Williams also cofounded the apparel brands Ice Cream Clothing and Billionaire Boys Club, and has curated exhibitions at Galerie Perrotin and Design Exchange, among others. Larry Warsh has been active in the art world for more than thirty years as a publisher and artist-collaborator. He is the editor of many books, including The Notebooks of Jean-Michel Basquiat, Lennon-isms, Ono-isms, Warhol-isms, Basquiat-isms, and Weiwei-isms (all Princeton).
"The infinite mind of Pharrell Williams has at long last been commemorated in book form."—Navi Ahluwalia, Hypebae
"[Pharrell-isms] aims to capture the creative process that underpins each of [Pharrell’s] endeavors through quotes said by the larger-than-life personality. . . . Sleek."—Shawn Ghassemitari, Hypebeast
"[Pharrell-isms] gives audiences a glimpse into [Williams’s] life mantras and some of the most iconic sayings he has been heard uttering in interviews and speeches from the last decade."—Joyce Li, Hypebeast
"If you are a fan of Pharrell Williams or looking for some inspiration and motivation, Williams’ Pharrell-isms may be worth checking out."—Diane Pernet, A Shaded View on Fashion
"Present[s] a full picture of how a musical genius and fashion trendsetter sees and interacts with the world."—Christopher Pierznik, The Passion of Christopher Pierznik
