INDEPENDENT RESEARCH ENTRY

The person I chose to write about for my independent research blog is Pharrell Williams. Pharrell Williams is a rapper, singer, composer, record producer, songwriter and a fashion designer. When he is paired with his partner Chad Hugo they are known as the production team The Neptunes. Pharrell and Chad are also members of the band N.E.R.D. with their good friend Shay Haley.

  Pharrell has been a very influential person in the music industry since he got started back in 1992. Since then Pharrell has worked in various genres of music. Whether he is singing with Gloria Estefan and Snoop Dogg, producing tracks for Justin Timberlake and Shakira or rapping with the Clipse and Young Jeezy. Pharrell has not only had an impact on the music industry from a musical standpoint; he has also had an impact on pop culture with his successful clothing line Billionaire Boys Club and by gracing the covers of GQ and Esquire magazines.

 There are some things about Pharrell that have allowed him to stay relevant in the music industry for 20 years. His production style is heavy percussion and synth laid. He uses unusual sounds that give his music a "spacey" feel. As a part of The Neptunes he has won 3 Grammys and 2 Billboard awards. The Neptunes were also named the top producers of the decade by Billboard magazine. Pharrell as a solo artist also scored the movies Despicable Me and Madagascar 3. He also expanded his name by branching out of music and involving himself in various business ventures such as designing jewelry under Louis Vuitton and becoming the Creative Director for KarmaloopTV. 

  Pharrell Williams is truly an iconic musical figure in this era. He has had the luxury of working with some of the top mainstream artist in various genres. Pharrell's production is one of the main reasons that I became a producer. Having a similar musical background; I studied his music and process for producing beats. I could not wait till new songs would come out that he did the production on because I knew there would be something I could learn to use in my own tracks. Then being given the opportunity to compose for major films is awesome. I would also like to compose for films one day even if it would be something small. There are many hip hop producers that crossover into other genres but only a few have had the commercial success that Pharrell has had over an extended period of time. For that reason Pharrell Williams is truly a special individual. In 5 years I see myself as a success engineer in Europe. My goal is to be considered as mixing and mastering engineer that helped bring a lot of projects to life for artists. Whether working solo on a project or with a team of engineers I want every artist that crosses my path to leave with some small kernel of knowledge that will help become for successful in their future.