Virginia Beach, Virginia producer, singer/songwriter, rapper, fashion designer, film composer, entrepreneur, Billionaire Boys Club/Icecream founder & Louis Vuitton’s creative director for men’s fashion Pharrell. Cementing his legacy as 1/2 of the greatest production duo of all-time The Neptunes alongside Chad Hugo, they would eventually form the side project N*E*R*D with their debut album In Search Of… going on to become a classic inspiring Tyler, The Creator amongst others. Even his 2006 solo debut In My Mind would become one of the most underrated albums ever made, even though he’s discredited it himself as “being written out of ego”. G I R L during my junior year of high school received mixed reception although I personally still enjoy the pop soul/contemporary R&B vibe of it pay tribute to all the women in his life (Case in point: “Lost Queen / Freq”). But to celebrate his 51st birthday in the midst of an ongoing lawsuit with Chad over the Neptunes trademark, Skateboard P is releasing Black Yacht Rock: City of Limitless Access on an exclusive website possibly in response to James Blake’s recent comments in regards to streaming.
“Richard Millie” is a guitar-driven opener singing about having it all behind him & not making him wait whereas the summery “Dandy Lying” discusses a woman who keeps the night alive. “Come On Donna” warmly sings about how the other type of dude just be the same leading into “Just for Fun” dabbling with funk-rock melodically makes it clear that the work must be done or the rest of this talk is simply for the fun of it. Meanwhile, “Caged Bird Free” brings a tropical atmosphere to the table welcoming you to a silver lining just before the mellow “Ball” sings about hittin’ it off with this romantic interest from the very second that they so happened to meet each other. “11:11” psychedelically admits to hating surprise since he never enjoyed surprise birthdays, but then “Who Needs Rest?” continues the slick pop rock influenced by smoother R&B styles singing about a woman who needs the night. The penultimate track “Cheryl” warmly asks not to break his spirit prior to “Going Back to VA” ending the album by catchily returning to his home state.
Anyone who truly knows me well can tell you how much I’ve always looked up to Pharrell since he’s one of the very few people out there that I can consider an idol because he really is a musical & fashionable visionary in my eyes. It’s also noteworthy that I actually get a handful of people telling me that they love how I acknowledge Chad as much as I do with P & to be quite honest, that’s because I consider him to be just as musically talented as Pharrell. The whole Neptunes trademark lawsuit as someone who has them as his top 5 producers of all-time is a real shitty situation, with Pusha T rightfully pointing out that there isn’t a dollar involved in the stupidity & that it’s really a lawyer looking to drain Chad’s pockets. Now is Black Yacht Rock: City of Limitless Access a way to distract everyone from the lawsuit? Maybe not since the recording for it began almost 3 weeks ago & the suit was filed at the beginning of the week. As far as the quality though: It’s definitely one of the best albums outside of hip hop. P’s production is inspired by psychedelic pop, contemporary R&B, the west coast sound of yacht rock, neo-soul & neo-psychedelia, he has more than enough vocal chops & the songwriting abilities to pull off performances that you’ll find winding up stuck in your head.
Score: 4.5/5
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