Is MJ just interviewed Pharrell ???
Michael Jackson: Hello?
Pharell Williams: Hello! How are you, man?
MJ: You must forgive me, but Gregory Peck, who died yesterday, was a very dear
friend of mine, and I've been helping his wife prepare the memorial and all those
things. So please forgive me for being late with this call.
PW: No, listen, man, I can't believe I'm on the phone with you.
MJ: Oh, God bless you.
PW: Thank you, sir. You too.
MJ: Thank you. So, I'm interviewing you, right? And I think it's seven questions, or
something like that?
PW: Sure. Whatever you like.
MJ: Okay. What would you say inspires you in your music? What is it that inspires
you to create your music?
PW: It's a feeling. You treat the air as a canvas and the paint is the chords that come
through your fingers, out of the keyboard. So when I'm playing, I'm sort of painting a
feeling in the air. I know that might sound corny, but
MJ: -No. No, that's a perfect analogy.
PW: And when you know it's done, you know it's done. It's like painting or sculpting.
When you let it go it's because you know that it's finished. It's completed. And vice
versa-it tells you, "Hey, I'm not done."
MJ: Yeah. And it refuses to let you sleep until it's finished.
PW: That's right.
MJ: Yeah, I go through the same thing. [laughs] And what do you think of the music
today-are you into the new sounds that are being created and the direction that music
is going?
PW: Well, personally, I kind of feel like I'm taking notes from people like yourself
and Stevie [Wonder] and Donny [Hathaway], and just sort of doing what feels right.
MJ: Right.
PW: You know, like when everyone was going one way, you went Off the Wall
[1979].
MJ: Right, [laughs]
PW: And when everyone else was going another way, you went Thriller [1982]. You
just did it your way. And I'm taking notes from people like yourself, like not being
afraid to listen to your feelings and turn your aspirations and ambitions into material.
Making it happen, making it materialize.
MJ: That's beautiful. That's lovely. You said that very well. I wanted to ask you-do
you feel, the way I do, that it's almost like a pregnancy, giving birth? Writing a song
is like having a child, and once the song is finished, it's like letting the child into the
world. Do you ever feel like that, like it's hard to let go?
PW: You know what? I did an interview the other day to present a video, and I was
afraid to let it go. That was for a video, but the video to me is like the second part of
the song because it is the interpretation given in a visual perspective. So, yes, I
completely feel that way. And it's like sometimes if you play something to people and
they don't get it, it's kind of like your child who's done something and everyone is
pointing fingers and you're like, "Wait! This is my kid!" Now, I'm not a father, but I
imagine that's the way it would be-at least that's how I feel about my songs.
MJ: Right. Now the different forms of music-popular-culture music-that the black
race has been responsible for bringing in, ushering in, from jazz to pop to rock 'n' roll
to hiphop, you name it, what do you think that is all about? Is it given from God?
PW: I think all music is a gift from God. And-[a fan interrupts] Michael, can you hold
on for one second? [Williams talks to fan for a few seconds, then resumes talking to
Jackson] Sorry.
MJ: [laughs] Blues, rock 'n' roll, all the different forms of popular-cultural music-like
rock 'n' roll was invented by Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Fats Domino.
PW: Absolutely.
MJ: Even the dances from the cakewalk to the Charleston, the popping, the breaking,
the locking. Don't you think they're a gift from God?
PW: Absolutely. God gave us that gift when he gave us the gift of interpretation. I
mean, when you write your lyrics, you're writing to someone, or to the world. When
you're playing, you're playing something for the world to hear. When you're dancing,
you're dancing for people to see. It's just a form of expression. And then there are
times when you might be a little more introverted about it, when you're dancing,
writing, or playing for yourself, and you have no idea how amazing what you're doing
looks, sounds, or feels, until somebody else tells you, or until you record it and go
back and look at it.
MJ: That's right. Who are some of the older artists-not the artists on the radio todaywho
inspired you when you were younger? Like the artists your father listened to, did
you learn anything from those artists?
PW: Absolutely. The Isley Brothers.
MJ: Yeah, me too. I love the Isley Brothers. And I love Sly and the Family Stone.
PW: Donny [Hathaway], Stevie [Wonder] . . .
MJ: You like all the people I like. [laughs]
PW: Those chord changes. They take you away.
MJ: Beautiful, beautiful. Okay, well, where are you? In New York?
PW: I'm in Virginia Beach, Virginia, sir.
MJ: Virginia! Oh, beautiful. Will you give my love to Virginia?
PW: Yes. Thank you.
MJ: And your mother and your parents? Because God has blessed you with special
gifts.
PW: Thank you, sir. And I just want to say something, and I don't know if you want
to hear this, but I just have to say it because it's on my heart. But people bother you
MJ: -Yeah.
PW: -Because they love you. That's the only reason why. When you do something
that people don't necessarily understand, they're going to make it into a bigger
problem than they would for anybody else because you're one of the most amazing
talents that's ever lived. You've accomplished and achieved more in this century than
most any other men.
MJ: Well, thank you very much. That's very kind of you.
PW: What you do is so amazing. When you are 100 years old, and they're still
making up things about what you've done to this and what you've done to that on your
body-please believe me, if you decided you wanted to dip your whole body in
chrome, you are so amazing that the world, no matter what they say, is going to be
right there to see it. And that is because of what you have achieved in the music
world, and in changing people's lives. People are having children to your songs.
You've affected the world.
MJ: Thank you very much. It's like the bigger the star, the bigger the target. You
know when you're-and I'm not being a braggadocio or anything like that-but you
know you're on top when they start throwing arrows at you. Even Jesus was crucified.
People who bring light to the world, from Mahatma Gandhi to Martin Luther King to
Jesus Christ, even myself. And my motto has been Heal the World, We are the World,
Earth Song, Save Our Children, Help Our Planet. And people want to persecute me
for it, but it never hurts, because the fan base becomes stronger. And the more you hit
something hard, the more hardened it becomes-the stronger it becomes. And that's
what's happened: I'm resilient. I have rhinoceros skin. Nothing can hurt me. Nothing.
PW: Well, that's precisely my point. I just want to let you know you're amazing, man.
What you do to music, what you've done to music, from "Billie Jean" to "That's What
You Get (For Being Polite)"-[sings "That's what you get for being polite" ].
MJ: Oh, you know that one? [laughs]
PW: [sings "Jack still sits all alone"]
MJ: Boy, you know all those ones.
PW: When you do that, you do that to the world, [resumes singing "Jack still sits all
alone"]
MJ: [hums a guitar riff]
PW: If I never work with you, just know that you are unstoppable. That's why I said,
when you're 100 years old and you decide to dip your entire body in chrome, as much
as they say things-and I don't care what they say about you, sir-they're going to be
right there to see it.
MJ: There's a lot of jealousy there. I love all races, I love all people, but sometimes
there's a devil in people, and they get jealous. Every time there's a luminary that goes
beyond the heights of his field of endeavor, people tend to get jealous and try to bring
him down. But they can't with me because I'm very, very, very strong, [laughs] They
don't know that, though.
PW: They know! Please believe me, they know!
MJ: Anybody else would've cracked by now; they can't crack me. I'm very strong.
PW: Of course. They couldn't crack you when you were 10, because you were
destroying grown men doing what you did with your voice and your talent. And when
you were 20, you were outdoing people that had been doing it for 20 or 30 years. And
nowadays they're still waiting to see where you're at. They want to see your kids, they
want to see your world. You're amazing, and I just wanted to tell you that, man. And I
hope that this all gets printed because it's very important to me. I hope that I can be
half as dope as you one day.
MJ: Oh, God bless you. You're wonderful, too. Thank you so much.
PW: Thank you, man.
MJ: Have a lovely day.
PW: You too, sir.
MJ: Thank you. Bye.
PW: Bye.
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