Background and career
Pharrell Lanscilo Williams ( fə-REL; born April 5, 1973) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer and fashion designer. He initially became known as one half of the music production duo the Neptunes, which he established with Chad Hugo in 1992. Fifteen of their productions have peaked within the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100, which includes four songs that peaked atop the chart. The two also formed the rock and hip-hop band N.E.R.D. with Shay Haley in 1999, for which Williams served as lead vocalist. He has been regarded as one of the most influential producers in modern popular music. He has also contributed music to all of the Despicable Me animated films. Williams co-founded the record label Star Trak Entertainment with Hugo in 2001, as an imprint of Arista Records. Williams's 2003 debut single, "Frontin'" (featuring Jay-Z), peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100. He then signed with Virgin and Interscope Records to release his debut studio album, In My Mind (2006), which peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 despite mixed critical reception. Williams produced and guest performed alongside T.I. on Star Trak signee Robin Thicke's 2013 single "Blurred Lines", which peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100 and received diamond certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). That same year, his guest appearance alongside Nile Rodgers on Daft Punk's single "Get Lucky" peaked at number two on the chart and won Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards. Williams's 2013 single, "Happy"—released for the soundtrack to Despicable Me 2—became his second song to peak atop the chart that same year. It also served as lead single for his second album, Girl (2014), which peaked at number two on the Billboard 200 and saw positive critical reception. Williams has received numerous accolades and nominations. He has won 13 Grammy Awards, including three for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical (one as a member of the Neptunes). He is also a two-time Academy Award nominee: in 2014 for Best Original Song for "Happy"; and in 2017 for Best Picture as a producer of Hidden Figures. As sole proprietor, he founded the multi-disciplinary media company I Am Other in 2012, which acts as both a record label and creative umbrella for his other endeavors, including his fashion label and retailer, Billionaire Boys Club. He has served as Men's creative director for Louis Vuitton since 2023.
Williams was born on April 5, 1973, in Virginia Beach, Virginia, the eldest of the three sons of teacher Carolyn and handyman Pharoah Williams. His ancestry goes back many generations in Virginia and North Carolina. One of his ancestors journeyed to West Africa in 1831, prompting other relatives to emigrate from the U.S. to Liberia in 1832. Williams met Chad Hugo in a seventh-grade summer band camp, where Williams played drums and Hugo played tenor saxophone. They attended Princess Anne High School where they were in the school's band, the Fabulous Marching Cavaliers. Williams graduated from high school in 1991 and he attended Northwestern University for two years before dropping out.
In the early 1990s, Williams formed a hip-hop group named Surrounded by Idiots with Chad Hugo, Magoo, and cousin Timbaland; they disbanded before making any records. He then formed a four-piece "R&B-type" group, the Neptunes, with Hugo and friends Shay Haley and Mike Etheridge. They entered a high school talent show, where they were discovered by producer Teddy Riley, whose studio was next to the school. After graduating, the group signed with Riley. Williams wrote Riley's verse on Wreckx-n-Effect's 1992 hit "Rump Shaker". As the Neptunes, Williams and Hugo produced Noreaga's 1998 single "Superthug". The Neptunes began working with rap duo Clipse (rappers Pusha T and Malice) in the late 1990s, and worked on Clipse's album Exclusive Audio Footage, which was not released. The Neptunes produced Mystikal's single "Shake Ya Ass" (2000), Jay-Z's single "I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)" (2000), and Nelly's single "Hot in Herre" (2002). They worked with singer Kelis, producing her first two studio albums, Kaleidoscope (1999) and Wanderland (2001). In 2001, N.E.R.D., a band composed of Williams, Hugo, and Haley, released their debut album In Search of.... Williams and Hugo signed Clipse to Arista Records through Williams's Star Trak Entertainment imprint in 2001. The Neptunes produced songs on singer Babyface's 2001 album, Face2Face, including its lead single "There She Goes". The Neptunes produced the Britney Spears songs "I'm a Slave 4 U" and "Boys" for her third studio album, Britney (2001). In 2002, Clipse released their debut album, Lord Willin', produced entirely by the Neptunes. That year, the Neptunes produced numerous songs on Justin Timberlake's debut album Justified, including the singles "Señorita", "Like I Love You", and "Rock Your Body". In 2003, the Neptunes released a compilation album, Clones. According to an unnamed August 2003 survey cited by The Age, it was found the Neptunes produced almost 20% of songs played on British radio at the time; another survey in the U.S. found they'd produced 43% of radio songs. The Neptunes produced Snoop Dogg's single "Drop It Like It's Hot" (2004), which also featured vocals from Williams.
The Neptunes produced Gwen Stefani's single "Hollaback Girl", which entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 82 on the issue dated April 2, 2005, and topped the chart within six weeks of its release. In 2006, Williams released his debut solo album, In My Mind. It debuted at number 3 on the U.S. Billboard 200. The Neptunes produced Clipse's second album, Hell Hath No Fury. The Neptunes produced several songs on Stefani's second album, The Sweet Escape (2006), including the promotional single, "Yummy", which features Williams. In December 2006, Williams was announced as a performer at Concert for Diana in Wembley Stadium, London on July 1, 2007. In 2007, the Neptunes produced on Jay-Z's tenth studio album, American Gangster. Williams worked with Madonna for her eleventh studio album, Hard Candy (2008). In June 2008, an article in NME revealed that Williams was interested in producing the next album of American rock band the Strokes. Later that year, Williams worked on a remix album for Maroon 5, titled Call and Response: The Remix Album. N.E.R.D. released their third studio album, Seeing Sounds, in 2008. Williams worked with Shakira on her songs "Did It Again", "Why Wait", "Good Stuff", and "Long Time" for her sixth studio album, She Wolf (2009). The following month, Williams made a guest appearance on French singer Uffie's debut album, which was released in early 2010. The Neptunes produced numerous songs on Clipse's third album, Til the Casket Drops (2009).
In 2010, Williams worked on the music score for the animated film Despicable Me with composers Hans Zimmer and Heitor Pereira. In 2010, N.E.R.D. released their fourth studio album, Nothing, through Star Trak. In late 2011, Williams worked on three tracks for Mike Posner's second album, Sky High. In 2012, Williams composed and produced the music for the 84th Academy Awards alongside Hans Zimmer. In 2013, Williams collaborated with French electronic duo Daft Punk on the songs "Get Lucky" and "Lose Yourself to Dance", both included on Daft Punk's fourth studio album, Random Access Memories. "Get Lucky" peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart and number two on the U.S. Billboard 200. In 2013, Williams collaborated with Azealia Banks with the song "ATM Jam". The song was initially intended for Banks's debut studio album, Broke with Expensive Taste (2014), but was later removed from the album after Banks blamed Williams for the song's poor commercial performance. Williams penned three new original songs, included alongside composer Heitor Pereira's score, for the film Despicable Me 2 (2013). These were "Just a Cloud Away", "Happy", and "Scream" (featuring CeeLo Green). His two original songs from the first film, "Despicable Me" and "Fun, Fun, Fun", were also reprised on the Despicable Me 2 soundtrack. He also participated in the drummer sessions of the soundtrack of Man of Steel by Hans Zimmer. In March 2013, Robin Thicke's single "Blurred Lines", written and produced by Williams, was released. The song peaked at number one in multiple countries, including the United Kingdom and the United States. In mid-2013, Williams was involved in two songs that sold a million copies in the UK: "Get Lucky" and "Blurred Lines".
In August 2013, Busta Rhymes talked about an unreleased "documentary album" by Williams where he talks about "inner-city strife and hardship". In November 2013, Williams released the music video for "Happy"; guest appearances included Magic Johnson, Steve Carell, Jimmy Kimmel, Odd Future, among others. The video was billed by Williams as the "first 24-hour music video".On November 1, 2013, Williams performed with a gospel choir at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, where nine black parishioners were shot and killed on June 17, 2015. It was announced in December 2013 that Williams had been nominated for seven Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year. In the same month, Williams signed a contract with Columbia Records, and announced an album set for release in 2014 that would feature "Happy". For "Happy", Williams was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. In February 2014, Major Lazer announced they would be releasing a five-track EP titled Apocalypse Soon on the 25th of that month. The EP, released via Mad Decent and Secretly Canadian, features Williams and Sean Paul, among others. The first single off the EP, which features Williams, is titled "Aerosol Can". Williams contributed a verse to Future's February 2014 single "Move That Dope", which also featured Pusha T and Casino over production from Mike Will Made It. On February 18, 2014, Williams announced via Twitter that his second album, Girl, would be released on March 3, 2014. The album was supported by a European concert tour, Dear Girl Tour. At the 86th Academy Awards on March 2, 2014, Williams's song "Happy" lost to "Let It Go" from Frozen. Afterwards, when GQ magazine asked Williams "how badly" did he want the Oscar, he responded: "When they read the results, my face was...frozen. But then I thought about it, and I just decided just to...let it go". At the Oscar Awards that same year, he wore a controversial outfit consisting of a tuxedo with shorts. In May 2014, Williams received an Innovator Award at the iHeartRadio Music Awards.
