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Amidst heavy criticism and backlash about the lack of ethnicity on his G I R L album cover, Pharrell took to Power 105’s The Breakfast Club to clear the air and defend his art.

With the number one song in the country, and days before the release of his second solo album, Skateboard P called in to the popular radio show and spoke to Angela Yee and Charlamagne tha God to promote the project. But the hot topic was the controversy surrounding his album cover.

Standing next to three models, a red-head Caucasian and two fair-skinned (but a few shades darker) women, is the Producer of the Year donning white robes and dark sunglasses. But for an album that he described as a dedication to all women, people were stunned to see that the African-American musician did not include an African-American woman on the cover.

When Angela Yee asked Pharrell about the controversy, he said:

“What really disappointed me is that they jumped the gun because the one I’m standing the closest to [on the cover] is a black girl. She’s a black girl from Wisconsin that I used to date over ten years ago. It just sucks for people to look at something and assume they know what’s going on. And if they just bothered to listen to my album, they would know that my album is an ode to women. Period.”

Pharrell goes on to explain how his next single off the album, “Marilyn Monroe,” is about his respect for all women regardless of race, size, and sexual orientation, because without women, “none of us would be here.” He points out that the “light skinned-ness” of the model should not demote the fact that she is still black, as is Barack Obama, Lenny Kravitz, and Lisa Bonet.

Listening to the interview, it is easy to hear Pharrell’s passion and hurt regarding the backlash, as he then related it to his actual life that is basically run by black women.

“My mom is a black woman, who is a huge part of my business. My business is run by another black woman. And I’m married to a black woman. What are you talking about?”

Listen to the interview above. What do you think?

SOURCE: Power 1051

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