His father, Pharaoh Williams, was a mechanic, and his mother, Carolyn Williams, was a teacher. His familial origins stretch from North Carolina to West Africa, from Liberia to the Philippines.
His first instrument was school desk. Little Pharrell was starting to get a rhythm by beating them. He could play keyboards and drums when he was in 7th grade.
He became friends with Chad Hugo, who played the saxophone at school. What would emerge from this friendship?
He was nicknamed Skateboard P when he was in high school. Since we couldn't find the skateboard pose, make do with the bike one :)
In the early '90s, Chad and Pharrell took their friends Shay Haley and Mike Etheridge with them to form The Neptunes.
In 1994 they turned The Neptunes into a production team. Their first job was Blackstreet's debut album. The Neptunes' first big hit would be N.O.R.E's 'Superthug' in 1998.
In 1999, Pharrell met Kelis and things changed. Kelis' debut album "Kaleidoscope" (1999) was a tremendous success with the contribution of The Neptunes.
Britney Spears' 2001's 'I'm a Slave 4 U' was also signed by The Neptunes.
In 2001, Chad, Pharrell, and Shay Haley formed N*E*R*D.
After N*E*R*D's debut album "In Search of..." (2002) was unsuccessful, the group re-recorded the same album with the pop power band Spymob. Although the album was not a commercial success, it did draw attention to the band.
In 2002, the first #1 single from The Neptunes was released. It was Nelly's song 'Hot in Herre'.
They gave two songs to Jay Z's 'The Black Album' (2003). The ascent continued.
Pharrell and Chad took home their first Grammy in 2003 for their production merit on Justin Timberlake's album "Justified" (2002).
While N*E*R*D continued to be successful, Pharrell released his first solo album "In My Mind" in 2006.
He had a child with model and designer Helen Lasichanh in 2008. He joined the caravan of celebrities who gave their children strange names and named his son Rocket :)
After the 'Blurred Lines' bombshell, 'Get Lucky' with Daft Punk exploded. With these works, Pharrell won a Grammy after a Grammy.
His 'Happy' for 'Despicable Me 2' in 2013 took the world by storm and put a happy smile on everyone's face.
When the copyright lawsuit filed by Marvin Gaye's family for 'Blurred Lines' was lost, Robin Thicke's "He did it, he did it!" and Pharrell's "He wanted it, he wanted it!" His statement caught his attention. Those moments in the photo :p
In addition to music, Pharrell Williams is also involved with fashion. He created two clothing brands: Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream.
He wears sunglasses all the time, but ask him why. E because he designs most of them himself.
He married Helen Lasichanh in 2013. The wedding photos are not clear, we see the couple above at the Oscar Ceremony. The outfit is different!
Every famous musician will enjoy being a judge... In 2014, he joined the jury of "The Voice" with Adam Levine and Gwen Stefani.
Life story
Pharrell Williams was born on April 5, 1973. He is one of the two members who formed The Neptunes along with Chad Hugo. He is also the lead singer of the funk-rock band N*E*R*D. Released his first solo single "Frontin'" in 2003, Pharrell released his debut album In My Mind in 2006. He released his second album, G I R L, in 2014. The album's first single, "Happy", entered the charts at number one. "Happy" became the best-selling and most-watched single of 2014 with its digital sales and ratings. The success of "Happy" brought Pharrell an Oscar nomination.
As a member of The Neptunes, Pharrell has produced many artists and various hit songs to date. The famous producer, who topped the charts with singers such as Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, and Gwen Stefani with his composer identity, in 2013 T.I. His collaboration with "Blurred Lines" peaked at number one and won a Grammy for Best Song Collaboration. In 2014, he became number one in all charts with the Daft Punk song "Get Lucky", which he wrote and composed. Pharrell is also the founder of Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream Footwear.
First years
Williams was born in Virginia Beach, Virginia, the son of Carolyn Hoggard Williams and Pharoah Williams II. Williams has four siblings: Pharoah Williams III, David Williams, professional skateboarder Cato Williams, and Psolomon Williams. Williams met Chad Hugo at summer camp in seventh grade. At camp, Williams played keyboards and drums, while Hugo played the tenor saxophone. In the 1990s Williams and Hugo formed the R&B group they called The Neptunes with their friends Shay Haley and Mike Etheridge. The group was later discovered by Teddy Riley at a contest they participated in. After graduating from high school, the group began working with Riley.
1992-2001: Early works
Williams appeared on SWV's song "Right Here" in 1992. In 1994, Williams and Hugo formed a production team under the name they had previously used, "The Neptunes." The team originally produced the track "Tonight's The Night" from Blackstreet's debut album. In the following years, The Neptunes produced various artists. After Mase's song "Lookin' at Me" in 1998, the group started to talk about themselves and their sound with N.O.R.E's "Superthug", which was number 36 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the same year. In 1999, the group undertook the productions of Kelis's Kaleidoscope album and Ol' Dirty Bastard's Nigga Please, as well as Mystikal's hit single "Shake Ya Ass".
2001-2004: In Search Of..., Clipse and Fly or Die
The song "I'm a Slave 4 U" by Britney Spears, produced by The Neptunes, reached number one worldwide in 2001. That same year, Williams, Hugo, and Haley released their debut album, In Search Of..., under the name "N*E*R*D". However, dissatisfied with the sound of the album, the band re-recorded the album with the funk-rock band Spymob. In 2002, N*E*R*D re-released the album worldwide. The Nelly single "Hot in Herre", to which The Neptunes contributed, reached number one in the United States. After these successes, The Neptunes won the "Producers of the Year" award at The Source Awards in August 2002. Virginia-based rap group Clipse released their album Lord Willin', produced by The Neptunes, on August 20, 2002. The album debuted at number 1 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and debuted at number 4 on the Billboard 200. The first two singles from the album, "Grindin'" and "When the Last Time", peaked at number 34 and number 19 on the Billboard Hot 100.
In 2003, The Neptunes released an album called The Neptunes Present... Clones, featuring works and remixes of various artists. The album topped the Billboard 200 chart. The group also produced many of Jay-Z's hits. The song "Frontin'", which he worked with Jay-Z, became a big hit (the 34th biggest hit of 2003, according to Billboard magazine). N.E.R.D released their second studio album, Fly or Die, in March 2004. Pharrell Williams also returned from the 2004 Grammy Awards with two awards: "Producer of the Year" and "Best Pop Vocal Album" for his work on Justin Timberlake's album Justified.
2005-2009: First solo album and collaborations
On October 31, 2005, Pharrell's collaboration with Gwen Stefani, "Can I Have It Like That", remained at number 48 on the US charts and reached number 3 in the UK. The album In My Mind was released on July 25, 2006. "Angel", which was released only in Europe just before the album, peaked at number 15 in the UK. His collaboration with Kanye West, Number One, was also released as a single. Just before the album's release, several songs from the album leaked online. The most notable of these was "Mamacita" featuring Daddy Yankee. The final single from the album In My Mind is the track "That Girl" featuring Snoop Dogg and Charlie Wilson.
With Lucky, whose lyrics and composition he undertook in 2014, he became number one in all charts and achieved record sales. The composer, who entered the charts at number 1 with the song Happy released from his new album Girls in March, achieved the Best First Week sales with his album. Happy single became the most sold and watched single of 2014 with its digital sales and viewing rate. Happy's success brought Pharell the title of the 2nd artist to be nominated for an Oscar. Having 5 Grammys, Pharrell is also the founder of Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream Footwear. He is in 9th place on the Richest Celebrities List with a fortune of 500 million dollars.