Pharrell Williams

Pharrell Williams (born April 5, 1973 in Virginia Beach, Virginia) is one half of the writing duo, The Neptunes (his partner is Chad Hugo). Pharrell has produced numerous number 1 hit tracks for megastars such as Mystikal, Jay-Z, NSYNC, Britney Spears, Nelly and many more. Pharrell was born the oldest of three sons to Pharaoh Williams and Carolyn Williams. His father was a handyman, and his mother was a teacher. In seventh grade, Williams met fellow band mate Hugo. The two began working together, mixing beats and playing in various live bands and Williams played the drums. In 1992, while the two were attending different high schools in Virginia Beach, they sold their first song, “Rump Shakur,” to Wreckx-n-Effect. Then they began scoring songwriting and production assignments with artists such as Snoop Dogg and No Doubt. In August 2002, The Neptunes were named Producers of the Year at both The Source Awards and the Billboard Awards. In 2003, Williams wrote and produced rapper Nelly’s single, Hot In Here. He repeated the success by doing the same with Britney Spear’s dance-pop single, I’m A Slave 4 U. But it wasn't until the summer of 2003 that Pharrell released his first solo single, “Frontin” featuring Jay-Z. The album The Neptunes Present…Clones was then released, debuting at number one in August 2003. "Frontin'" was a big summer hit and kept Williams' momentum running up to the release of Hugo and Williams' second funk/rock-oriented N.E.R.D album, released in March 2004.