In early April, Pharrell Williams released a 10-song album called Black Yacht Rock, Vol. 1: City of Limitless Access. The record appeared without notice on the website blackyachtrock.com, where it remains available to download for free.
Seeing the title Black Yacht Rock, one could reasonably expect Williams to be drawing on the likes of Quincy Jones, Al Jarreau, and Earth, Wind & Fire. And while the album has some slick Rhodes tones, shuffling grooves, and lyrical references to conch shells and “margarita time,” it ain’t exactly George Benson’s Breezin’. More than anything, Black Yacht Rock put me in the mood to listen to some golden-age Black yacht.
