Track Listing

1. Angel
2. Young Girl f/Jay-Z
3. Please
4. Keep It Playa f/Slim Thug
5. Maybe
6. Vulnerable
7. Baby f/Nelly
8. Our Father
9. Number One f/Kanye West
10. It's Obvious
11. Can I Have It Like That f/Gwen Stefani
12. How You Feel
13. You Can Do It
14. Mamacita f/Daddy Yankee

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #51354 in Music
• Released on: 2006-07-24
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Explicit Lyrics

Amazon.co.uk Review
A sort of King Midas of the US pop firmament, as one half of hit-making cartel The Neptunes and a founding member of NERD, Pharrell Williams boasts a remarkable track record. Roughly one half hip-hop and one half R&B, In My Mind follows the magic formula that’s seen Williams reinvigorate the careers of everyone from Britney and *NSYNC to Snoop Dogg and Nelly, drawing on music styles as disparate as metal and reggaeton and shaping them together with adventurous effect. In particular, the marching-band rhythms of "Keep It Playa" and the booming, atonal space-funk of "Can I Have It Like That" - featuring a brief cameo by Gwen Stefani - are startling examples of Williams’ production wizardry.

As an album, it’s not without its flaws: "Our Father" might wash with the God-fearing hip-hop fraternity, but more cynical audiences might balk at the Williams’ assertion that "Jesus is my playa"; meanwhile a duet with Jay-Z, "Young Girls", shows up the occasional weaknesses of his flow. No matter, though – you’ll buy this for the productions, and without exception, they gleam. – Louis Pattison

From the Label
A unique project that reflects its creator's self-professed practice of universalism and individualism,In My Mind comprises seven R&B tracks and seven hip-hop tracks. The integral nature of the songs "is meant to evoke emotion and evoke debate and evoke dialogue," says Pharrell, "to get people talking and realizing, 'Wow, I could be me. He just did it with R&B and hip-hop - I could do it with politics and religion, I could do it with science and social studies, I could do it with clothing and food, I could be an artist and be an equestrian, there's just so many things you could do."

With the release of In My Mind, Pharrell Williams finally gets a chance to put his personal musical philosophy on the front line. "My thing is good music is good music," he says. "You bring me one person who's a major super rock head who doesn't know Puffy's song 'It's All About the Benjamins' or 50 Cent's 'In the Club.' Or you bring me a major hip-hop head who doesn't know 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' or 'Jeremy.' Or you name somebody who loves R&B who doesn't know Dolly Parton's 'Workin' 9 To 5' or 'The Dukes Of Hazard' theme song - they know these songs because these songs transcended beyond their own genre and just established themselves as great timepieces. That's what music is supposed to be, the soundtrack of your life."

CD Description
Debut solo album from US hip-hop artist Pharrell Williams. Pharrell has collaborated with some of the biggest names in the industry with his band N.E.R.D. and produced several multi-platinum albums under the name Neptunes. This first solo project from him is cleverly split, with seven hip-hop tracks included alongside a further seven RnB-influenced tracks. The single 'Can I Have It Like That', which features Gwen Stefani, is included.

Customer Reviews

Great production but...
I've been waiting nearly a year for this album to come out and after a lot of changes, Pharrell finally releases his solo debut - And (largely) doesn't disappoint. The production is top-notch and Pharrell raises the bar again for all his contemporaries. However, anyone who's followed Pharrell's career knows he can't really sing. His falsetto style is fine when he's singing a hook for other artists but on tracks like "I really like you" & "Say with me" he fails to convince. On the flip side, for a producer his rap songs are suprisingly good. His flow is not good by any means but the lyrical content is varied, suprisingly for a rapper, real.

The stand out tracks are "Young girl" and Baby which sound like tracks he might have composed for Justin's new album had he not fallen out with the label. The cameos are well worked and Jamie Cullum's appearance on "You can do it too" is suprising but welcome.

All in all, great production and well worth buying.

What a mind!
Who knows what really goes on in Pharrell's mind? In this, his first solo album, Pharrell (half of The Neptunes and chief N.E.R.D.) calls on some of the hottest talents in Hip Hop and R&B, and the result is this fifteen song extravaganza, part Hip Hop, part R&B, all with the slick production and smooth mixing that made him a music phenomenon.

Three singles have already been released from this album, at least two of which are guaranteed instant hits. "Can I Have It Like That" features the one and only Gwen Stefani, and you couldn't want a better lead off track for an album. The other heat generating single is "Number I" with red hot Kanye West, and this one is tucked away near the end of the album for a hit "sandwich" that'll be pretty hard to beat. The third single "Angel" was released in the UK and is one of the tracks that Pharrell handles on his own, falsetto and all.

Watch out also for "How Does It Feel" a steamy Hip Hop track (Remember that this album has a parental advisory warning); "Raspy Sh!t"; "Keep It Playa" with Slim Thug (this one has a great hook); "That Girl" featuring Snoop Dogg; "Young Girl" with Jay-Z; and the last track "Show You How to Hustle" featuring Lauren, where he goes by his rap name Skateboard P.

As if that weren't enough, fans of "The Artist Formerly known as Prince" will absolutely love "Baby" featuring Nelly, and for a nice spiritual touch, Pharrell gives a shout out to the Almighty giving thanks for his talents.

Do you really need more reasons than these to get this album?


Amanda Richards

In Two Minds...
Pharrell's biggest quality has always been his immense diversity as an artist - whether it be rapping, singing or producing. Unfortunately, it is this diversity that has prevented this album from being what it always had the potential to be - a classic.
The simple truth of it is that Pharrell is a much better singer than he is a rapper. The evidence is clear upon listening to the album - which is split between songs where Pharrell raps and ones where he sings - the r&b tracks are far more listenable than the hiphop ones. Average at best, the listener gets tired of Pharrell's one-dimensional flow and unimpressive lyricism, and after the first 5 or 6 songs is tempted not to listen to the rest of it. However, that would be a big mistake..
The album's saving grace is where Pharrell turns his hand to singing. Admittedly, the high notes he hits on 'Angel' sound a little suspect, but it is songs like 'I Really Like You', 'Young Girl' and 'Number One' which flourish. It is not only Pharrell's soothing vocal chords, but the fact that his production is also much better for his r&b songs than his hiphop tracks. Although he has been known to produce hiphop classics for rappers such as Jay-Z and Snoop Dogg, the rap beats on this album are repetitive and annoying. The r&b production, however, is superb.
By the time the album is finished, you wonder whether Pharrell's next album could be a classic if he sang much more than he does on this one, and drafted more guests in to do the rapping next time. As it is, however, it seems that Pharrell is unsure exactly which one of his minds he is letting us in to.