2014 was a helluva year for Pharrell. However, Skateboard P probably isn't listing his executive producing T.I.'s album Paperwork among his annual achievements.
In fact, during an interview with GQ, Pharrell sounded downright disappointed in Tip's ninth studio effort.
"I wasn't happy about the T.I. situation," Pharrell is saying, presumably talking about the T.I. record Paperwork, which he produced. "They did that record hoping for radio play, and they got nothing out of it.... Great, you got your No. 1 hip-hop song. But what does that do for your sales?"In October, Paperwork debuted number 2 on the album chart. But it hasn't sold 200,000 units domestically yet, and it seems certain to snap T.I.'s streak of seven straight gold records (500,000 sold.)
"You want to be camouflage?" he says about the T.I. record. "Go ahead. Blend in. But we want to be that twinkle in the sky." It's a metaphor he likes, and it could serve as a philosophy: Being mass and being special are not mutually exclusive. "We want to be that twinkle in the sky. And you might not be able to see that star now. But it's daytime. Wait till it gets dark."Oh well. They'll always have 'Blurred Lines.'