Pharrell Williams Encounters the Holy Spirit: ‘It Fuels Me to This Day’
By Movieguide® Staff
Award-winning artist and producer Pharrell Williams recently opened up about an encounter he had with the Holy Spirit. Williams shared the experience on gospel legend Kirk Franklin’s podcast.
Franklin invited Williams on the first episode of his GOOD WORDS podcast, where the two artists discussed their faith and career.
Williams noted that as a child, he grew up surrounded by gospel music and the Pentecostal church.
“Forget the wave in the basketball arena, forget the wave at the football stadium. You’ve never seen the wave of the Spirit causing people in waves; you see their heads turning and going up and down or whatever. Meanwhile, they’re still simultaneously people jumping up and down,” Williams said.
“The energy is so thick, arguably a scientist could go in there with the right bag and capture it, take it home, release it in their room and feel the same thing. That is one of the most amazing power sources,” Williams added.
“I feel like it still fuels me to this day,” Williams said.
Franklin and Williams also discussed the 13-time Grammy award winner’s recent Netflix show, VOICES OF FIRE.
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Movieguide® reported:
“This is a project very near and dear to my heart and one I had the pleasure of creating with someone I love and respect very much, my Uncle, Bishop Ezekiel Williams,” Williams said.
According to Netflix, the show follows Williams’ uncle—who is well known in the Virginia Beach area as a “musical genius”—as he searches for diverse, unrecognized gospel choir talent in the Hampton Roads area.
“With the belief that diverse backstories can give their collective voice a greater meaning, the Bishop and his team will be searching for people of all ages, ethnicities and backgrounds,” Netfllx stated in a press release.
“We had a simple mission: build the world’s largest, most diverse choir and inspire change in the process,” Williams said. “What we ended up creating not only reflects that vision, but I believe will inspire the world and reinforce the idea that the gospel is for everyone.”
Here is a portion of Movieguide®’s review:
VOICES OF FIRE: The Debut Concert is the final episode of Season One of Netflix’s gospel music docuseries that follows talented gospel singers from across the country. Tensions are high for the Voices of Fire singers in Virginia on the cusp of their big concert debut, not only for their community but also for popular recording artist Pharrell Williams, the nephew of their choir director, Bishop Ezekiel Williams. Thankfully, they’ve been training for weeks, but will their faith and practice pay off the way they expect?
“The Debut Concert” is a well-structured, powerful, entertaining episode of VOICES OF FIRE. It has a strong Christian, biblical worldview with many positive affirmations of God’s glory, grace and transformative power. Several characters thank God and stress His grace. They also make references to such Bible passages as Philippians 4:6 and talk about God delivering them. There’s one comment about “the stars” aligning but it’s mentioned as a validation of God’s plan for the choir to do mighty things in His name. Finally, “The Debut Concert” contains inspiring gospel music performed with vigor.