Pharrell Williams, born 1973 in Virginia Beach, is a producer, singer, and half of The Neptunes, the duo behind an absurd share of 2000s pop and hip hop. Happy topped the Hot 100, G I R L (2014) is the solo entry point, and 13 Grammys back it all up. Explore Pharrell Williams vinyl, CDs, and reissues at Wax Trax Records.
Pharrell Lanscilo Williams was born in Virginia Beach, Virginia on April 5, 1973. He launched his recording career as half of The Neptunes production duo with Chad Hugo (their production credits include Britney Spears's I'm a Slave 4 U and Toxic, Jay-Z's Change Clothes, Justin Timberlake's Cry Me a River, and dozens of other landmark 2000s pop and hip hop tracks). He launched the band N.E.R.D. with Hugo and Shay Haley in 1999. His solo career launched with In My Mind (2006). His 2013 single Happy from the Despicable Me 2 soundtrack reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 24 countries and was widely cited as the most commercially-successful song of 2014. He has continued releasing material across multiple decades. In 2023, he was announced as Louis Vuitton's Men's Creative Director - the first artist outside the fashion industry to hold the role. He has won 13 Grammy Awards. His parallel film score work includes Hidden Figures (2016) with Hans Zimmer. He has fashion brand work including BBC/Ice Cream (with Nigo) and Adidas, Chanel, and now Louis Vuitton collaborations. His foundational influence on early-2000s hip hop and pop production, and broader contemporary popular music and fashion, is widely cited.
Pharrell Williams's sound combines hip hop, pop, R&B, alternative R&B, rock, funk, and dance with his distinctive vocal delivery (use of falsetto), virtuosic Neptunes production work (use of distinctive minimalist beats and unconventional sounds), and varied compositional approaches drawing on classic funk, soul, and contemporary pop influences.
Star Trak, Interscope, and Columbia pressings of the Pharrell Williams catalog have been issued in multiple color variant editions and limited deluxe pressings.
Listeners new to Pharrell Williams typically start with G I R L (2014).
