Is it going to be a flashy "Laffy Taffy" style, or a more understated style?

Pharrell Williams: I'll make some subtle stuff. It's Ice Cream manufactured through Jacob the Jeweler. I want to give kids that opportunity to know what it feels like to have something made by him.

At one point your style was very far outside the mainstream, but now it's becoming more and more commonplace. Do you feel like people are biting your steez?

Pharrell Williams: I'm not here to claim to be the first one to do this or that; I just like to see dope clothes. I love what Supreme does. One of the illest things I think they ever did was the last Supra skateboard series. My motivation for my music and clothes changes. At one point it was because I wanted to prove that I can do it, make money, and rub elbows with Puff and Jay. Then, once I made it to a certain level, I was like, Okay, cool, I know all those guys, we're really cool, and I make music for them. You have to understand, everything I wear and do, and all the music that I make, is really an ode to all the shit that influenced me. When everyone else was doing their jewelry, I did big huge Gucci links with multicolored diamonds. That was an ode to Slick Rick, but I did it a backpacker's way, even though backpackers don't wear jewelry. I guess I'm just a neo-backpacker.

Speaking of which, has your eclectic style made it hard to market you as an artist?

Pharrell Williams: I don't think anyone would know how to market it, but what I love about Jimmy Iovine is I had one conversation with him and was like, "Just let me do what the fuck I want to do, and I'll make you hits for everybody else." And he was like, "Okay, cool," and he paid me a shitload of money.

That's a nice conversation to have. Your album's been delayed nearly a year, in part due to those issues of marketing. Has it been frustrating?

Pharrell Williams: It was frustrating in the beginning because of me being anxious, creative, and stupid. I opened up the curtains too fast, and I really wasn't ready. My album still ain't even mixed yet. So I guess I just need to be more responsible. I was just doing too many things at one time. Like I got Beyoncé records, Snoop Dogg records, Slim Thug records, Fam-Lay records, just finished the Clipse album, Velvet Revolver, and the list just goes on. It's all fun, but at a certain point I have to finish one thing and move on to the next thing.

After a couple quiet months, talk of your solo album seemed to be sparked by your Gangsta Grillz mixtape. Were you happy with the response that it got?

Pharrell Williams: I asked Puff and Jay-Z. I didn't give a fuck about what nobody else thought. Jay was like, "You got it in on that one." I can't even repeat what Puff said, I was so fucking blown away. I wrote a song called "Inner Child" for his album.

We were talking earlier about the difficulty in marketing you, and people not getting your style. XXL Magazine recently criticized you for your verse on the Clipse's "Mr. Me Too." Was that frustrating?

Pharrell Williams: I didn't like it, but that verse was an excerpt out of my diary. I really was in Donatella's crib with like 10 ho's, and I really did buy my Enzo over the phone. Maybe they felt like they were getting a stab in, but it was real. I'm a guy who's put in 12 years of hard work, so when I tell you I got something, I own it. I'm selling my Sunseeker, by the way. I'm bored of it.

You understand why XXL cited that specific line about "Italian heartthrobs," right?

Pharrell Williams: I didn't understand the necessity, like what are you saying that to me for? You show me a nigga that make a beat like that and then live a life like that, and can tell it to you like that.

Well, "heartthrobs" is a term for guys. Maybe they didn't understand why Italian heartthrobs could not get rid of you.

Pharrell Williams: 'Cause I was in Donatella's crib, taking their bitches. She had a party after one of her runway shows, and we all went back to her crib. It wasn't like I smashed all of them, but at the end of the day, they wanted to hang out with me.

Oh, okay, that makes sense. Thanks for clearing that up.

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