Eclectic personal backgrounds predisposed artists to blur cultural boundaries

Evidence

Pharrell and his production partner Chad Hugo had already reshaped the sound of American Top 40 radio. In the 1990s, hip-hop had grown from an urban subculture into a global force, but clear genre boundaries persisted between rap, R&B, pop, rock, and electronica. Beginning in 1998, the Neptunes racked up a long stream of hits by blurring these lines, creating a signature sound that united disparate audiences. … Such acclaim was an extraordinary feat for two earnest middle-class kids from Virginia Beach. Hugo, the son of Filipino immigrants, was a navy brat, while Pharrell’s father worked as a handyman and his mother held a PhD in education. Both attended church regularly; Pharrell split his Sundays between Baptist and Pentecostal services. The racial integration of Virginia Beach exposed them to a melting pot of musical influences: Michael Jackson, Prince, and Stevie Wonder mingled with the rock of Queen, Yes, Steely Dan, Bon Jovi, and Guns N’ Roses. From an early age, Pharrell crossed racial and cultural lines. — W. David Marx, Blank Space, 83

Categorization

• XREF: Supports the book’s mechanism connecting personal omnivorous biography to the production of boundary-crossing (omnivore) culture.