In 2013, Pharrell released the Despicable Me 2 single “Happy” and the song became a worldwide smash. You would expect the song to invoke some impassioned thoughts, but to rising rappers Destroy Lonely and Ken Carson, “Happy” is one of the worst songs of all time.
During their appearance on Complex’s GOAT Talk this week, Destroy Lonely and Ken Carson—who are both signees to Playboi Carti’s Opium label—waxed poetic about their mutual dislike of the inescapable hit.
“The worst song? Pharrell is a great person [but] I hate ‘Happy,’” Carson said.
Lonely agreed, noting that his grandmother was fond of the single.
“I’m happy? Bro, when I was younger when I got up in the morning when I was staying with Grandma, that’s her song to play in the morning,” he said. “I fucking hate that shit. Every time I play it I’m ready to punch somebody in the face.”
Carson agreed with this assessment of the song, despite the fact that his grandmother didn’t play it each and every morning.
“Pharrell, you’re great,” he said. “You got great songs but every artist got a bad song.”
Despite Carson and Lonely’s dislike of the song, “Happy” peaked at No. 1 in 24 countries (including the US) and was the best-selling song of 2014.
Destroy Lonely, whose If Looks Could Kill was launched last Friday, recently linked up with Eric Skelton for a must-read interview. While the resulting conversation spanned a slew of topics, the meaning of life was among the highlights, as it should be.
