Pharrell-isms

An essential, inspiring collection of quotations about creativity, social justice, and more from musician, producer, artist, and designer Pharrell Williams

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).