Pharrell Williams reflects on expressing 'freely'

Pharrell Williams is known for his many creative endeavours. Whether in film, fashion, or music, he has worked in all these categories.

Recently, he made All Day I Dream About Sport (ADIDAS) as this film serves as a “visual love letter to West African culture steeped in the everyday experience of life in Senegal.”

The Happy hitmaker appeared at the High Museum of Arts, where he shed light on his career and how the intersection of fashion and music gave him a way to express his thoughts while promoting his film.

“I don’t know what I would be without the different platforms I’ve been able to operate in artistically because they’re all means of expression. They’re all different centers of opportunity for you to express yourself,” he said. 

“Whether it’s music or fashion or content, and it continues to go on and on, but the idea that we get to express ourselves is amazing.”

He continued, “But then the concept that you can, like, put the machinery behind your ideas and your desires and your ways of expressing yourself and generate a living is the greatest gift ever."

"You know, when kids ask me for advice, it’s usually the first thing I’m trying to tell them, like, man, I know your parents are telling you one thing."

"But it would be nice if you could try to find the vocation connected to something that you love so much that you would do it for free because if so, you’d never work a day in your life," the 51-year-old added.

"And if that’s a vocation that could service other people, well, then you have the universal job that pays you for just waking up every day and doing what you love to do," Pharrell concluded.