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A reflexive pronoun is a pronoun that is preceded by the noun, adjective, adverb or pronoun to which it refers (its antecedent) within the same clause. In generative grammar, a reflexive pronoun is an anaphor that must be bound by its antecedent (see binding). In some languages, there is a difference between reflexive and non-reflexive pronouns; but the exact conditions that determine whether or not something be bound are not yet well defined and depend on the language in question. It depends on the part of the sentence containing the pronoun.

In English, the function of a reflexive pronoun is among the meanings of the words myself, yourself, thyself (archaic), himself (in some dialects, "hisself"), herself, itself, oneself, ourselves, ourself (as majestic plural), yourselves, and themselves (in some dialects, "theirselves"). In the statements "I see him" and "She sees you", the objects are not the same persons as the subjects, and regular pronouns are used. However, when the person being seen is the same as the person who is seeing, the reflexive pronoun is used: "I see myself" or "She sees herself".

Origins and usage[link]

In Indo-European languages, the reflexive pronoun has its origins in Proto-Indo-European. In some languages, the distinction between the normal object and reflexive pronouns exists mainly in the third person: whether one says "I like me" or "I like myself", there is no question that the object is the same person as the subject; but, in "They like them(selves)", there can be uncertainty about the identity of the object unless a distinction exists between the reflexive and the nonreflexive. In some languages, this distinction includes genitive forms: see, for instance, the Danish examples below. In languages with a distinct reflexive pronoun form, it is often gender-neutral.

A reflexive pronoun is a special kind of pronoun that is usually used when the object of a sentence is the same as the subject. Each personal pronoun (such as I, you, and she) has its own reflexive form:

• I-myself
• you (singular)-yourself
• he-himself
• she-herself
• it-itself
• we-ourselves
• you (plural)-yourselves
• they-themselves

Reflexive pronouns are primarily used in three situations: when the subject and object are the same (e.g., "He watched himself on TV."), as the object of a preposition when the subject and the object are the same (e.g., "That man is talking to himself."), and to emphasize the subject through an intensive pronoun (e.g., "They ate all the food themselves.")

Non-reflexive usage in English[link]

It is increasingly common to use reflexive pronouns without local linguistic antecedents to refer to discourse participants or people already referenced in a discourse: for example, "Please, forward the information to myself." Such formulations are usually considered non-standard. Within the linguistics literature, reflexives with discourse antecedents are often referred to as logophors. Standard English does allow the use of logophors in some contexts: for example, "John was angry. Embarrassing pictures of himself were on display." However, within Standard English, this logophoric use of reflexives is generally limited to positions where the reflexive does not have a coargument.^[1] The newer non-standard usage does not respect this limitation. In some cases, reflexives without local antecedents may be better analyzed as emphatic pronouns without any true reflexive sense.

It is common in some subsets of the English-speaking population to use standard object pronouns to express reflexive relations, especially in the first and sometimes second persons, and especially for a recipient: for example, "I want to get me some supper." This usage is non-standard.

Reflexive pronouns in languages other than English[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

This article may contain excessive, poor or irrelevant examples. You can improve the article by adding more descriptive text and removing less pertinent examples. See Wikipedia's guide to writing better articles for further suggestions. (May 2012)

Chinese[link]

In Mandarin Chinese, the reflexive pronoun is zìjǐ (自己), meaning 'self'.^[2] The antecedent to which it refers can be inferred by context, which is generally the subject of the sentence:

• Wǒ bǎohù zìjǐ. (我保护自己。) (I protect myself.)
• Tā bǎohù zìjǐ. (他保护自己。) (He protects himself.)
• Wǒ gěi tā zìjǐ de shū. (我给他自己的书。) (I gave him my own book.)
• Tā gěi wǒ zìjǐ de shū. (他给我自己的书。) (He gave me his own book.)

The antecedent can be reiterated before the reflexive pronoun; this can be used to refer to an antecedent that's not the subject:

• Wǒ gěi tā wǒ zìjǐ de shū. (我给他我自己的书。) (I gave him my own book.)
• Wǒ gěi tā tā zìjǐ de shū. (我给他他自己的书。) (I gave him his own book.)

Like English, the reflexive can also be used to emphasize the antecedent^[2]:

• Wáng xiānshēng zìjǐ zuò le. (王先生自己做了。) (Mr. Wang himself did it.)

The reflexive can also be the subject of an embedded clause, unlike English, which must use the non-reflexive form:

• Tā juédé zìjǐ hěn cōngmíng. (他觉得自己很聪明。) (He feels that he is very clever.)

Also unlike English, the reflexive can refer to antecedents outside of the embedded clause. Because of this, it may be ambiguous whether the antecedent refers to the subject of the main clause or the embedded clause, in which case it may be necessary to reiterate the antecedent:

• Wǒ juédé Wáng xiānshēng bù xǐhuān zìjǐ. (我觉得王先生不喜欢自己。) (I feel that Mr. Wang doesn't like me/himself.)
• Wǒ juédé Wáng xiānshēng bù xǐhuān wǒ zìjǐ. (我觉得王先生不喜欢我自己。) (I feel that Mr. Wang doesn't like me.)
• Wǒ juédé Wáng xiānshēng bù xǐhuān tā zìjǐ. (我觉得王先生不喜欢他自己。) (I feel that Mr. Wang doesn't like himself.)

The reflexive pronoun in Cantonese Chinese, jihgéi, cognate to Mandarin zìjǐ (and thus also written as 自己), also follows the same rules.^[3] This was also the case in Classical Chinese, which simply used 己^[4] (Old Chinese: *kəʔ^[5]).

Danish[link]

• Jeg beskytter ham. (I protect him.)
• Han beskytter ham. (He protects him. Him designates a person other than the one designated by He.)
• Han beskytter sig (selv). (He protects himself.)

In Danish, there is also a difference between normal and reflexive genitives:

• Anna gav Maria hendes bog. (Anna gave her [Maria's] book to Maria.)
• Anna gav Maria sin bog. (Anna gave her [Anna's] book to Maria.)

In the latter case, "sin" is a case of a reflexive possessive pronoun, i.e. it reflects that the subject in the phrase (Anna) owns the object (the book).

Esperanto[link]

The Esperanto reflexive pronoun is si, or sia for the possessive (to which can be added -j for plural agreement and -n for direct object).

• Li legas liajn librojn. (He reads his (someone else's) books.)
• Li legas siajn librojn. (He reads his (own) books.)
• Ŝi legas siajn librojn. (She reads her (own) books.)
• Ili legas siajn librojn. (They read their (own) books.)
• Li amas lin. (He loves him (someone else).)
• Li amas sin. (He loves himself.)
• Li rimarkis ŝian amon al si. (He noticed her love for herself (reflexive).)
• Li rimarkis ŝian amon al li. (He noticed her love for him (using a normal pronoun).)
• Li rimarkis sian amon al si. (He noticed his (own, reflexive) love for himself (reflexive).)
• Li rimarkis sian amon al li. (He noticed his (own, reflexive) love for him (someone else, not reflexive).)
• Li diras, ke la hundo lavas sian vizaĝon. (He says that the dog is washing its (the dog's) face.)
• Li diras, ke la hundo lavas lian vizaĝon. (He says that the dog is washing his (the speaker's or someone else's, but not the dog's) face.)

French[link]

In French, the main reflexive pronoun is 'se', with its indefinite form soi.

There are also intensifying reflexive pronouns, such as moi-même, toi-même, lui-même/elle-même/soi-même, nous-mêmes, vous-mêmes and eux-mêmes/elles-mêmes, exactly similar in meaning (but not in use) to myself, yourself….

Hungarian[link]

• Beszélek magamról. (I talk about myself.)
• Beszélsz magadról. (You talk about yourself.)
• Beszél magáról. (He talks about himself. But also: She talks about herself. It talks about itself. And formal version of you: You talk about yourself.)
• Beszélünk magunkról. (We talk about ourselves.)
• Beszéltek magatokról. (You talk about yourselves.)
• Beszélnek magukról. (They talk about themselves.)

Icelandic[link]

There is only one reflexive pronoun in Icelandic and that is the word sig. It does not differ between genders nor number.

The reflexive pronouns are as such:

• Reflexive pronoun: sig (himself/itself/herself/themselves)
• reflexive possessive pronoun: sinn (his/her/its/their)

Examples[link]

The reflexive pronoun refers to the third person:

• Hann talar um sig. (masc. sing.) (He talks about himself)
• Þeir tala um sig. (masc. plur.) (They talk about themselves)
• Stúlkan flýtti sér heim. (fem. sing.) (the girl hurried [herself] home)
• Þær flýttu sér heim. (neut. plur.) (they [the girls] hurried [themselves] home)
• Barnið naut sín. (neut. sing.) (the child enjoyed itself)
• Börnin nutu sín. (neut. plur.) (the children enjoyed themselves)

Italian[link]

The reflexive pronouns in Italian are:

• mi (first person singular)
• ti (second person singular)
• si (third person singular)
• ci (first person plural)
• vi (second person plural)
• si (third person plural)

Reflexive pronouns are usually employed when the direct object in a sentence is also its subject, thus reflecting the action as expressed in the verb on the subject itself.

This pronoun allows the building of three kinds of reflexive verbal forms: proper, non-proper (or ostensible), and reciprocal.

• Io mi lavo, or io lavo me (I wash myself): reflexive proper, because the subjec is at the same time the object of the sentence.
• Lui si lava i capelli (He washes his hair): reflexive non-proper, as he don't wash himself but his hair, the real object of the action.
• Noi due ci sposiamo oggi (the two of us get [are getting] married [to each other] today): reflexive reciprocal, since the action is performed by the two subjects reciprocally.

Notice that the sencence I wash myself could also be translated in Italian as io lavo me stesso, that stresses the reflexiveness way more than the English.

The complete list of intensifying reflexive pronouns is:

• me stesso (first person masculine singular)
• me stessa (first person feminine singular)

• te stesso (second person masculine singular)
• te stessa (second person feminine singular)

• se stesso (third person masculine singular)
• se stessa (third person feminine singular)

• noi stessi (first person masculine plural)
• noi stesse (first person feminine plural)

• voi stessi (second person masculine plural)
• voi stesse (second person feminine plural)

• loro stessi (third person masculine plural)
• loro stesse (third person feminine plural)

Japanese[link]

In the Japanese language, jibun 自分 and jibunjishin 自分自身 are reflexive pronouns that correspond roughly to 'herself' and 'himself'. They differ from English in some ways; for example, jibun and jibunjishin do not have to agree in gender or number where English reflexives do. Jibun can further be bound locally or long distance where English reflexives must always occur locally. Although both English and Japanese pronouns must be c-commanded by their antecedents, because of the syntactic structure of Japanese, long distance binding is allowed.

Korean[link]

In Korean, jagi 자기(自己) and jasin 자신(自身) are used as reflexive pronouns that refer to 'myself', 'himself', 'herself', and 'ourselves'. Jagijasin 자기자신(自己自身) is also a reflexive pronun but it usually corresponds only to the first person (myself).

Latin[link]

In the 1st and 2nd person, Latin uses the ordinary oblique forms of the personal pronouns as reflexive pronouns. In the 3rd person, Latin uses the special reflexive pronoun se, which is the same for all genders and numbers, and declined in all cases except the nominative and the vocative.

Example[link]

• per se

Macedonian[link]

An alternative full form, себеси, is used for emphasis.

• Ана ѝ ја даде нејзината книга на Марија. (Ana gave her [Maria's] book to Maria.)
• Ана ѝ ја даде својата книга на Марија. (Ana gave her [Ana's] book to Maria.)

Novial[link]

(Novial is a constructed language, mostly based on Romance languages.)

• Lo vida lo. (He sees him.)
• Lo vida se. (He sees himself.)
• Anna donad lan libre a Maria. (Anna gave her [Maria's] book to Maria.)
• Anna donad sen libre a Maria. (Anna gave her [Anna's] book to Maria.)

Portuguese[link]

• Quando ele o vir. (When he sees him.)
• Quando ele se vir. (When he sees himself.)

There are two ways to make a reflexive sentence in Portuguese. The first way is adding the reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos - also vos). The second form is used to stress the reflexive action, especially when using the words "mesmo(s)" or "próprio(s)", masculine (plural), "mesma(s)" or "própria(s)", feminine (plural), which mean "self":

• Eu me machuquei. (I hurt myself.)
• Eu machuquei a mim [mesmo/mesma/próprio/própria]. (I hurt myself.)
• Tu sempre te machucas . (You always hurt yourself.)
• Tu sempre machucas a ti [mesmo/mesma/próprio/própria]. (You always hurt yourself)
• Ele se machucou ontem. (He hurt himself yesterday.)
• Ela se machucou ontem. (She hurt herself yesterday.)
• Ele machucou a si [mesmo/próprio]. (He hurt himself.)
• Ela machucou a si [mesma/própria]. (She hurt herself.)
• Nós nos machucamos. (We hurt ourselves.)
• Nós machucamos a nós [mesmos/mesmas/próprios/próprias]. (We hurt ourselves)
• Eles 'se machucam todos os dias. (They [masc] hurt themselves everyday.)
• Elas machucam a si [mesmas/próprias] todos os dias. (They [fem] hurt themselves everyday.)
• Vós nunca vos machucais [unsual, almost nonexistent] (You never hurt yourselves.)
• Vocês nunca se machucam. (You never hurt yourselves.)

Russian[link]

The pronoun sebya universally means "oneself"/"myself"/"himself", etc. It is inflected depending on the case.

When used to indicate that the person is the direct object of the verb, one uses the accusative form, sebya. (It does not have a nominative form.)

• Он поранил себя. On poranil sebya. ("He has wounded himself.")

Emphasized forms are "sam sebya" - masculine, "sama sebya" - feminine, "sami sebya" - plural.

• Он поранил сам себя. On poranil sam sebya. ("He has wounded himself." Literally: "He himself has wounded himself.")

In addition, the reflective pronoun sebya gave rise the reflective affix -sya (-ся) used to generate reflexive verbs:

• Он поранился (He has wounded himself.)

There are certain stylistic differences between the three usages, despite being rendered in the same way in English.

When the person is not a direct object of the verb, other cases are used:

• Он принес с собой бутылку водки. On prines s soboi butylku vodki (He brought a bottle of vodka with himself.) - instrumental case
• Он уронил сумку себе на ногу. On uronil sumku sebe na nogu (He dropped a bag on his (own) foot. Literally: he dropped a bag to himself on the foot.) - dative case

Compare:

• Он уронил сумку ему на ногу. On uronil sumku emu na nogu (He dropped a bag on his (someone else's) foot.)

Russian has a reflexive possessive as well.

• Он любит свою жену. On lyubit svoyu zhenu. (He loves his wife (his own). - Reflective possessive)
• Он любит его жену. On lyubit yego zhenu (He loves his wife (someone else's). - It is ambiguous in English, but less so in Russian.)

Because of the existence of reflexive forms, the use of a non-reflexive pronoun indicates a subject that is different from the object. If it is impossible, the sentence is invalid or at least irregular:

• Он поранил его. On poranil ego. ("He has wounded him (someone else).")
• Ты видишь себя в зеркале. Ty vidish sebya v zerkale ("You see yourself in the mirror") - proper
• Tы видишь тебя в зеркале. Ty vidish tebya v zerkale ("You see you in the mirror") - invalid
• Ты любишь свою жену? Ty lyubish svoyu zhenu? ("Do you love your (own) wife?") - proper
• Ты любишь твою жену? Ty lyubish tvoyu zhenu? ("Do you love your wife?") - irregular

Serbian[link]

• Ana je dala Mariji njenu knjigu. (Ana gave her [Maria's] book to Maria.)
• Ana je dala Mariji svoju knjigu. (Ana gave her [Ana's] book to Maria.)

Spanish[link]

In Spanish, the reflexive pronouns are: me/nos (first person singular/plural), te/os (second person) or se (third person). In Latin America, "os" is not used, being replaced by "se" for the pronoun "ustedes". For clarity, there are optional intensifying adjuncts for reflexive pronouns, accompanied by "mismo/a" (masculine and feminine forms for "self"). These are not strictly adjuncts: "si mismo/a" (instead of "se"), "ti mismo/a" (in the River Plate region, it is replaced by "vos mismo/a"), but "mi mismo" — that is, they usually postpend the genitive.

Examples with "wash oneself":

• yo me lavo (I wash myself.)
• nosotros nos lavamos (We wash ourselves.)
• tú te lavas (You wash yourself.)
• vos te lavás (You wash yourself, Rioplatense Spanish)
• usted ("Ud.") se lava (You wash yourself. [Formal])
• ustedes ("Uds.") se lavan (You wash yourselves. [Formal, plural])
• vosotros os laváis (in Spain)
• él se lava (He washes himself.)
• ella se lava (She washes herself.)
• ellos se lavan (They wash themselves. [Masculine])
• ellas se lavan (They wash themselves. [Feminine])

Note that the indirect object "le"/"les" do not override "se" in the reflexive.

Slovene[link]

• Ana je dala Mariji njeno knjigo. (Ana gave her [Maria's] book to Maria.)
• Ana je dala Mariji svojo knjigo. (Ana gave her [Ana's] book to Maria.)

See also[link]

Look up reflexive pronoun in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Reciprocal (grammar)
• Reciprocal pronoun
• Reflexive verb
• Logophoricity

References[link]

Pharrell Williams
Pharrell Williams performing with N.E.R.D in Pori Jazz 2010.
Background information
Also known as	Skateboard P, Pharrell, Sk8brd (mononym), Auto Goon
Born	(1973-04-05) April 5, 1973 (age 39)
Origin	Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States
Genres	Various
Occupations	Producer, musician, songwriter, singer, rapper, fashion designer
Instruments	Piano, keyboards, guitar, drums
Years active	1992–present
Labels	Star Trak, Interscope, i am Other
Associated acts	N.E.R.D, Chad Hugo, Clipse, Kelis, Snoop Dogg, Justin Timberlake, T.I, Lupe Fiasco, N.O.R.E., Child Rebel Soldier
Website	pharrellwilliams.com
Notable instruments
Piano, keyboards, drums

Pharrell Williams (born April 5, 1973), commonly known simply as Pharrell, is an American rapper, singer, record producer, composer, and fashion designer. Williams and Chad Hugo make up the record production duo The Neptunes, producing hip hop and R&B music. He is also the lead vocalist and drummer of hip-hop band N.E.R.D, which he formed with Hugo and childhood friend Shay Haley. He released his first single "Frontin'" in 2003 and followed up with his first album In My Mind in 2006.^[1]

As part of The Neptunes, Williams has produced numerous hit singles for various musicians.^[2] The two have earned three Grammy Awards amongst ten nominations. He is also the co-founder of the clothing brands Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream Clothing. He is a member of the supergroup V.A. Playaz with Fam-Lay, Clipse, Skillz, Missy Elliott, and Timbaland & Magoo.

Early life[link]

Pharrell Williams was born on April 5, 1973, in Virginia Beach, Virginia,^[3][4] the eldest of three sons of Carolyn, a teacher, and Pharaoh Williams, a handyman.^[5] He met Chad Hugo in a seventh-grade summer band camp where Williams played the keyboards and drums and Hugo played tenor saxophone. They were also both members of a marching band; Williams played the snare drum while Chad was student conductor.^[6][7] With Hugo, Williams attended Princess Anne High School where they played in the school band; there he got the name Skateboard P.^[8]

In the 1990s, Hugo and Williams formed a four-piece "R&B type" group, The Neptunes, with friends Shay Haley and Mike Etheridge. They later entered a high school talent show where they were discovered by Teddy Riley, whose studio was next to Princess Anne High School.^[9] After graduating from high school, the group signed with Riley.^[10]

Career[link]

1992–1997: Career beginnings[link]

Through working with Maddison Harper, Williams went on to write a verse for Wreckx-N-Effect's 1992 hit "Rump Shaker".^[11] That same year, he also performed a small rap solo on SWV's second hit, "Right Here (UK Remix)". In 1994, Hugo and Williams had established themselves as a production duo under their old name "The Neptunes", and produced "Tonight's The Night" from Blackstreet's self-titled album. Over the next three years they continued to produce occasionally. Some of the results had little resemblance to the Neptunes sound of today. However, some like Mase's 1997 song "Lookin' at Me" from his album Harlem World, and the most definite beginning of the distinctive "Neptunes sound", came with N.E.R.D's "Superthug" in 1998, reaching number 36 on the Billboard Hot 100, and gaining them widespread attention for the first time. In 1999, a friend introduced Pharrell to Kelis, they really vibed so the beginning result was producing her first album Kaleidoscope.

1998–2004: The Neptunes[link]

At this point The Neptunes were gaining a wide fanbase and audience. In 2001, The Neptunes produced Britney Spears' single, "I'm a Slave 4 U" gaining their first worldwide number one.^[12] The same year, N.E.R.D, consisting of Williams, Hugo and Haley, released their first album, In Search of..., in Europe, where the first Kelis album was better received. The album sounded very much like their previous production work; the group decided that they should make their work as N.E.R.D sound different, and re-recorded the album with the rock band Spymob. Williams and Hugo met rap duo Clipse in Virginia Beach in 1993, where they were signed to Arista Records through Williams' Star Trak Entertainment imprint.^[13][14]

Then in 2002 their re-produced album was released worldwide, and The Neptunes reached number one in the U.S. with Nelly's single, "Hot in Herre". In August of the same year, The Neptunes were named "Producers of the Year" at both The Source Awards and the Billboard Music Awards. Clipse released their commercial debut album Lord Willin' in August 2002. The album started at number one on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and number four on the Billboard 200, fueled by its first two singles, "Grindin'" and "When the Last Time", which peaked at number 34 and number 19 respectively on the Billboard Hot 100.

The Neptunes released a self-credited album called The Neptunes Present... Clones in 2003, with songs and remixes from various artists. This topped the U.S. Billboard 200 Albums Chart. The Neptunes and Williams specifically were also kept in public eye largely due to ties with Jay-Z, producing several hit singles for him and two tracks on his The Black Album. The track "Frontin'" was a big hit (the 34th biggest of 2003 according to Billboard). A survey in August 2003 found the Neptunes produced almost 20 percent of songs played on British radio at the time, a survey in the US had them at 43 percent.^[6] The same year, The Neptunes remixed the Daft Punk song Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger for the duo's poorly-received remix album Daft Club. The track also had a brief rap section performed by Williams.^[15]

N.E.R.D's second funk rock-oriented album, Fly or Die, released in March 2004. Williams' rock credentials were further bolstered by his appearance at the 2004 Grammy Awards, performing The Beatles' "I Saw Her Standing There" on drums with Sting, Dave Matthews, and Vince Gill. Williams received two Grammy Awards that night, one for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical, and another for Best Pop Vocal Album for his work on Justin Timberlake's hit album Justified. They also gained their first UK number one, again with Nelly, and Flap Your Wings.

2005–2009: First album and collaborations[link]

Williams and Astronaut Leland Melvin present a montage to Quincy Jones

On September 9, 2005, Williams performed the opening single from his first solo album In My Mind, "Can I Have It Like That", featuring Gwen Stefani. The single did poorly in the US, reaching only number 48. It fared better in the UK, reaching number three. Between then and the July 25, 2006 release of "In My Mind", he released "Angel" (in Europe only), and later "Number One" with Kanye West. Several songs leaked to the internet before the album release, most notably "Mamacita" featuring Daddy Yankee, which was subsequently cut from the final version. "That Girl" featuring Snoop Dogg was the final single.

In 2006, Williams, with Chad Hugo, produced Clipse's second album Hell Hath No Fury. Most critics labeled the album Williams's best production in years, and put the duo back in the charts.^[16] A year later, Williams collaborated with Madonna, on the song "Hey You", which was available for download on the MSN website. 25 cents for each of the first one million downloads was donated to the Alliance for Climate Protection, in support of Live Earth.^[17] Later that year, Williams performed songs at the Concert for Diana on July 1, 2007. Then, on July 7, 2007, he performed at the Brazilian leg of Live Earth in Rio de Janeiro.

A second album, titled Out of My Mind, was recorded with his newly formed band "The Yessirs" featuring Questlove of The Roots. However, Williams' record label did not think that a companion album to the first would sell well.^[18] He also produced Beyoncé's version of "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend". He then wrote and produced "Why Should I Be Sad" on Britney Spears' fifth studio album, Blackout. He also produced two songs from The Hives album, The Black and White Album, titled "Well All Right!" and "T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S.".

In April 2008, Madonna released her eleventh album, Hard Candy, which featured vocals from Williams and production from The Neptunes on several tracks. In June, an article in NME revealed that Williams was very interested in producing The Strokes' fourth album.^[19] Later that year, Williams worked on a remix album for Maroon 5's Call & Response.^[20]

Williams continued working with a variety of artists, including Shakira on the songs 'Did It Again', 'Why Wait', 'Good Stuff' and 'Long Time' for her sixth studio album, She Wolf. ^[21] In September 2009, Williams was credited as a co-writer and producer of the song "Fresh Out the Oven" for Jennifer Lopez.^[22] It was released as a buzz single from Lopez's seventh studio album Love? The following month, Williams made a guest appearance on French indie/electronic rapper Uffie's first album, which arrived in early 2010.^[23] In late 2009, Williams worked with the rapper Game on his fourth studio album, The R.E.D. Album.

2010–present[link]

In July 2010, Williams composed one of the soundtracks^{[dubious – discuss]} in the movie Despicable Me at the Hollywood Studio Symphony.^{[citation needed]} In October 2010, Williams and his group N.E.R.D supported Gorillaz on their Escape to Plastic Beach World Tour. On the tour, Damon Albarn recorded a song on his iPad with Williams but this was not featured on Gorillaz's album, The Fall, but it may appear on a future album.^[15] In late 2011, Williams worked on three tracks for Mike Posner's second album Sky High.^[24] In 2011, Williams collaborated with singer/composer Adam Lambert, co-writing two tracks for Lambert's album "Trespassing", which was released in May of 2012, including the title track and "Kickin' In".

In 2012, It was announced on Lupe Fiasco's website that he and Lupe will work on a collaborative album and work on Waka Flocka Flame's album Triple F Life: Friends, Fans and Family.^{[citation needed]}

Williams composed and produced the music for the 84th Academy Awards with composer Hans Zimmer.^[25]

2012: Pharrell is now collaborating with teen pop sensation, Miley Cyrus on her new album which is set for a release this year, with a single dropping this summer. Miley's new album has a slick genre of pop/hip-hop and R&B.

Musical style[link]

Pharrell did music for the Universal film Despicable Me. The film makers liked his genre of music for the movie. Williams has encompassed a broad range of genres, including hip hop, R&B, pop, rock, and funk.^[3][26] His lyrics often pertain to his childhood, family, religious faith and sexuality.^[27] In the review of Seeing Sounds by N.E.R.D, Christian Hoard of Rolling Stone said he learned nothing from his lyrics except that Williams was sexually aroused.^[28]

Williams has stated that he does not have any direct influences,^[29] but has expressed his admiration of several musicians, including Michael Jackson, J Dilla, Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway, Marvin Gaye, Rakim and Q-Tip.^[29][30] Williams explained that A Tribe Called Quest's 1990 album, People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm, caused a "turning point" in his life, which "made me see that music was art".^[30] His style of production includes very unusual sounds, which give a feeling of being extra terrestrial. His beats have heavy percussions and synths.

Business ventures[link]

Williams met Nigo, a Japanese record producer and creator of the clothing line A Bathing Ape, in Japan and bonded^[vague] through similar interests, where they began working together on their fashion lines.^[4] Williams later co-founded the clothing brands Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream Footwear. He has a store in New York City. In 2008, he co-designed a series of jewelry ("Blason") and glasses for Louis Vuitton.^[31] He has also worked on furniture with Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin and a French manufacturer, Domeau & Pérès. One of his works, a molded plastic seat with human legs, was created because he "wanted to know what it was like to be in love." The chair depicts a sexual scene with a pair of female legs and male legs.^[32]

In 2009 Williams unveiled a collaborative sculpture with Takashi Murakami at Art Basel, which spoke to the metaphor of value.^[33]

In 2010 Williams founded Kidult, a news and entertainment website for teens. Inspired by his young fans, Williams believed they deserved a website that respected their intelligence and covered their diverse interests—from science to fashion.

In May 2011 it was announced that Williams would serve as Creative Director of Karmaloop TV alongside founder and CEO Greg Selkoe and former AMC (TV channel) president Katie McEnroe.^[34]

On August 1, 2011, Williams launched his new record label, i am Other.^[35]

Personal life[link]

In 2005 Williams was voted "Best Dressed Man in the World" by Esquire.^[36] He is a fan of the science fiction series Star Trek,^[37] as indicated by his consistent use of the Vulcan salute to signify his label name, Star Trak. He also enjoys the works of the late astronomer and science lecturer Carl Sagan, whom he calls "a genius".^[38] Williams is a skateboarder and has a half-pipe inside his home.^[39] In April 2009, Williams underwent a skin procedure for tattoo removal.^[40]

Discography[link]

Pharrell and Lupe Fiasco are currently working on a collaboration album set to be released sometime in 2012.^[41]

TBA (with Lupe Fiasco) (2012)

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Pharrell Williams

• Official website
• Pharrell Williams at the Internet Movie Database