Bio
Pharrell Williams, also known simply as Pharrell, is an American singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer, musician and fashion designer who - together with Chad Hugo - makes up the record production duo The Neptunes, producing soul, hip hop and R&B music.
From his beginnings as a teenage prodigy and multi-instrumentalist in Virginia Beach back in the early '90s through enough hits to earn him Billboard's Producer of the Decade in 2010 to his current status as multi-media superstar, Williams has never stopped creating.
Starting his producing career as one half of The Neptunes with Chad Hugo, Williams has helped create such classics as Daft Punk's "Get Lucky," Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines," Nelly's "Hot in Herre," Jay-Z's "I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)," Britney Spears' "I'm a Slave 4 U" and Justin Timberlake's "Like I Love You."
Over four albums, Williams and Hugo along with Shae Haley created an unpredictable hybrid as part of the alt-rock/hip-hop group N.E.R.D.
The music industry has honoured Pharrell with several Grammy Awards (including 2004's and 2014's "Producer of the Year") and ASCAP's prestigious Golden Note Award in 2012.
He also received a 2014 Academy Award nomination for his original song "Happy" featured in the animated film Despicable Me 2. "Happy" remained atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 10 consecutive weeks, peaked at No. 1 on iTunes in 103 markets worldwide and is the lead single off of his new album "G I R L."
Pharrell's second solo album "G I R L" was released on March 3, 2014 to rave reviews.
His prolific body of work also ranges from designing a sculpture with Tokyo-born artist Takashi Murakami to accessories and jewelry for luxury goods brand Louis Vuitton to T-shirts for Japanese mega-brand Uniqlo to adidas sportswear and to the forthcoming perfume collaboration with Comme des Garcons.
Pharrell's work in the humanitarian field is an extension of his humble success. In 2008, he founded From One Hand To AnOTHER (FOHTA), a foundation focused on supporting the Pharrell Williams Resource Centers' learning programs for underserved youth in at-risk communities across the nation.
Now, with his latest venture i am OTHER - a multi-media creative collective that serves as an umbrella for all his endeavours, including Billionaire Boys Club & ICECREAM apparel, textile company Bionic Yarn and a dedicated YouTube channel - Williams's vision continues to push pop culture forward.
In 2014 he joined the seventh season of the reality competition television series The Voice as a coach alongside other new coach Gwen Stefani (with whom he was collaborating at the time) and returning coaches Adam Levine and Blake Shelton.