In a new episode of Rick Rubin’s Tetragrammaton podcast, Pharrell Williams admits the biggest misconception people have about him is that he’s a “tech geek”.
In reality, he thinks he’s not that great when it comes to technology. “I’m the worst,” he confesses. “I use technology as much as I need to.”
When asked how he feels about “programmed music” versus ‘human-played music’, he explains that they’re two entirely different beasts. “Programmed music is amazing – but, man, when a human beings lock in, there’s a feeling that you get from it,” he insists.
In an age when AI is permeating many areas of music, Williams is fearful for the future of the industry. While he says AI can’t quite capture the human feel right now, he believes it may in the future. “What’ll be scary is when AI gets to that same place,” he says.
His stance is rather different to some of his musical peers – namely his cousin, Timbaland, who recently announced his partnership with Suno AI, calling it “the best tool of the future.” He also claims to use Suno’s AI tools 10 hours a day.
Elsewhere in the conversation, Williams recalls his contributions to Kendrick Lamar’s Alright.
Williams penned the iconic titular hook, and even sings it at certain points on the track. “The way I was saying ‘a’ight’… I was saying it on some Virginia shit,” he laughs. “They corrected me to say all right to put the ‘R’ in there… It was just the feeling of the song, and Kendrick really got it. He really understood it.”
