Pharrell reveals ‘Frontin” was originally written for Prince
“Frontin'” by Pharrell goes down as one of the most timeless records in modern hip-hop. Now, the legendary producer reveals the 2003 hit single featuring JAY-Z, was in fact originally written for another monolithic persona — Prince.
In a recent interview with Clash Music, the Virginia Beach-native states, “All of my biggest songs were songs that I did with or for other people. Collaboration has always been part of my DNA. And, to be clear and to be honest, songs that I ended up putting out by myself were always songs that I wrote for other people. I made ‘Frontin” for Prince, and even ‘Happy,’ I wrote that for CeeLo.”
“Frontin'” peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, claiming the top spot on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs that same year. While Pharrell and HOV made a classic pairing on ‘Frontin,’ one can only imagine what that track would have sounded like with The Purple One. Seems like as good a reason as any to revisit this one, given some new perspective.