Pharrell Williams
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Pharrell Williams seemingly doesn’t involve himself in the war of words that some of his past collaborators have, but fans are wondering if a new track takes a shot at Drake. Via the “Double Life” track, some have suggested that Skateboard P may have had light smoke for Drake but nothing has been confirmed.
Pharrell Williams has been part of the Despicable Me franchise since its early days, producing across a majority of the soundtracks for the corresponding films. For Despicable Me 4, “Double Life” serves as the first single for the soundtrack and the opening verse has been interpreted as Drake this on Genius and across social media channels.
From “Double Life”:
Hey, what are you hiding? (Watch)/What you do when you’re gone? (Hey)/Nothin’ wrong bein’ private (Watch)/Make sure it ain’t wrong (Yeah)/Your life double-sided (Watch)/Two-faced like coins/What side do I get? (Watch)/What side are you on?
As most know, Drake took shots at Pharrell Williams on the “MELTDOWN” track from Travis Scott’s UTOPIA album and also reportedly melted down chains owned by the Virginia producer as seen in the video for Drake’s “Jumbotron Sh*t Poppin.”
In our opinion, this seems like a strong reach but anything is possible. Check out the track below.
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Photo: Getty
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Source: Focus Features / Focus Features
Biopics about your favorite music artists have become all the rage over the past few years, but this latest one is by far thee most original as Pharrell Williams will be releasing his own biopic film as a Lego.
Yes, you read that right. With the help of Lego and Focus Features, Pharrell’s upcoming Piece By Piece film will tell his story in the form of animated Lego pieces, and honestly, we’re low-key loving it. Directed by Morgan Neville, Piece By Piece delves into Pharrell’s childhood as the “odd” kid who developed a deep love of music and how his passion for it turned him into the music legend/icon that he is today.
Speaking to Variety, Skateboard P explained why he chose such a unique method to tell his story and as it turns out, it was a genius way of going about it.
Variety reports:
“Everyone was doing them at the time, and I was like, ‘Hell no.’ I never want to do what everybody else is doing,” Williams recalls. “Everybody’s taking the Lincoln Tunnel, then I want to take a plane.” Neville chimes in: “Or a jet ski.”
He continues: “But when he finally said the magic words, ‘You can do it any way you want,’ I knew deep down inside that I wanted to do it through Lego.”
There was freedom in the bricks, which would allow Williams’ story to reach more than just the people who’d be nostalgic for the behind-the-scenes stories about his music.
“We wanted it to be a medium for anyone that just wanted to hear a good, aspirational, inspiring story told vividly, in a way that felt like it could apply to them personally,” he explains. “That they’d realize that at seven years old or 77 years old, they could wake up tomorrow and go tell their story, piece by piece.”
It really does look like it’s going to be a fun and inspirational film for people of all ages. And for all you true blue Hip-Hoppers out there, the film will also have Lego appearances from the likes of Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar, Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, Busta Rhymes and Snoop Dogg.
So yeah, we can’t wait for this one.
Check out the trailer for Piece By Piece below, and let us know if you’ll be checking it out when it hits theaters Oct. 11.
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Source: LOUIS VUITTON / Louis Vuitton
Pharrell Williams is using his magic touch with smell goods. He is releasing his first ever fragrance with Luis Vuitton.
Source: LOUIS VUITTON / Louis Vuitton
As reported by Hypebeast, the Virginia Beach native is doubling down in his role at the apparel company. This week, he announced his first fragrance at La Maison. Titled LVRS, this expression is intended to embody the metaphorical yet nostalgic scent of the sun. In an interview with Vogue United Kingdom, Pharrell revealed that the idea spawned out of a conversation he had with perfumer Jacques Cavallier Belletrud at his debut show in June 2023. “I asked Jacques and Camille [his daughter], what does sunlight smell like? This fragrance is a poetic and metaphorical version of the answer to that question,” Pharrell said.
“When we discussed a few hours after the show how the perfume should be, we spoke very precisely about the use of the variety of light in nature coming from photosynthesis and this is where everything started,” Belletrud explained. Galbanum is the main ingredient used in LVRS and piqued Pharrell’s curiosity immediately as the gum resin has not been used in the smell goods business for many years.
“Smelling it, my first realization is that I can smell colors of this fragrance. It’s definitely on the blue side: blue and light blue and there’s a little bit of some purple in it,” the “Happy” performer said. “I don’t see red or burgundy or brown. It’s on the sweeter side. It smells like an elegant, elevated version of something that’s familiar to me.”
LVRS features top notes of bergamot and galbanum; middle notes of ginger and solar notes and base notes of sandalwood and cedarwood. Also available are some leather LV accessories in the camo print. LVRS launches June 19 and is priced at $320,00.
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Source: Candice Ward / Getty / Brian Tyree Henry
The cast of Pharrell Williams’s upcoming film/musical continues to add some serious star power.
Brian Tyree Henry (Atlanta, Godzilla X Kong: A New Empire) will star alongside Kelvin Harrison Jr., Da’Vine Joy Randolph, and Halle Bailey in the upcoming musical from Pharrell Williams and Michael Gondry.
Like the news of Bailey joining the cast, there is no word on Henry’s role in the upcoming film. According to reports, the film will take place in 1977 in Virginia and draw inspiration from Williams’ childhood at Atlantis Apartments.
Martin Hynes (Toy Story 4) and Steven Levenson (Tick, Tick…Boom!) will handle the script while Williams and Mimi Valdés are producing under the i am OTHER banner alongside Gil Netter for Gil Netter Productions.
Brian Tyree Henry has become one of the hottest acts in Hollywood after making a splash with FX’s Atlanta, starring alongside Donald Glover and LaKeith Stanfield.
Since then, Henry has starred in Hollywood blockbusters like Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, the sequel, Across The Spider-Verse, Marvel Studios Eternals, Godzilla vs Kong, Godzilla X Kong: A New Empire, and the recently announced animated feature, Transformers One, where he will voice a young Megatron.
Henry will also star in the upcoming boxing drama from Amazon MGM Studios, The Fire Inside, from filmmaker Rachel Morrison, out August 9, and Apple’s upcoming crime drama Sinking Spring, which he will also serve as an executive producer on.
Of course, he will also reprise his role as Officer Jeff Morales, father of Miles Morales in Beyond The Spider-Verse, the third film in Sony’s animated Spider-Man movie franchise.
Stay booked and busy, Brian Tyree Henry; we are here for it.
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Source: L. Cohen / Getty / Chad Hugo / Pusha T / Pharrell
First Hall & Oates, now Chad and Pharrell. After the stunning news of the legendary music-producing duo’s legal beef hit the timelines, Pusha-T is now weighing in on the matter.
Spotted on XXL, Clipse member and our favorite cocaine rap supplier, Pusha-T, shared his thoughts on his favorite collaborator’s legal drama around the Neptunes trademark.
Hugo, 50, claims that Pharrell, 50, violated an agreement between the two in his attempt to secure the trademarks for The Neptunes’ name.
Taking to his Instagram Stories on Tuesday, April 2, Pusha-T touched on the matter, claiming that Hugo’s lawyer, Kenneth D. Freundlich, trying to fatten his pockets is the reason for what is going on.
Per XXL:
“There’s not a dollar involved in this stupidity,” Push commented on an Instagram post resharing the initial article. “Just a lawyer looking to drain Chad’s pocket. Unreal.”
Pusha T then reshared his comments again to his Instagram Story after IG user Artemus Gordon agreed with King Push’s assertions.
“SMH…nothing more nothing less,” Push wrote.
A Breakdown of Hugo’s Lawsuit
The Hip-Hop world collectively sighed when news broke of the two Virginia native’s legal drama. Billboard shared the details of the lawsuit.
“Throughout their over thirty year history, [Hugo] and Williams agreed to, and in fact, have divided all assets,” wrote Hugo’s attorney Kenneth D. Freundlich, a prominent music industry litigator. “By ignoring and excluding [Hugo] from the any and all applications filed by applicant for the mark ‘The Neptunes,’ applicant has committed fraud in securing the trademarks and acted in bad faith.”
In a statement via a representative, Williams claims the move was not to ice out Hugo but to ensure no other people can get their slimy hands on The Neptunes name.
“Pharrell is surprised by this. We have reached out on multiple occasions to share in the ownership and administration of the trademark and will continue to make that offer. The goal here was to make sure a third party doesn’t get a hold of the trademark and to guarantee Chad and Pharrell share in ownership and administration,” the statement says.
In response, Freundlich wrote, “If Pharrell’s intent was to include Chad in the filing, he should have registered it in the name of them jointly or as a partnership and not in his own name.”
We hope these two can settle this dispute amicably.
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Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, collectively known as the Neptunes, are currently in court over the rights to the group’s name. In the court claims, Chad Hugo states that Pharrell Williams is fraudulently attempting to control the Neptunes trademarks for personal gain.
Billboard reports that Hugo, 50, and Williams, also 50, are embroiled in a legal tussle over the Neptunes name rights after Hugo and his attorneys filed a claim that Williams is seeking to register trademarks for the band’s name. According to Hugo’s side, this violates an agreement the pair made to split all things related to the group name equally.
From Billboard:
“Throughout their over thirty year history, [Hugo] and Williams agreed to, and in fact, have divided all assets,” wrote Hugo’s attorney Kenneth D. Freundlich, a prominent music industry litigator. “By ignoring and excluding [Hugo] from the any and all applications filed by applicant for the mark ‘The Neptunes,’ applicant has committed fraud in securing the trademarks and acted in bad faith.”
Via a representative, Williams offered a statement to Billboard explaining that the move was not to squeeze out Hugo but instead to make certain no other parties could lay claim to the name.
“Pharrell is surprised by this. We have reached out on multiple occasions to share in the ownership and administration of the trademark and will continue to make that offer. The goal here was to make sure a third party doesn’t get a hold of the trademark and to guarantee Chad and Pharrell share in ownership and administration,” read the statement.
Freundlich countered the statement by writing, “If Pharrell’s intent was to include Chad in the filing, he should have registered it in the name of them jointly or as a partnership and not in his own name.”
The Neptunes have been responsible for a bevy of hit songs, producing smashes for the likes of The Clipse, Snoop Dogg, Nelly, Justin Timberlake, and others.
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Photo: Gary Gershoff / Getty
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Source: Mario Renzi – Formula 1 / Getty / Pharrell
Pharrell always seems to be in a good mood, but fans in Saudi Arabia saw a different side of the super-producer/rapper during a recent performance.
The man who traveled the globe singing “Because I’m happy” wasn’t feeling that while performing at an F1 Post Race concert in Saudi Arabia.
According to the Daily Mail’s reporting, Louis Vuitton’s latest Men’s Creative Director ended his performance early because fans in attendance would not stop throwing their light-up wristbands on the stage.
“This is the liveliest city right now on the planet but we have also got to be the safest,” Williams said to the crowd. “I know you guys are excited and I know you are wanting to throw your wrist gadgets and lights and all that, but you can’t as the girls are dancing. And me? I love women. How about you?”
He continued, “We must protect our women, so if you want to throw them lights, you have to throw them the other way, not at the stage. Who understands what I’m saying?”
Despite his warning, fans continued to chuck their wristbands on the stage. “Let’s take those stupid wristbands and throw them in the air right now when I count to three. And now we are done,” he said before exiting stage left like Jackson Heights’ own Randy Watson in Coming To America, telling the crowd, “Okay, I am going to let you all finish.”
Damn.
It takes a great deal of disrespect when Pharrell to make Pharrell end a performance early.
The “Frontin’” singer was not the only significant act during the event; Alicia Keys and Martin Garrix were headliners.
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Pharrell Williams’ life will be coming to the big screen in the most Pharrell way possible. A LEGO movie has been made of his life.
Hype Beast is reporting that the Virginia Beach, Va. creative has struck a deal with the game and media conglomerate. On Friday, Jan. 26, Skateboard P announced the news via his social media channels stating, “Who would’ve thought that playing with LEGO bricks as a kid would evolve into a movie about my life. It’s proof that you can do it too…”.
Titled Piece By Piece the movie is expected to defy “genres and expectations to transport audiences into a LEGO® world where anything is possible.”
This film will be directed by Morgan Neville (Won’t You Be My Neighbor?). The Grammy Award winner detailed how the project came to be in a formal statement. “Five years ago, Pharrell Williams approached me with the idea of helping him tell his story through LEGO animation,” he said. “It was one of those rare moments where I knew in a second that this was a journey I wanted to go on.”
Piece By Piece is slated for an Oct. 11, 2024 release date. It is unclear if the piece will truly be a biopic-style offering or will just be inspired by Pharrell Williams’ life.
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Photo: Getty
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Drake and Pusha T‘s feud might not have the spotlight it once did but it appears to be far from over. The Canadian superstar took a light shot at King Push and Pharrell on Travis Scott’s new album UTOPIA, and fans have their thoughts per usual.
Travis Scott dropped UTOPIA on Friday (July 28) and so far the early returns on the album say that Cactus Jack has another one in the can. Among several standout features that include the likes of Beyoncé, 21 Savage, Future, SZA, Young Thug, Playboy Carti, and more, Drake is also part of that star-studded list. Drizzy shows up on the track “MELTDOWN” and the last few bars of his feature had the aforementioned targets.
From “MELTDOWN”:
My schedule is out, come spin us, for realMan, f*ck all that spinnin’ the narrative sh*tI melt down the chains that I bought from yo’ bossGive a f*ck about all of that heritage sh*tSince V not around, the members done hung up the Louis, they not even wearing that sh*tDon’t come to the boy ’bout repairing some sh*tDon’t come to the boy about sparing some sh*tYou lucky that Vogue was suing, ’cause I would’ve been with the Wassas in Paris and sh*t
As it stands, Drake is alerting his opposition that he’s on his “It’s All A Blur” tour and inviting the smoke in the first line of the lyrics quoted above. On Twitter and Genius alike, fans are noting that the “melt down the chains” line is directed towards Pharrell, who reportedly designed a series of chains the rapper wore in the “Jumbotron Sh*t Poppin” video from Her Loss, his collaborative album with 21 Savage.
The lyric that begins with “Since V not around” is a clear nod to the late Virgil Abloh, who was the artistic director of Louis Vuitton’s menswear line, a role Pharrell now occupies.
On X (formerly known as Twitter), Drake, Pusha T, and Pharrell’s names are trending. We’ve got the best reactions below.
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Pharrell Pack, a new collection of digital, physical wearables and redeemables, was curated by Skateboard P himself. Merging the worlds of tech and fashion, a natural space for Pharrell Williams, the Pharrell Pack offers buyers a variety of stylish and fun options.
The Pharrell Pack is a collaboration with Doodles, which offers a selection of physical wearables, toys, and other items alongside digital countering items. With Pharrell’s eye for fashion and style, several brands connected to the Virginia Beach, Va. native such as BBC, Ice Cream, adidas, and Humanrace. Doodles recently launched a test version of its The Stoodio, a digital home that was born from the web3 world.
Via The Stoodio, buyers can redeem their Pharrell Pack and put new fashion flourishes on their Doodles 2 avatar with the custom digital wearables. The Pharrell Pack includes three digital wearables, 1 redeemable, and one beta pass. 48 of the 300 packs will have a grail redeemable and matching grail wearable. 252 packs will feature non-green sambas as redeemable along with exclusive wearables.
If that isn’t enough, 12 Doodlees will get a redeemable for a limited-edition Pharrell 50th birthday edition green Sambas. These Sambas will not be for sale anywhere else.
To learn more about the Pharell Pack and how to snag your own, please click here.
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Photo: Doodles/Pharrell Williams