Pharrell Freedom Cover Art
It'd be a solecism to claim that on his new single, "Pharrell returns." The thoroughgoing producer, songwriter and vocalist seems to never allow himself a day off, and many of the most commercially successful and critically-acclaimed tracks of the past half-decade have been born of his keen sense of funky rhythm and joyful melodies. And so while we've recently been enjoying the fruits of Pharrell's collaborative labors with rappers Kendrick Lamar ("Alright") and Snoop Dogg (all of BUSH), today Pharrell returns to his own solo work with the new single "Freedom," which has dropped in tandem with the new Apple Music mobile streaming service.
A piano and handclap-driven anthem (whose ethos is pretty obvious, given its title), "Freedom" is an exceptionally good effort, despite the fact that it was likely a calculated marketing move betwixt Pharrell and Apple (The 42 year-old producer will be serving DJ duties on Apple Music's new Beats 1 Radio platform). Pharrell has been playing "Freedom" live while on tour throughout the United Kingdom recently, and the world got a high-profile sample of the song during his Glastonbury Festival performance. You can listen to the studio version of "Freedom" below and watch Pharrell perform the track live from last weekend's festival after the jump.
