TThe summer anthem – the song you find yourself quietly singing at the oddest times (even loudly on the subway).  The song that immediately reminds you of who you were dating at the height of its popularity.  Musicians dream of putting out at least one anthem over the course of their careers.  Having several puts an artist on the path towards iconic status.

Generally, iconic artists define a generation.  When you think back to your adolescence and young adulthood, their music is the soundtrack.  Pick your genre or your decade but names that come to mind are The Beatles, Prince, Madonna, Jay-Z and Michael Jackson.  You need all of your fingers and toes to count their collective anthems.

In August 2013, nobody would contradict that this summer’s anthems are Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” and Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines”. The enigmatic Pharrell Williams played an integral part in each.  In fact, look back over time and Pharrell (or “For Real” as Jay-Z likes to call him) pops up summer after summer.  Most would be shocked to know that in 1992, at 19-years-old, Pharrell had his first taste of anthem status as part of the writing and production team for Wreckx-N-Effect’s “Rump Shaker”.  You know, the “All I wanna do is zooma, zoom zoom zoom and a poom-poom just shake ya rump” song. He has matured as a songwriter since then to say the least.

Pharrell, a/k/a Skateboard P, went on to form powerhouse production team The Neptunes with Chad Hugo.  Hugo definitely deserves a place on the Mt. Rushmore of “most important people in pop music history that nobody has ever heard of.”

Over the course of the past 20 years, Pharrell has been a consistent force in pop and hip-hop as a producer and guest vocalist/rapper.  He also fronts N.E.R.D., a slightly lesser known alternative band with some great tracks in its repertoire.  Not to mention, his work with Jay-Z is the stuff of legend. This clip from Jay-Z’s movie “Fade to Black” sums it up best:

Pharrell’s list of songs worthy of anthem status is long and diverse:

As Performer (and Producer/Writer for several)
“Get Lucky” with Daft Punk
“Blurred Lines” with Robin Thicke and T.I.
“One (Your Name)” with Swedish House Mafia
“Frontin” with Jay-Z
“Beautiful” with Snoop Dogg & Charlie Wilson
“Drop It Like It’s Hot” with Snoop Dogg
“Money Maker” with Ludacris
“Pass the Courvousier II” with Busta Rhymes and P. Diddy
“I Just Wanna Love You” with Jay-Z
“Southern Hospitality” with Ludacris
“Shake That Ass” with Mystikal

As Writer/Producer only (some as part of The Neptunes)
“Rump Shaker” by Wreckx’n Effect
“Hot in Herre” by Nelly
“Rock Your Body” by Justin Timberlake
“Hollaback Girl” by Gwen Stefani
“U Don’t Have to Call” by Usher
“I’m a Slave 4 U” by Britney Spears

That’s 17! With all of this success, Pharrell should be more of a star but he has made decisions based on the passion of his craft as opposed to maximizing his popularity.  While at the apex of his popularity, he chose to spend more time on his alternative band N.E.R.D. than putting out pop oriented albums.  He launched successful clothing line Billionaire Boys Club instead of grinding in the studio.

Pharrell could have easily had the career arc of a Kanye West or Will.I.Am but instead he blesses his fans with a track or two each year (at most), always popping up in the oddest places.  One summer it’s the Jay-Z album, the next summer it’s Swedish House Mafia and the one after that, it’s Daft Punk.

This is the most endearing aspect of Pharrell – his musical journey has been on his own terms and not driven by a record label, vanity, fan expectations or money (although he sure has plenty of dough).  He has three Grammys but there is no question he could have a lot of more if he wanted.  It is a sign of his influence and place in the music world that Daft Punk picked Pharrell to do the vocals on their triumphant return to the music scene.

While Pharrell Williams has been in and out of the spotlight over the years, the irony is that his sound and voice in many ways defines this generation.  Right now his vocals can be heard in Ibiza, Harlem and Main Street USA.  Who else can say that?

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What is an ode to Pharrell without a playlist celebrating his career?  You will need Spotify to listen so go download it here.

Here are the tracks:

Daft Punk Feat. Pharrell Williams – “Get Lucky“
Jay-Z – “I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)”
Snoop Dogg Feat. Pharrell, Charlie Wilson – Beautiful
Pharrell – Can I Have It Like That
Slim Thug – I Ain’t Heard Of That
Jay-Z – F**k All Nite
N.E.R.D. – She Wants To Move
Clipse – Mr. Me Too
Robin Thicke Feat. Pharrell, T.I. – Blurred Lines
Gwen Stefani – Hollaback Girl
Swedish House Mafia Feat. Pharrell – One (Your Name)
Wreckx-N-Effect – Rump Shaker
Busta Rhymes Feat. P. Diddy, Pharrell Williams – Pass The Courvoisier Part II – Remix Album Version
Justin Timberlake – Rock Your Body
Britney Spears – I’m A Slave 4 U
Jay-Z – Change Clothes
Nelly – Hot In Herre
Clipse – Grindin’ – Main
Jay-Z & Kanye West – Gotta Have It
Snoop Dogg – Drop It Like It’s Hot
Lupe Fiasco – I Gotcha
2 Chainz Feat. Pharrell Williams – Feds Watching
Mystikal – Shake Ya Ass
Clipse – When The Last Time
Jay-Z Feat. Pharrell Williams – So Ambitious
Ludacris – Money Maker
Pharrell Feat. Jay-Z – Frontin’
Daft Punk Feat. Pharrell Williams – Lose Yourself to Dance
Pharrell Williams – Despicable Me
N.E.R.D. – Lil’ Suzy feat. Kelis
Jay-Z – Excuse Me Miss
Snoop Dogg – Let’s Get Blown
Britney Spears – Boys – Co-Ed Remix
Pharrell – Number One
Jay-Z – Allure
Ludacris Feat. Pharrell Williams – Southern Hospitality
Clipse Feat. Slim Thug – Wamp Wamp (What It Do)
CRS Feat. Lupe Fiasco, Kanye West & Pharrell Williams – Us Placers
Jay-Z – Blue Magic
N.E.R.D. Feat. Lee Harvey & Vita – Lapdance
Mariah Carey – Say Somethin’
Usher – U Don’t Have To Call
Curren$y – Chasin’ Papers – feat. Pharrell
Snoop Dogg Feat. Justin Timberlake, Charlie Wilson – Signs
TLC – In Your Arms Tonight
Shakira Feat. Kid Cudi – Did It Again

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