Before launching a successful solo career, Virginia-born Pharrell Williams dominated the airwaves from behind the scenes as half of the R&B/hip-hop production duo The Neptunes, whose credits include hits from Justin Timberlake ("
Rock Your Body"), Britney Spears ("
I'm A Slave 4 U"), Gwen Stefani ("
Hollaback Girl"), Snoop Dogg ("
Drop It Like It's Hot"), Jay-Z ("
I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)", and Nelly ("
Hot In Herre"), among others.
In 2003, the Australian publication
The Age reported that 20% of songs on British radio at the time were Neptunes productions, as well as a whopping 43% in the US.
Williams and his Neptunes partner, Chad Hugo, were former classmates who reunited at a summer music camp for gifted kids (Williams played the drums; Hugo played the sax). Originally performing as a hip-hop group with their friends Shay Haley (aka rapper Shade) and Mike Etheridge, they were discovered at a local talent contest by producer Teddy Riley, the inventor of New Jack Swing. Williams initially wanted to be a soul singer, but Riley steered him toward songwriting and producing, with a writing credit on Wreckx-n-Effect's 1992 hit "
Rump Shaker." As The Neptunes, he and Hugo cut their teeth on Noreaga's 1998 single "Superthug," which was a #1 hit on the rap chart.
Williams and Hugo reunited with Shay Haley to form the hip-hop/rock band N.E.R.D. in 1999. They issued their debut album, In Search Of…, in 2001.
Musical talent runs in Williams' family. His cousin is the rapper Timbaland, who also got his start producing hits in the '90s for R&B and hip-hop acts like Aaliyah, Ginuwine, and Missy Elliott. Before they were famous, the cousins were part of the short-lived hip-hop group Surrounded By Idiots.
Williams launched his solo career in 2006 with his debut album,
In My Mind, which features prominent guest performers like Gwen Stefani ("
Can I Have It Like That"), Kanye West ("Number One"), Snoop Dogg and Charlie Wilson ("That Girl"). It was nominated for Best Rap Album at the 2007 Grammy Awards.
Williams was behind three very different hits in 2013. He wrote, produced, and performed the ubiquitous single "
Happy" for the animated film
Despicable Me 2, co-wrote and sang on Daft Punk's house-inspired, disco-funk single "
Get Lucky," and appeared alongside T.I. on Robin Thicke's controversial chart-topper "
Blurred Lines," which he also co-wrote.
The latter tune came under fire for allegedly glamorizing violence against women and reinforcing rape myths. It was also the subject of
an infamous copyright lawsuit. The late Marvin Gaye's family claimed the song copied the feel and sound of Gaye's 1977 hit "Got To Give Up." A federal jury agreed and initially awarded Gaye's children more than 7 million dollars in damages and the late singer a songwriting credit on "Blurred Lines."
He's received two Academy Award nominations: Best Original Song for "Happy" in 2014, and Best Picture in 2017 as a producer for the film Hidden Figures.
Outside of the music realm, Williams is also known as a fashion icon (Esquire magazine named him the Best-Dressed Man of 2005). He founded two clothing labels with Japanese designer Nigo: Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream.
"Ice Cream is inspired by the skate world, but it's high-end, like skate couture," he told the British publication The Times in 2006. "And Billionaire Boys Club is kind of like Willy Wonka's take on Ralph Lauren: vivid, more about flavor."
The Neptunes won their first pair of Grammy Awards at the 2004 ceremony, where they were named Producer of the Year, Non-Classical, and took home trophies for producing the Best Pop Vocal Album: Justin Timberlake's debut solo album, Justified.
Williams has a type of synesthesia where he sees sounds as colors. The condition, which is referenced on the N.E.R.D. album Seeing Sounds, is a crucial component to his artistry. "It's the only way that I can identify what something sounds like," he told NPR in 2013. "I know when something is in key because it either matches the same color or it doesn't. Or it feels different and it doesn't feel right."
Williams married model and fashion designer Helen Lasichanh in 2013. They have four children, including son Rocket, born in 2008, and triplets (two boys and a girl), born in 2017.
In a joint venture with Arista Records, The Neptunes founded the record label Star Trak Entertainment in 2001 and added the hip-hop duo Clipse and R&B singer Kelis to the roster. Williams wanted to call the label Star Trak as a nod to the '60s sci-fi series Star Trek.
Pharrell Williams was fired from McDonald's three times in his youth. The reasons cited for his dismissals include laziness and excessive consumption of McNuggets. Despite this rocky start with the fast-food chain, he went on to help create the iconic "
I'm Lovin' It" jingle for the chain.
Pharrell is the subject of the 2024 documentary Piece By Piece, which tells his story through LEGO animation, with his minifigure joining others for stars like Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z, Gwen Stefani, Snoop Dogg and Kendrick Lamar, who all voiced their parts. Pharrell loved LEGOs as a kid and would often collect kits from around the world to give to his son.
