THE SHUFFLE BOARD Pharrell Wins Again (and Again) and More New Summer Anthems

PHARRELL WILLIAMS IS LITERALLY SLAYING YOU AND THE ENTIRE GAME

The weird thing about Pharrell Williams is that most people I’ve spoken to about him seem to think that he’s been M.I.A. the past few years. But in actuality, he’s been chipping away at the ol’ block with appearances on a bunch of non-charting singles. Last year alone, he hopped on Rick Ross’ “Presidential” remix alongside Rockie Fresh, blessed young tyke Conor Maynard’s “Lift Off” (great song btw) and a handful of others. Frankly, Skateboard P never left.

But this is Pharrell's year. This dude’s track record has been essentially flawless in 2013. He lit up Tyler, The Creator’s “IFHY,” one of the Odd Future leader’s best tracks. He’s on the song of the summer, Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky.” He’s crooning all over the number one song in the country, Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines.” Come on. This dude is fucking killin’ it.

This week, a handful of new solo tracks from The Neptunes producer quietly slid onto the Internet via the Despicable Me 2 soundtrack. I’ve lost my collective shit over “Happy,” the first leak. It’s that swinging, feel-good stuff suitable for kids and adults alike. Pharrell just knows how to do this whole throwback thing. He might just be the retro king.

And that’s evidenced on a few of the other cuts that made the soundtrack. “Just a Cloud Away” makes me want to brush the cobwebs off of my rotten heart and learn to love again. “Fun Fun Fun” chugs along on a guitar so crisp that it could snap the diaper off a baby. And then there’s the theme song “Despicable Me,” which I’m like eh about.