In My Mind (Pharrell Williams album)

In My Mind
Studio album by Pharrell
Released	July 25, 2006 (2006-07-25)
Recorded	2004-06
Genre	East Coast hip hop R&B pop
Length	64:20
Label	Star Trak Interscope
Producer	Pharrell Williams
Pharrell chronology
In My Mind (2006) G I R L (2014)
Singles from In My Mind
"Can I Have It Like That" Released: October 31, 2005 "Angel" Released: January 21, 2006 "Number One" Released: August 21, 2006 "That Girl" Released: October 30, 2006

In My Mind is the solo debut studio album by American recording artist and record producer Pharrell. It was released on July 25, 2006. It debuted at number 3 on the US Billboard 200 and sold 142,000 copies in its first week. It was also certified Silver in the United Kingdom for sales of over 60,000 copies.

Background

In June 2003, after having produced and featured on several songs by other artists, Williams released his debut single "Frontin'", featuring Jay Z. Despite insisting that the single was a one-off, and that he was purely a producer and not an artist in his own right, it was announced that Williams would release his own studio album.

The album includes the three already-released singles "Can I Have It Like That" (featuring Gwen Stefani), "Angel" (only released in the UK) and "Number One" (featuring Kanye West) and performances featuring Jay Z, Nelly, Slim Thug, Snoop Dogg, Lauren London, Jamie Cullum and Pusha T of Clipse. Originally the album had been slated for release on November 15, 2005, but the date was delayed at Williams' request. In an interview on the delay, he stated that he felt the album needed more work. Nearly six months later, it was finally released.

Reception

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	52/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
The A.V. Club	B[2]
Entertainment Weekly	C+[3]
The Guardian	[4]
NME	7/10[5]
Pitchfork Media	3.9/10[6]
PopMatters	4/10[7]
Rolling Stone	[8]
Slant Magazine	[9]
Stylus Magazine	D[10]

The album received generally mixed reviews from critics. Christian Hoard of Rolling Stone called it "still only so-so, offering a series of modestly tuneful, sometimes snoozy soul-pop-hip-hop songs".^[11] Entertainment Weekly said the album "seems divided against itself, rest assured that all of the songs have something in common: they're not remotely catchy".^[12] For AllMusic, Andy Kellman wrote that "it's not like any part of it is flat-out poor, but it's a shame it didn't turn out better".^[13] In his consumer guide for MSN Music, Robert Christgau gave the album a two-star honorable mention rating (),^[14] indicating a "likable effort consumers attuned to its overriding aesthetic or individual vision may well enjoy".^[15] He cited "Raspy Shit" and "Number One" as highlights and quipped, "keepin' it playa like he says, for exactly what that's worth".^[14]

Chart performance

The album debuted at number 3 on the US Billboard 200 and sold 142,000 copies in its first week, outsold by LeToya's self-titled debut album and the compilation album Now 22. Most recently, a music video for "That Girl" (featuring Snoop Dogg) was released and has been receiving airplay on VH1.^[16] The second week, it fell to #9 with 51,000 copies sold.^[17] On this album, Pharrell makes his solo production debut without his partner Chad Hugo. The album has sold 2,889,025 copies worldwide.

Accolades

The album was nominated for Best Rap Album at the Grammy Awards of 2007, but lost to Release Therapy by Ludacris.

Track listing

All songs written and produced by Pharrell Williams; songs with co-writers are noted.

Notes

• A song titled "Mamacita", which featured reggaeton artist Daddy Yankee was leaked in early 2006 and was supposed to be the third single from the album, but it did not appear on the final track listing, nor was there a video for the song, but it is featured in the movie The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.
• Not on the official album, "Big White Spaceship" (featuring Timbaland & Magoo) is actually an early project with Timbaland & Magoo called Surrounded by Idiots. Pharrell recalls in an interview: "In seventh grade I met Chad. That's twenty years ago by now. Like I said earlier, we started producing beats together. But then again, I also played with this famous group which consisted of Timbaland, Magoo, myself and some other guy. Chad wasn't a part of the group, so I was in The Neptunes and in Surrounded by Idiots at the same time." A few tracks produced by the group float around on the Internet, this being the most distributed. In 2005 Danny! recorded a remix to this song, removing vocals from Timbaland & Magoo, and placed it as a hidden track on his F.O.O.D. album.
• The song "Skateboard P Presents: Show You How to Hustle" is featured in the game Need for Speed: Carbon.
• Other songs presumed to be B-sides or possibly just unreleased Pharrell compositions include "Creamsickle" and "I Need Love".
• The album cover is a reference to the art style of BAPE, a Japanese street clothing company that is popular in the urban scene. Williams and founder Nigo launched the first American store in New York together.
• The initial pressing offered buyers a choice of three covers; each cover had Pharrell pictured with either a Blue Ice Cream sweater, Red and White Polo Shirt, or White Billionaire Boys Club T-shirt as shown above.
• A remixed version of the album, titled "Out of My Mind", was produced, but was never officially released. This remixed version of the album featured interpolated instrumentals by drummer, Questlove and James Poyser, of the hip hop group The Roots.

Charts and certifications

References