Pharrell's not comfortable being called a genius

theGRIO REPORT - While Pharrell didn’t walk away with the Oscar for Best Song at the Academy Awards, it’s still the most successful year of his professional career...

Luther Vandross was outed as gay after his death.

While Pharrell didn’t walk away with the Oscar for Best Song at the Academy Awards, it’s still the most successful year of his professional career.

He’s scored Grammy wins for “Get Lucky” and “Blurred Lines” while still having the creative capacity to be a fashion trailblazer designer.

Pharrell has been called a creative genius on numerous occasions. Just don’t tell him that.

Genius is a title the 40-year-old Virginia native will never be comfortable with.

“A genius denotes someone who knows a lot on their own—self contained. And I’m not. All of my work is a direct reaction to meeting all these very interesting people with whom I’ve collaborated. I’ve learned so much about their processes and who they were, and their vibes have inspired me,” Pharrell said in an interview with HipHopDX.

“In that case, I just could not take authorship for my path. I know that I’ve elected to take some of the choices, turns and the direction that I’ve taken. But I know at the same time, there are these integral people in our lives from time to time who come in, give us direction and guide us. They tell us which way to go, and those are the people I feel like are just as much… They share the authorship for all of my successes.”

Click here to read the rest of the interview and let us know what you think in the comments below.

You can check out Kyle’s musical coverage on theGrio music page, and follow Kyle on Twitter at @HarveyWins.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE