Pharrell Williams

About

Also known as: P. Williams, Pharell, Pharell Williams, Pharrell, Pharrell Lanscilo Williams, Sk8brd

Pharrell Williams has a way of turning up at the center of pop culture whether he wants to or not. The Virginia Beach producer and singer built his reputation through The Neptunes, the duo he formed with Chad Hugo that reshaped the sound of early 2000s pop and hip hop, working with everyone from Jay Z to Britney Spears to Justin Timberlake. Alongside that, he helped found the band N.E.R.D. with Hugo and Shay Haley, scoring hits like She Wants To Move. His solo run has been just as striking. Happy, his 2013 single, became a genuine phenomenon, spending 49 weeks in the Dutch Top 40 alone, making it the most successful song in that chart's history. He also contributed vocals to Daft Punk's Get Lucky and co wrote Blurred Lines with Robin Thicke and T.I. that same year. More recently he stepped into fashion in a big way, becoming creative director at Louis Vuitton in 2023. In 2024 he released Piece by Piece, an animated documentary about his life and career made entirely in the style of Lego animation.