Hold on,
I've been waiting so long
Is this how this feels?
(electronic fanfare playing)
It's happening
Yes, it's really happening
This is real
(fanfare ends)
-BABY: Dada.
-PHARRELL WILLIAMS: Yes, sir.
-Dada. -Yes, sir.
-(kids chattering playfully)
Careful. Don't crash.
(baby squealing)
You okay?
Yeah, but you're not
supposed to have that
-on the table, buddy.
-Dada.
So, can you do me a favor
and tell everybody
I'm trying to do an interview
for the film?
Okay, babe.
But just tell the kids to be--
quiet down, like...
(kids chattering and babbling)
-And good morning, brother.
-Hey.
-MORGAN NEVILLE: Are we good?
-MAN: Yeah. All set.
MORGAN:
Okay.
-Hey.
-Hey, how you doing, man?
Good to see you. How's it going?
-We're recording? Yeah?
-Yeah, yeah.
Okay, cool.
Quiet on the set!
You know what I always
thought about?
MORGAN:
What's that?
What if, like...
What if nothing's new?
(whooshing)
What if life is like a LEGO set?
(satellite beeping)
And you can put 'em together
whatever way you want.
But you're borrowing from
colors that already existed.
Does that make sense?
Um...
You know what would be cool
is if, like,
we told my story
with LEGO pieces.
(chuckles)
-Seriously?
-Yes.
-LEGO?
-Yes.
MORGAN:
Mm-hmm.
Just imagine all the color
that would bring to it.
Sure.
-Limitless color.
-Mm-hmm.
This is the best way I can
really be my purest self...
-Yeah.
-...without feeling weird.
Okay. (chuckles)
Man, I'm saying just...
Just be open. Just be open.
So, what would you be wearing
in this interview, then?
Dad hat, T-shirt, shorts,
on a yellow electric bike.
(bicycle bell rings)
'Kay.
Moving on.
Here's an easy question.
(chuckles): Well, maybe
it's easy, maybe it's hard.
Where are you from?
I'm from the mud.
("Maybe" by N.E.R.D. playing)
Close to the fabled Atlantis.
Uh-huh
And it was born in a cloud
With silver lining
I just became obsessed with,
like, water, you know?
And, like, King Neptune.
And voil
I feel like
my obsession with water
triggered something in me.
-Different kinds of abilities.
-(trident ringing)
I don't know where it's from.
But I knew I was different.
-(bowl clatters)
-(water splashes)
MORGAN:
Really?
PHARRELL:
I've always grappled with that.
(water flowing)
See, maybe
There was something wrong
And you weren't telling me
No, oh
See, see, maybe
The laugh's on me
And life was
telling me a joke
PHARRELL:
I'm from Virginia Beach.
The beach was
less than a mile from Atlantis,
the housing project
where I grew up.
The suburbs thought
this was the hood,
but really
this place was magical.
(band playing "Maybe")
-(dog barks)
-Hey, yeah
(drumming to music)
You'd just witness music
bouncing off the walls.
And the Blue Angels,
they would fly over
my housing project.
-(rumbling, rattling)
-We lived in the crash zone,
-so we had the best view.
-(baby crying)
-(song ends)
-(people murmuring)
(jet engines whooshing)
You couldn't tell me
that life was not amazing.
And I loved music.
Like, everybody loves music,
but I'm realizing
I had a different kind
of relationship with it.
Like, it was--
literally was mesmerizing to me.
("I Wish" by Stevie Wonder
playing)
I didn't even know
that I was mesmerized.
I just thought
that's what all Black kids did.
I thought we all just stared
into the speaker like...
Whoa.
Looking back on when I was
a little nappy-headed boy
I was seeing colors.
It's called synesthesia.
It's not something that you see
with your physical eyes.
It's something that you see
in your mind's eye.
(exclaims)
Trying your best to bring
the water to your eyes
Thinking it might stop her
from whupping your behind
All the Stevie music
would do it to me.
Beautiful hues of light
cascading.
I wish those days could
come back once more
Why did those days
ever have to go?
'Cause I love them so
I would just start
the record over
and start it
over and over and over.
Doing whatever it took
to continue to make it happen.
Why did those days
ever have to go?
-I wish those...
-(record scratches, song stops)
PHAROAH WILLIAMS:
Man, he was way out there.
He must have got it
from his mama.
-Oh, my God.
-(chuckles)
-And me.
-(laughs)
As parents from a project,
we needed to be encouraging
and tell him like...
You can do anything
you want to do.
People are able
to accomplish things
because they work hard
at what it is that they do.
That's my mom.
(knocking to rhythmic beat)
("holl*back Girl"
by Gwen Stefani playing)
PUSHA T: We basically lived
in the same neighborhood.
We were kids, so it was like,
"Hey, we're gonna ride our bikes
to Mount Trashmore."
PHARRELL:
And I was the kid
in the neighborhood
with the skateboard.
(lively chatter)
-(excited chatter)
-Yeah.
We explored everywhere.
(seabirds calling)
We would go to neighborhoods
and point at massive houses
and dream.
Virginia Beach Oceanfront was
the congregating place
for anybody
-who was a creative.
-(crowd cheering)
(rapping): Timbaland,
make my body hot...
PUSHA T: The best rappers there
made a name.
You have Timbaland,
who's known as DJ Timmy Tim.
(record scratching rhythmically)
We all kind of knew each other
from school.
(lively chatter, laughter)
PHARRELL:
Yeah, I knew Timbaland.
I knew Timbaland 'cause
we were in class together,
-and he was cool with Missy.
-(pounding, clapping to music)
And that's how I met Missy,
through Tim.
At the time, we weren't thinking
we were going to be artists.
We just loved doing music.
-(whistle blowing rhythmically)
-(crowd cheering)
(band playing "holl*back Girl")
In Virginia,
we've been saying for years
there's something in the water.
(chuckles)
They always say
there's something in the water,
but I think
it's just Virginia itself.
(music and cheering continue)
-(song ends)
-(school bell ringing)
(quiet chatter)
But I wasn't the best student.
(garbled chatter)
I found school difficult,
you know?
You go from being
in sixth grade,
where you only really had
two teachers,
but seventh grade was like
you had
seven different teachers.
It was just too overwhelming.
-(school bell ringing)
-(fingers snapping)
Hey! Earth to Pharrell.
Stop daydreaming
and get to work.
PHARRELL:
I have, like, anxiety about it
and refuse to go back.
So, I was
in seventh grade twice.
(phone ringing)
The teacher contacted my mom
and said,
"Look, he's got
enough credit to pass."
And my mom was like,
"No, he needs to...
he needs to do it again."
(door opens, closes)
The boy is smart.
He's brilliant.
But he only did enough
to get by.
Do you feel like
you fit in as a kid?
No.
I was detached.
And more in dreamland
all the time,
because oftentimes that's all
I had, was my imagination.
-MAN (over TV): Soul...
-("Funkytown" playing)
Train!
PHARRELL:
I wanted to escape.
Hello and welcome aboard.
You're right on time for
another ride on the big train.
(channel changes)
Live long and prosper.
PHARRELL: TV, for me,
became like this magical place
where, like, my imagination
would just run super wild.
Town to keep me moving,
keep me grooving
With some energy
Well, I talk about it,
talk about it, talk about it
Talk about it...
Even in the outskirts
of our own solar system,
we humans have barely begun
our explorations.
PHARRELL: Carl Sagan's
way of looking at life
was amazing to me.
(warbling)
-(gasps)
-(laughs)
(song ends)
I felt like
everybody else was like,
"Oh, that's an odd child.
He's odd."
And that crushed my spirit.
So I didn't know
what the hell I was gonna do.
(choir vocalizing)
-(choir continues vocalizing)
-(rhythmic clapping)
(scattered whoops, chatter)
Hold your head, lil' bruh
You're not dead, lil' bruh
You are brown
And this world is
black and white, lil' bruh
I know how it sounds,
lil' bruh
But you'll be all right,
lil' bruh
Yeah, yeah
I bet this song
makes no sense to you
With the world
on your shoulders
What can you see?
God blessed us all
with the gift to pursue
Just clear your mind
and you'll feel like me
Yeah
I remember his grandmother
telling him
that she had a dream.
Pharrell was lifted up.
He was suspended in the air,
way up in the sky
among the stars.
And she said...
GRANDMA: God has given you
a special gift,
but to whom much is given
much is required.
You were made to amaze
And bring change, lil' bruh
It takes one
to know one, bruh
So here's one
to goin' on, bruh
Yeah
Get your hands up
Come on, lil' bruh
Just shout it out, come on
-Just shout it out...
-(song fades)
Were you making any music yet?
No, 'cause I didn't take band
in my first time
in seventh grade.
I mean, like, even singing
or playing piano or anything?
The closest I came to music
was lining my grandmother's
pillows up off of her couch
and taking the cake mixer
and a whisk.
And those were my drumsticks.
(shaking rhythmically)
(tapping rhythmically)
(playing rhythmic beat)
She saw that in me, and that's
when, in the seventh grade,
she got me a snare drum.
(playing drumbeat)
But she started me on my path.
My grandmother was the one
that was like, "Listen..."
When you go back to school,
you should take music.
(band playing
Justin Timberlake's "Seorita")
(song continues louder)
PHARRELL:
And that's when I met Chad.
Chad understood colors in music,
and we bonded on that.
(vocalizing)
Ladies and gentlemen, huh
It's my pleasure
to introduce to you
He's a friend of mine
It feels like something's
-Heating up
-Come on
(laughing)
PHAROAH: Both of them
was kind of different.
They was like little nerds.
-Chad was always kind of quiet.
-(cymbals clanging)
I mean, it's true.
(laughing):
Yeah.
CAROLYN:
But to see the two of them
do music together,
it's like they read
each other's minds.
(tapping rhythmically)
(playing N.E.R.D.'s "Rock Star")
We were just being ourselves
and were just-just having fun,
you know?
PHARRELL:
Chad is literally like a savant.
I've learned so much from him.
He was like,
"I met this kid named Chad.
"He has some music equipment
at his house.
We should go and check it out."
We started going over
to Chad's house,
over the garage.
PUSHA T:
I'm sorry, I have to say it.
We skipped so much school.
It was so bad.
(playful chatter, laughter)
MISSY: Every day,
we would create songs.
Everything sounded futuristic.
PHARRELL: "Let's try this.
Let's try that."
It's like the person
who invented
-peanut butter and jelly.
-(laughing maniacally)
It's like a weird mixture.
And if you can pull it off,
it becomes something new
and different.
It feels good. I like that.
-It's alive!
-(thunder crashes)
You can't be me,
I'm a rock star
I'm rhyming on the top
of my cop car
I'm a rebel
and my .44 pops far
It's almost over now,
it's almost over now
I guess you ain't heard
that we swallow guys
It's too damn late
to apologize
When you see the mantle
or when you see the skies
It's almost over now,
it's almost over now.
-(song ends)
-(crowd cheering)
-Chad.
-Yeah?
We need a name.
-Yep.
-What do you think it should be?
Um... I don't know.
Don't know.
PHAROAH:
Pharrell, he wanted more
out of life
than just making it, you know?
I think he had a job
at McDonald's for 30 minutes.
(Carolyn laughs)
He had a whole separate business
selling nuggets
out the back door.
(laughs)
Dealing nuggets? No.
That never happened.
Nice, Shae. Nice one.
(lively chatter, laughter)
SHAE: And he would
come home with, like,
at least a hundred nuggets.
They were so good.
(excited chatter)
But it's the reason I got fired,
'cause I was eating
all the time.
-You got fired?
-Yeah, I got fired.
Three times.
(over speakers):
A number one, extra large.
You want some fries with that?
Remember, this is
Virginia Beach, Virginia.
(over stereo): I get
knocked down, but I get up...
It's like very Normalville, USA.
There's no...
no music industry there.
I couldn't relate to it.
And I thought, "Well, damn,
how am I gonna make it out?"
-(rumbling, whooshing)
-Huh?
And then, out of nowhere...
(birds squawking)
...the biggest producer
in the world at the time
comes to Virginia Beach.
I was looking at the future.
-(neon sign buzzes)
-(microphone feedback hums)
Ladies and gentlemen,
get ready for
the new jack swing king.
("My Prerogative"
by Bobby Brown playing)
-(engines roaring)
-(tires squealing)
He's produced hits
for Keith Sweat,
Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince,
and of course Michael Jackson.
Teddy Riley in the house.
(crowd cheering)
SHAE:
What's the chances
of the hottest producer
moving within walking distance
from your high school?
I was in disbelief.
It's kind of like saying
E.T.'s hanging out at the mall.
(people screaming)
That shook our town up.
Everybody's talking
all this stuff about me
-Now, now -Why don't
they just let me live?
(song stops)
TIMBALAND: But I don't think
it brought change to the city
because it wasn't
opened up like that to the city.
You know what I'm saying?
It was Teddy Riley's studio.
MORGAN: So, Mr. Riley,
where did this all begin?
The story of Pharrell began
with these two policewomen.
-Police?
-Yes.
(siren chirps)
They just kept coming
to the studio.
And they were like...
Why is it that y'all think
y'all can come in here
and do y'all music
and not do nothin'
for the community?
We would love to do something
for the community,
if you can do us a favor.
Now you want favors.
Okay, what is it?
Yeah, what is it?
Introduce us to the principal
of that school.
We would like to do
talent shows.
-Oh, okay.
-Okay.
Bonita Applebum,
you gotta put me on
Bonita Applebum, I said
you gotta put me on...
TAMMY LUCAS:
I was on the panel.
Teddy said that
the winner would get to come
to Future Studios
and work with him.
If we do this right, whoa.
-(scattered applause)
-(accordion plays awkwardly)
All right. All right, now.
How many of you are ready
for Teddy Riley?
(crowd cheering)
MORGAN: Do you even remember
what the music was?
It was a lot of, like,
baby Whitney Houstons.
(vocalizing)
All of the judges were like,
"These people are
the next greatest singers."
-("I Will Always Love You"
playing) -And I...
I...
I will al--
-(song stops)
-(shoes tapping rhythmically)
HOST:
All right, last but not least,
here come The Neptunes!
But when Pharrell
and The Neptunes came on...
(crowd cheering)
...I was like...
Oh, these guys are different.
(electric keyboard chords
playing)
-(clears throat)
-(rap beat begins)
(rapping): Yes, it is he,
Magnum the Verb Lord
Mermaid City is
where I was born
I prefer words
instead of using swords
But heads are coming off
once I press record
Marching cavalier,
that's in my bone marrow
A Black martian
with alien carols
Let me explain
why I'm a multi-hyphen
Raised in Atlantis,
of course I love Poseidon
From Virginia Boy,
from Virginia Boy
From Virginia Boy,
from Virginia Boy, what...
TEDDY: It went from
one thing to another.
Pharrell went from rapping
-to singing,
-(vocalizing)
-and then got on the drums.
-(crowd exclaiming)
It felt like the most incredible
freestyle performance.
-(song ends)
-(crowd cheering)
And I just knew
that's what I'm looking for.
A'ight, guys, let's look
at what we have here.
-Mr. Pharrell.
-Yes, sir.
-Chad.
-Yes, sir.
-Shae.
-Yo.
You know, we're looking for
new artists and new vibes.
So...
-(stammers) Yes.
-Oh, wow, okay.
PHARRELL:
Absolutely. Can't wait.
Here you have it.
(fingers snap)
(door opens, closes)
(laughs)
Whoa. It's real.
Oh, (bleep). (laughs)
-(Chad and Shae whoop)
-This entire time,
I'm just thinking, "I don't know
where life is gonna lead me,
but I'm just gonna go for it."
("Everyone Nose"
by N.E.R.D. playing)
(knocking)
It's The Neptunes for Teddy.
-(phone ringing)
-(busy chatter)
PHARRELL:
Teddy was, like, super busy.
I think he was, like,
working on Michael's
Dangerous album.
He just was meticulous
about everything.
He would spend, like, an hour
just mixing a snare. I'm like...
What is he listening to?
(fingers snap)
They meant business.
They didn't want kids
running around the studio.
My studio etiquette
was so wrong.
You know, Teddy would play
a chord, and I would go...
Hey, why don't you change it
to this chord?
(song stops)
(door opens, closes)
And the engineer would just
give me the dirtiest look.
Hey, man, listen.
-Teddy's the boss.
-(song resumes)
-Mm-hmm.
-When he's working,
-you don't say anything.
-Yes, sir.
-You're lucky to be in the room.
-(gulps)
PHARRELL: That's where
I learned discipline.
(phone ringing)
And a lot of times,
Pharrell would give me tracks,
and he would say,
"Tammy, can you help me
write some lyrics to this song?"
You know what I mean?
-Yeah, yeah, yeah-yeah.
-(song ends)
The thing that raised
my eyebrows was
Pharrell leaving home
late at night.
And I'm thinking,
"This guy is wasting his time."
TEDDY:
This one night,
I just-- I needed help
on this record...
...because I didn't know
how to really rap.
I said...
-All right, Pharrell.
-Yes, sir.
Man, I need a rap.
PHARRELL:
And I was like, "Really?"
-He was like...
-Yes.
This is a big task.
This record cannot come out
until I get the proper rap.
You got it.
(laughs):
I don't think he had it,
but he just went in the room
and freestyled it.
(rapping): It's Teddy, ready
with the one-two checker
Wreckx-n-Effect is in effect,
but I'm the wrecker
Of the track 'bout the honey
Shakin' rumps
and they backs in
And then I mimicked what he did.
(slowly):
Yes, it's Teddy
Ready with
the one-two checker
Wreckx-n-Effect--
-And he was like...
-Nah, it's pretty simple.
Just let it bounce.
(inhales deeply)
("Rump Shaker"
by Wreckx-n-Effect playing)
Yeah
All I wanna do is
zoom-a-zoom-zoom-zoom
-And a poom-poom
-Just shake ya rump
All I wanna do is
zoom-a-zoom-zoom-zoom
-And a poom-poom
-Just shake ya rump
All I wanna do is
zoom-a-zoom-zoom-zoom
-And a poom-poom
-Just shake ya rump
Yep, yep, it's Teddy, ready
with the one-two checker
Wreckx-N-Effect is in effect,
but I'm the wrecker
Of the track 'bout the honey
Shakin' rumps
and they backs in
Booties of the cuties
steady shakin' but relaxin'
-Huh? -The action is
packed in a jam
Like a closet,
beats bound to get you up...
Oh, my God.
All I wanna do is
zoom-a-zoom-zoom-zoom
-(door opens, closes)
-And a poom-poom...
PHAROAH:
And one day he came home,
he said, "Dad, this ain't bad
for a first paycheck."
Just shake ya rump...
PHARRELL: But, I mean,
I blew it in like two weeks.
I mean, I was like 19 years old.
I like the way
you comb your hair, uh
I like the stylish clothes
you wear, uh
It's just the little things
you do, uh
That makes me
wanna get with you, uh
All I wanna do is
zoom-a-zoom-zoom-zoom
-And a poom-poom
-Just shake ya rump
All I wanna do is
zoom-a-zoom-zoom-zoom
-And a poom-poom
-Just shake ya rump
All I wanna do is
zoom-a-zoom-zoom-zoom
-And a poom-poom.
-(song stops)
(people groaning)
He wanted to try to get
on another level.
That gave him, like,
an artistic itch.
PHARRELL: So I would go up
to Teddy week after week
and just sort of
question him, like...
-Man, I'm trying to make
my own music. -No.
PHARRELL:
He said I wasn't ready.
(thunder rumbling)
I was, like, really
at my wits' end.
I thought I might have to get
out of that deal with Teddy.
(church bell tolling)
(door creaking)
So I talked
to my pastor about it.
And I remember being
so confused.
Look, in Virginia,
he's the only guy here.
Like, what's--
How is this gonna happen?
-Listen.
-(organ playing hopeful music)
If you're standing
at the bottom of a mountain,
can you see the other side?
No, you can't.
But does that mean
there's no other side?
The other side of that
is your life leveling up.
What God has for you,
no man can stand in the way of.
-He said, "Trust God."
-Trust God.
And I did.
(door creaking)
(wind whistling softly)
(panting) Hey.
CHAD:
Pharrell would come to my house
with a beat in his head.
We would tell ourselves,
"We can do this."
(sneezes)
Let's make some music.
I'm choking on french fries,
(clears throat)
but that's okay.
(playing gentle
electronic music)
PHARRELL:
Music was just coming out of me.
Can't tell you
where it's coming from.
I don't know.
I love it.
Creatively, I'm going in there.
I'm just reaching into oblivion,
reaching into the future,
and we don't know what the hell
we gonna bring back.
I'm new to this.
But it's awesome.
(electronic music continues)
For, you know, like five years,
time just passes,
just stacking beats.
-(music swells)
-(choir vocalizing)
I was so ambitious.
It's all I cared about
was, like, getting on.
Pharrell definitely wanted to be
in front of the mic. 100%.
He wanted to rap.
He wanted to sing.
-He wanted to rap sing.
-(music stops)
What am I gonna do?!
(frustrated shout)
I don't know, man.
Definitely thought it was time
to go back to school.
Get another profession.
Yeah, but, I mean, listen.
All it just takes is the right
opportunity to do our music,
and it's gonna go.
We're gonna figure it out.
(touch tones beeping)
So I called this A&R guy,
Kenny Ortiz.
(phone ringing)
One of his interns
would always answer the phone.
That was Rob Walker.
Hello?
ROB WALKER:
You know, the first few times,
it was kind of like, you know...
Kenny's not here.
-(phone ringing)
-He's busy.
Because he literally called
every single day.
And then it got to the point
where he wasn't calling
to see where Kenny was.
He was just calling to say,
"What's up?"
(phone ringing)
-What's up, man?
-Hey, man. (chuckles)
What's going on?
Like, what's happening?
We were like phone friends,
like...
Oh, that wasn't from you?
-(laughing)
-They almost made...
There was a connection there.
(horns honking)
And I finally met him.
(barking)
And I was like, "Oh, wow,
these guys look like somebody."
Oh, what's up, man?
Finally nice to, like,
put a face with a name, man.
Hey. I want to play you
this music.
-Come on
-("Nothin'" by N.O.R.E. playing)
-Militainment
-Oh...
ROB: And I'm, like,
immediately blown away.
Like, blown away.
And I was like, "Holy..."
(song stops)
Wow. Like, this is great.
PHARRELL: I didn't have
a manager. I was like...
Yo, you be my manager.
Manage you?
Yo, I don't know anything
about management.
I'm an intern.
Well, we can learn together.
So I was like,
"All right, let's do it."
After that, we went crazy.
("Splash" by N.E.R.D. playing)
PHARRELL:
Every week, we'd send out tapes
and then he would market them
around as best as he could.
ROB:
Five to ten new beats a week,
and then I would then go around
to the A&Rs, to the artists.
-I was sleeping in lobbies.
-(elevator bell dings)
Whatever I had to do.
I'm a little teapot,
short and stout
There's some shake-up
in around me
Know it's talk
and no doubt...
Yeah, I just need
like five minutes, B.
We did the rounds.
We met everybody
that was somebody.
And Pharrell was coming
full throttle.
(elevator bell dings)
Like, "I'm coming for the crown.
I'm coming for you.
I'm coming for everybody."
And once he turns on,
you can't turn him off.
I'm right here,
and I ain't goin' nowhere
You can turn tables
and you can throw chairs
I'm right here,
and I ain't goin' nowhere
You can knock doors and tear
if you have to have some
Splash if you want to,
splash if you want...
(elevator bell dings)
ROB:
It got really bad.
-(phone ringing)
-One exec holds
a full-fledged conversation
as we're performing.
In Air Force 1s,
I'm strictly 13.
12 and a half won't work, man.
ROB: Pharrell gets on the desk,
and I'm like...
Bruh, why are you on the desk?
Yo, he has to see
how hard I'm willing to go.
I'm right here,
and I ain't goin' nowhere
-(elevator bell dings)
-You can turn tables
And you can throw chairs
I'm right here,
and I ain't goin' nowhere...
ROB: He was like this
little brother that you wanted
to knock upside the head.
(song stops)
I had to have a talk
with Pharrell.
Like, he had no money,
my unemployment ran out,
we're all living
with our parents.
This was, like,
everything I was banking on.
I said...
-Hey, man.
-(fingers snap)
Yeah, what?
Like, we can't do that, man.
You're gonna, like,
k*ll yourself in this thing.
(clears throat)
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
But, hey, I'm an artist.
But selling beats,
that's a way to get in.
Okay, fine.
At the time,
I chose to look at it
the wrong way,
to think that, like,
I was being rejected.
I didn't realize that I was
being told to train harder.
(crew chattering)
-MORGAN: Hey, N.O.R.E.
-Hey, what's going on?
It's N.O.R.E. Yep.
What's your name? Morgan?
-Yep. Morgan.
-How you doing, Morgan?
Good, good.
So, I was just wondering,
how did you know about
The Neptunes?
What was it like
when you first met them?
Uh...
I first met Pharrell
because Rob Walker.
(beat from
Mase's "Lookin' at Me" playing)
And at the time, I had
never heard of The Neptunes.
Two dudes, one Filipino
and the other Black,
from Virginia Beach?
Come on. This is--
This doesn't even make sense.
But they played me one beat,
then they played me
another beat.
(beat from Jadakiss's
"Knock Yourself Out" playing)
(beat ends)
I remember
I was on my way to Miami
and Pharrell said,
"This third beat..."
This third beat, don't listen
to that until you get to Miami.
Why? Why wouldn't I listen
to this third beat?
And he's like, "Yo, listen."
People take my beat sometimes,
but people don't let me produce.
I want to produce this.
N.O.R.E.:
No one had talked to me
like that before,
you know what I'm saying?
(muffled beat playing faintly)
It took everything for me
in the world
not to listen to track three.
I remember the hotel
like it was yesterday,
and that's when I actually
listened to track three,
called "Superthug."
("Superthug" by N.O.R.E.
playing)
I took a risk with
these two kids from Virginia
who had
this totally different sound,
but when you put our sound
together, it's magnificent.
A-yo, we light a candle
Run laps around
the English Channel
Neptunes, I got
a c*ck spaniel
(barks)
I remember recording the
original track of "Superthug."
I would go, "What, what, what,
what, what, wh-what, one."
That's how I counted my bars.
I remember me saying...
Listen, all we got to do
is get the hook.
-And Pharrell saying, "We got
the hook." -We got the hook.
He kept me
and just took out the "ones."
-And I remember telling him...
-They're gonna laugh at me.
-He said... -You're gonna laugh
straight to the bank.
I just believed in this kid.
(laughing)
What, what, what, what,
what, what, wh-what
What, what, what,
what, what, what, wh-what
What, what, what, what,
what...
I remember the album coming out
and all the DJs
start playing the record.
(laughing)
This is the life, yo,
of a superstar
Fly-a*s mansions
and a million cars
Got to get the cash, yo,
and it's live or die
The Neptunes and Noreaga,
the limit is the sky.
I remember bringing them to Jay.
I remember bringing them
to Nas.
But everyone was
a little skeptical
-(record scratches, song stops)
-because Pharrell purposely
wanted to make hip-hop but
not look like a hip-hop star.
You know, it's like opening
a bakery shop, right?
For the first two months, the
bakery shop is not doing good.
And then you go
and you tell everybody...
This bakery shop is it.
It's awesome.
Then you travel somewhere
and you come back,
and the bakery shop is all over.
Everyone is just--
They want these muffins.
They want these cookies.
They want these bakery good--
And you get to say,
"I knew this was gonna work."
(phones ringing)
ROB: When "Superthug" dropped,
everything changed.
-Forever.
-Hello?
PHARRELL:
We started getting the calls
to work on this
and to work on that
and to work on this
and to work on that.
The magic of
the music business is
how many times
can you do it again.
'Cause this is the hot seat.
("Shake Ya a*s"
by Mystikal playing)
Not everybody can sit
in that hot seat for long.
I remember watching
the Mystikal video.
Attention, all y'all
players and p*mps
Right now
in the place to be...
-And I was like...
-He in the video?
-What's he doing in the video?
-Y'all dudes can't
-Mess with me
-Watch yourself...
N.O.R.E.:
It went from no one
returning my calls
to everyone calling.
"Yo, can you hook me up
with those dudes again?"
-And I'm like...
-No!
(laughing)
Now, this ain't for
no small booties
No, sir,
'cause that won't pass
Show me
what you workin' with
But if you feel
you got the biggest one
Then, mama,
come shake it fast.
(song ends)
JAY-Z:
We got-- We good? Okay.
Let's roll.
So, did you
first notice Pharrell
when he started having hits?
No, I don't, I don't think
I paid attention to him
in that way, to--
just to be completely honest.
I knew Pharrell.
I dated a girl in Virginia
who called Pharrell her brother.
So I think I, like,
saw him at the airport.
He was rocking the mustache
and trucker hats and all that.
And I was like...
He's trippin'. (chuckles)
Um, yeah.
I knew him from before.
He's Jay-Z. He's a legend.
JAY-Z: You know, I'd reached
a level of success
as a, quote-unquote,
"superstar."
("I Just Wanna Love U (Give It
2 Me)" by Jay-Z playing)
I was always looking
for performers
that was new and different
to give them a shot.
For "Give It 2 Me," I think
I heard the beat,
and I was like...
What the hell is that?
It was, like, new and quirky.
-And the next day,
-(people cheering)
I was sh**ting a video
for another track.
JON: And Jay goes,
"I changed the single."
What do you mean
you changed the single?
He said, "I did it last night.
I'll play it for you."
-I'm a hustler, baby
-Hov', I'm a hustler
-I just want you to know
-Hov', I wanna let you know
-It ain't where I been
-It ain't where I been
-But where I'm 'bout to go
-Top of the world
-Now I just wanna love ya
-Just wanna love ya
-But be who I am
-You know you love me
-And with all this cash
-Mo' money, mo' problems
You'll forget your man
Now give it to me...
Who-who did that?
-Pharrell.
-Pharrell?
Pharrell just took it.
Give it to me
Gimme that funk, that sweet
That nasty, that gushy stuff
But don't bull ... me
Come on, gimme that funk
That sweet, that nasty,
that gushy stuff
Give it to me...
JAY-Z: At the same time
of being a visionary,
Pharrell has, uh, an affinity
for, like, hood sh*t.
(laughs)
He was fascinated by it,
but that wasn't really him.
Or-or was it?
No, he definitely
wasn't that at all.
We mean really not at all.
Not an ounce, not a drip
of street is in Pharrell.
(whooping)
That's why we loved him so much.
He was like the young brother
that we all wanted to protect
because we knew
he had the talent
-to open up doors for all of us.
-(whooping)
(crowd cheering)
-Can't deny me
-Yes
-Why would you want to?
-Why?
-You need me
-Yes
-Why don't you try me?
-Uh-huh
Baby, you want to,
believe me
It's Hov', give it to me.
Make some noise
for Pharrell Williams!
-One time, everybody, jump!
-(crowd cheering)
(song ends)
He was sort of, like,
finding himself and his way
about how he was gonna deal
with this success now.
-(engine revving)
-(tires squealing)
Yeah, I think he went
a little crazy with it.
This is my favorite game.
-This is Galaga.
-(video game beeping)
Everything in my house
is vintage.
Some of the stuff is Dutch.
I always wanted a house
like James Bond.
But, you know,
Chad was, um, different.
This is my wife's,
uh, glass collection.
She loves art.
-This is the family room
where we watch TV. -(babbling)
Lately, it's been so busy,
we hardly watch any TV.
("Hot in Herre" by Nelly
playing)
PHARRELL:
My ambitions were more eclectic
than what we had
previously done.
That was back when, like,
they would look at you crazy
for working with a pop artist.
Like, "Why would you do that?"
-MAN: Rolling sound. Marker.
-WOMAN: Okay.
-Uh-oh. We have some gardeners.
-(lawn mower buzzing)
Let me go get them t-to stop.
-(lawn mower stops)
-Okay, we're ready. -MAN: Okay.
We got our... We got
our quiet back. (chuckles)
So, for me, the idea of
working with The Neptunes
was the most out-of-bounds,
weird idea.
Like, they'd never really
worked outside of hip-hop
when we worked with them.
I remember the day (laughs)
we went to the studio.
-What's up, Gwen?
-Hi.
-No Doubt.
-Hi.
GWEN: Pharrell was, like,
intimidatingly cute...
(laughing)
...and hip-hop.
And I'm not hip-hop.
I'm from Anaheim. (chuckles)
Pharrell, he was like,
"I'll play you five tracks."
I'm like...
What? A track?
("Hella Good" by No Doubt
playing)
At that time,
we just wrote songs as a band.
But I remember he played us
the track for "Hella Good."
The waves keep on crashing
on me for some reason
The wave keeps on
crashing on it... (chuckles)
I was like...
Oh, my God.
This song is ridiculous.
The band really was
kind of hesitant.
We've never done a collaboration
like this before.
I want to write a dance song
you could hear in a club.
Let's see what kind of magic
we can come up with.
You got me feelin'
hella good
So let's just
keep on dancin'
You hold me like you should
So I'm gonna keep on dancin'
Keep on dancin'
How can we come together?
How can we make something new
out of something
that already exists?
PHARRELL:
To me, the most common thread
of different worlds
is a feeling.
And-and trust me,
people just want to feel good.
Ooh, yeah, yeah
GWEN:
Even though it seemed like
we were from
two different planets,
it was like two cultures'
collision of beautifulness.
(excited chatter)
(crowd cheering)
Keep on dancin'.
-(song ends)
-(crowd cheering)
PHARRELL:
Pop music could be fun,
but I wasn't gonna
leave hip-hop.
(phone vibrating)
I was trying to call him,
but he didn't pick up.
(Morgan laughs)
-Just now?
-'Cause I was gonna ask him,
"What do you want me
to lie about?"
(Morgan laughing)
(chuckles)
I-I'm curious.
When were you even first aware
of The Neptunes?
("Rock Star" by N.E.R.D.
playing over TV)
SNOOP:
It was like some rock music,
and it was on the video game.
I think it was on Madden.
It's almost over now,
it's almost over now...
You think
the metal of a cop car
(vocalizing rhythm)
-It's over now.
-(song ends)
SNOOP: This is beautiful work
that you've been doing.
-Thank you, man.
-(coughs)
This what I want though, P.
I'm waiting on a hit record.
Feel what I'm saying?
One of them bad mama jama.
-Um... -That song that
you did with Jay-Z,
(voice fading): I told somebody
the other day...
PHARRELL: First of all,
Snoop is very tall,
and then he's in the studio
with like
15 Crips who are all six-five.
You ever been in a city
where you could see
the fog really low?
That's what it was like.
Snoop has mystical vibes.
Bow-wow-wow.
PHARRELL:
I'm just, like, channeling him.
(clicking tongue rhythmically)
(confused grunt)
(clicking tongue rhythmically)
(spraying rhythmically)
(rhythmic clicking and spraying
continue)
So I made that beat
out of my mind.
("Drop It Like It's Hot"
by Snoop Dogg playing)
Snoop
He had the drum pattern,
but he had left a reference
for the hook.
And he didn't say the words.
He just was like...
(vocalizing rhythmically)
So I had to figure
the words out.
Pop it like it's hot, yeah
You gotta pop it
like it's hot
When the pimp's in the crib,
ma, drop it like it's hot
Drop it like it's hot,
drop it like it's hot
When the pigs try to get at
you, park it like it's hot...
Then Chad came in
and started putting
all of that
dynamic synthesizers like...
-(vocalizing melody)
-(song stops)
(synthesizer playing melody)
That was like
the candle on the cake.
We was like, "God d--"
(audio rewinding)
-(song resumes)
-(crowd cheering)
Oh, come on!
Drop it like it's hot
Drop it like it's hot,
drop it like it's hot
When the pigs try to get
at you, park it like it's hot
Park it like it's hot,
park it like it's hot...
This the crazy part
that they may not know.
"Drop It Like It's Hot" was my
first number one single ever.
(crowd cheering)
-Skateboard P. Chad.
-What's up, bro?
-That was dope.
-Yes, sir.
This is a brilliant record.
You gave me something
that I was missing.
I was always a bad gangster,
but you couldn't see
the fun in me.
-You brought out a smile.
-Hell yeah.
(song ends)
Up until The Neptunes,
we didn't really have
hip-hop superstar producers.
And so, as an editor,
I was like,
"I need to pay attention
because I've never
seen this before."
MIMI (over recorder):
...talking about the state
of hip-hop
and where we're at right now.
So as a producer
who's basically dominating,
what do you think about
hip-hop right now?
Like, do you think people
aren't being creative enough?
Too creative?
-May I say something?
-Yes. Go ahead.
-What you think about me?
-(laughs)
-I want to know. Be honest.
-Uh, well...
You should let me be on a cover
with my bike.
-Oh, God. All right.
-I got a little bit of looks.
I can make the girls get hot
and go crazy, all right.
Oh, boy. Enough.
Hip-hop-wise,
I survive off of my addiction
to exploring new territory.
-You know what I'm saying?
-Right.
So watch out because the way
I'm-a do it is gonna be so fly.
-(laughs): Oh, my God. Okay.
-("holl*back Girl" playing)
A few times I've been
around that track
So it's not just
gonna happen like that
'Cause I ain't
no holl*back girl...
I remember
a really fancy studio.
Everybody worked there.
(door creaks)
And Pharrell, he was literally
working all of the rooms
at the same time.
("Like I Love You"
by Justin Timberlake playing)
-Pharrell. This beat is hot.
-Whoa.
(vocalizing rhythm)
JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE:
It slaps you in the face.
It feel good, right?
I was so excited to get
The Neptunes at that time.
It felt like a real moment.
Sing this song with me
-Ain't no...
-(song changes)
Don't this hit
make my people wanna
-Jump, jump
-Don't this hit
-Make my people wanna
-Jump, jump...
Pharrell used to come in there
with such a hot hand.
It was competitive.
I wanted to make sure
that I had a banger, too.
Nobody don't want to be
a weak link in the crew.
-Everybody, sing it now
-Pass the Courvoisier...
(song changes)
PHARRELL: We would hear,
like, a crazy stat like,
"Oh, it's the biggest record
at radio."
-You don't have to call
-You ain't gotta call...
-(song changes) -"Nah, this is
the biggest record at radio."
The boys are waiting
My milkshake brings
all the boys to the yard
-And they're like...
-(song changes)
CHAD:
Who are The Neptunes?
I'm a sl*ve for you...
You just got to turn on a radio
to find out
-who we are.
-(song changes)
Like, "Girl, I think
My butt gettin' big," oh
-It's gettin' hot in here...
-(song changes)
Say something, oh
If it's worth your while,
say something...
-(song changes)
-Don't stop me now
Don't need
to catch my breath...
-It's gonna get a little crazy.
-(song changes)
Girl, they gotta
work it out...
-(songs changing rapidly)
-(overlapping chatter)
-You're the greatest, lil' bruh!
-Yo! Did you hear that?
(audio speeding up)
(crowd cheering)
MAN: And the Source Award
for the Producer of the Year
goes to The Neptunes!
(crowd cheering)
You know, we've been doing
this hip-hop thing
since I was making mixtapes
out of my boom box
and Pharrell and I
were breakdancing in--
on pieces of cardboard
in the garage.
So, thanks, everybody.
You can't be me,
I'm a rock star!
(crowd cheering)
(lively chatter, vocalizing)
(squeals, laughs)
(vocalizing excitedly)
PUSHA T:
There was a time when
I had lost my music deal.
I was like,
"Okay, cool. I'm out."
Just back to it, you know?
Back to hustlin'.
And Pharrell knew everything
I was doing.
-This one particular day,
-(phone ringing)
he made this beat,
and he called me and said...
You got to come over here, bro.
You got to come to Chad's house.
If you don't get here
in 15 minutes,
I'm giving this beat to Jay-Z.
PUSHA T:
"It is the best beat
that I've ever made,
so you need to get here."
-(tires screech)
-(horn honks)
(barking)
There was no way
anybody could get anything
that he thought so highly about
other than me.
(panting)
He was like...
You don't even know,
but you're shining.
("Grindin'" by Clipse playing)
Yo
I go by the name
-Of Pharrell
-I'm yo' pusha
From The Neptunes
And I just wanna
let y'all know
-I'm yo' pusha
-The world
Is about to feel
something that
-They've never felt before
-I'm yo' pusha
(engines revving)
Come on
-Grindin'
-Whoa
-You know what I keep
in a lining -Whoa
-Better stay in line when
-Whoa
You see a ... like me
shinin'
Grindin'
PUSHA T:
Pharrell really made a choice
that no one else
would have made,
and he helped me
in the best way possible.
(breathes rhythmically)
-Grindin'
-Whoa
-You know what I keep
in a lining -Whoa
-Better stay in line when
-Whoa
You see a ... like me
shinin'
Grindin'.
(crowd cheering)
-(song ends)
-(whoops)
That's the new joint
from Virginia's own,
The Clipse and The Neptunes.
(over radio):
We on fire right now, baby.
Local to global, baby.
This joint going worldwide.
Virginia. "Grindin'."
PHARRELL:
I firmly believe
if man can make it on the moon,
we can make it
out of the projects.
(jet engines whooshing)
-(laughter)
-It's aw--
-All right. All right. Hold on.
-(excited chatter)
Come on, man. Stop playin'.
Why are you playin', man?
Why are you playin'?
PHARRELL: And that's when we did
our first N.E.R.D. album.
(camera clicks)
Me, Chad and Shae as a group.
N.E.R.D. forever.
Pharrell took what they were
doing in high school,
and now that we have a platform
to really do real records,
he made it so the world can see.
SHAE: You know, we go
on tour overseas, and we see
70, 80,000 people going bananas.
(crowd cheering)
Like, that just opened our eyes
to a whole different
perspective.
(cheering continues)
We've been around the world
and people embrace him the same.
No matter where he's at.
Japan, Russia,
anywhere in the world.
PHARRELL:
It's funny, man, because
there's such a big market
for alternative-thinking kids.
I am, like, the biggest example
of a hybrid thinker.
-(camera clicking) -CHAD:
Star Trak. -PHARRELL: N.E.R.D.
-CHAD: Star Trak.
-SHAE: Nerd for life.
CHAD:
Star Trak.
KAWAN "KP" PRATHER:
Nobody told him,
"You can't do that."
Nobody told him,
"Black people don't skate."
(lively chatter)
What he sees, he believes.
But maybe it's the gift
and curse of him, too.
(creaking)
(elevator music playing)
See, a lot of times,
we do things with people
and they don't use them.
So we hold on to beats
that we feel, like, are special.
It's like wine. It only gets
better with time if it's good.
(ticking)
This beat was for Prince,
and he heard it
and didn't respond.
But I saw the potential.
("Frontin' (Club Mix)" by
Pharrell feat. Jay-Z playing)
KP:
I tried my best to get this beat
for Usher.
(chuckles):
I begged him for that record.
PHARRELL:
And I was like...
What? Why would I do that?
He was like, "Because he's gonna
take that record
where it needs to go."
No, I need to show everybody
what I can do.
(lively chatter)
Don't wanna sound
full of myself or rude
But you ain't looking
at no other dudes
'Cause you love me
"Frontin'" was a huge hit.
Hell yeah.
So you think about a chance
You find yourself
trying to do my dance
Maybe 'cause you love me
Is Pharrell here?
I know that I'm carrying on
Never mind
if I'm showing off
I was just frontin'
I think he was playing it
in the studio, and I was like...
You cra-- That's incredible.
Let me, let me get on that.
h*!
We got another one, Pha-real
Dance
I call you "Pha-real"
'cause you the truth
-(chuckles)
-Oh-oh...
PHARRELL:
It was very comfortable
standing next to Jay-Z.
But "Frontin'" was in reverse.
Jay-Z was standing next to me.
Oh-oh, oh-oh...
Pharrell is here today.
-(slurping)
-(crowd cheering)
MIMI VALDES:
"Frontin'" is
the missed opportunity
of a lifetime.
He was supposed to become
a solo artist after that song.
I was just frontin'
-Ooh...
-(kisses, blows)
Everyone was waiting.
Everyone was waiting for that.
Like, "What happened?"
(song fades)
You didn't put out another
solo song for three years.
-Yeah.
-What-- Why?
I wasn't-- I was afraid of it.
It scared me.
-I know you thought
-("Maybe" by N.E.R.D. playing)
-(barking)
-Your life was gon' be easy
You thought you had it all
You found that
you were wrong
PHARRELL:
"Frontin'" put me in a place
where I felt something,
and I was like,
"Ooh, I'm not built for that."
It was like, "Oh, I think
I'm ready now to be an artist."
I wasn't.
See, maybe
there was something wrong
And you weren't
telling me, no...
And maybe that's why
I was never comfortable
with my voice
in the first place,
'cause I wasn't talking
about anything.
Maybe I didn't want to be
a solo artist ever again.
And life was
telling me a joke.
(song ends)
MORGAN:
Hi.
It's great to finally
sit down with you.
HELEN WILLIAMS:
For sure. (chuckles)
So you've never done
an interview before, right?
Right. And when Pharrell said,
"I want this to be like
the LEGO movies."
And I was like, "What?" (laughs)
Yeah, that's crazy, right?
-Yeah. (chuckling)
-(laughing)
("Beautiful" by Snoop Dogg
playing)
HELEN: I first met Pharrell
at a friend's barbecue party.
Beautiful,
I just want you to know
You're my favorite girl...
All I see is like
15 girls in this cabana
gawking at him
as he's walking away.
-So I definitely knew that
he was someone. -(song fades)
But he just came up to me
and asked me
90 minutes of questions.
You know, "What's your name?
"When's your birthday?
What do you like to do?
"What's your favorite color?
What do you like to eat?
Do you have a boyfriend,
by any chance?"
Yeah, I do.
And he said...
Do you want to marry him?
No.
Then you don't love him.
(laughing):
Okay. Okay.
I actually did break up
with that guy,
and we started
really hanging out.
I've seen the light
("I've Seen the Light / Inside
of Clouds" by N.E.R.D. playing)
I've seen the light
You're the one, girl
And when it hit me,
it felt like lightning...
From one day to another,
I was like...
I think I love you. (laughs)
Frightened...
He was like,
"Well, you know, I told you
I wasn't ready
and blah-blah-blah."
(song stops)
And then I was like...
(imitates expl*si*n)
(laughing):
"Okay."
Sometimes it takes a moment
for things to register.
Right? (laughs)
ROB: I think the hardest thing
with-with me and Pharrell
was keeping on focus.
PHARRELL:
I want to think outside the box.
I want to do
all kinds of things.
ROB: Like, it was always
the next thing.
"What's the next thing?
What we doing next?
What we doing next?"
PHARRELL: I don't want
to be fit into a box.
-("Blurred Lines" playing)
-Everybody, get up
Thing about Pharrell is that
if he gets inspired
by something,
he wants to do it.
Amazing.
Amazing, amazing, amazing,
amazing, amazing.
JIMMY:
Whether it's a chair
or, you know, or the face cream.
I use the face cream.
The lotus enzyme exfoliator.
I don't look like Pharrell yet,
but I'm gonna keep
rubbing that (bleep) in
until I do.
(laughs)
Blurred lines
I know you want it,
I know you want it...
SHAE:
He was endorsing
high-end designers.
Artists weren't doing that
back then.
(crowd exclaiming)
PHARRELL:
So what I am is a maverick.
You know, I'm over here
designing sunglasses
for Louis Vuitton
and working with
Adidas and Chanel.
-I did a jingle for McDonald's.
-(song stops)
-Did he?
-Yeah, he did.
The... Da-da-da-da-da...
Ba-da-ba-ba-ba
I'm lovin' it.
PHAROAH:
Wow. I didn't know that.
-(Carolyn laughs)
-(song resumes)
-Shake your rump
-(crowd cheering)
Get down
Get up
There were times in the studio
where Pharrell would be like,
"I'll-I'll be back
in a couple of hours."
What-- How long are you going?
When are you go--
Yeah. And I would stay there
and sing melodies
over what Chad was playing,
and Pharrell would come back
and be like,
"I'm working on
this skateboard brand
(laughs):
that I'm doing."
Hey, it's the new fragrance
from Pharrell Williams.
Gonna like it.
(in unison):
Because it smells good.
(sneezes)
He did a drink called Qream
with a "Q" for "queen."
-Ladies like it, right?
-(in unison): We love it.
That pink liqueur, it looked
like Pepto-Bismol to me.
(crowd groaning)
(laughs)
There was a lot going on.
I wanted to be like, "You don't
need to be doing that.
You need to go create.
Go make some music."
(song ends)
The thing that happens
after you get success
is everybody got an opinion
of how you should do things
and what you should do.
That's when everybody comes in
with this
"shoulda, coulda, woulda."
(rapid overlapping chatter)
HELEN: I'm like,
"Yo, those are bad guys.
"They're, like, trying to get
on the next step of the ladder
through you," you know?
It's like
they were coming to him
with their "expertise"--
and I got air quotes up
when I say it--
to get records,
but they took away his attention
from what was important.
(rapid overlapping chatter)
(jet engines whooshing)
PUSHA: You know, I think
what is really important
is keeping your ear
to the streets.
(drink pours)
And you can't do that
when your head's in the clouds.
-(engine revving)
-(tires squealing)
PHARRELL:
My grandmother, she was sick.
She had an incredible
impact on me.
She saw things in me
that I couldn't see in myself.
(tires squealing)
I remember
my grandmother used to say...
GRANDMA and PHARRELL: "Find
something you love to do..."
...and you'll know
when it's right.
When you can find a purpose
for humanity in it.
PHARRELL:
But what does that really mean
at the end of the day?
I-I don't know.
("L'ego Odyssey"
by Pharrell Williams playing)
MAN:
Is Pharrell coming through?
He said he was.
I don't know if he is,
to be honest.
Why don't you just go
and raid his house?
Take us there. We'd love to.
WOMAN:
So, are The Neptunes
the top priority
of your business now or...?
PHARRELL:
Mm...
-Maybe.
-"Maybe."
KP:
The Neptunes broke up.
(sighs)
So many of the people
in the room with him
when he was at
his most adventurous left.
SHAE:
It-- (sighs)
Yeah, it was,
it was a difficult time, man.
He couldn't pay someone
for a hit.
Mr. Know-It-All
Know-It-All
Who wants to show it off
Know-It-All
You're no longer learning
No longer learning
-If you know it all
-If you know it all
Don't you know the law?
Don't you know
the law?
Only God knows it all
There he goes ego...
Businesspeople,
they're trying to tell you
to basically regenerate
yourself from a past time.
But if your best ideas
come from the future,
you can imagine your worst ones
are gonna come from the past.
(panting)
(song ends)
I made the worst record
of my life
called "All Eyes On Me"
with Pharrell.
MORGAN:
I don't remember the song.
PUSHA T: Of course you don't
remember the song.
It's so bad.
It was trying to be pop.
It was like, "We're gonna have
"a record on pop radio,
"and we're gonna have
a hot record in the streets,
and we're just gonna have all
these fan bases all at once."
It was reaching.
I was in the studio with him,
and he's playing me
all of these songs.
It was-- It just
really wasn't that great.
And he says to me,
"This is the radio record."
And then he plays me
another song, and he's like,
"This is the record
for the girls, right?"
And h-he giving me a thumbs-up
like, "This is hot, right?"
And I gave him, like,
the sideways thumb, like...
Eh, kinda.
But he was like, "Kinda?"
Yo, just stop.
Just turn it off, man.
Just turn it off.
You're Pharrell, bro.
Like, what are you doing?
You don't make the radio record.
Like, you don't make
the girl record.
Man, you just make music, bro.
PUSHA T: So when you say
he says he was lost,
I believe that.
He would've had to have been.
-Sooner or later
-("Sooner or Later" playing)
It all comes crashing down
Crashing down
-Crashing down
-Crashing down
When everyone's around
I bet you would've paid up
-All your cash down
-Your cash down
-And not make a sound
-To make a sound
Everyone knows now
It all comes crashing
Down
It's over
Leave it
Down
It's over
Leave it
Down
It's over
Leave it...
You're being written off
at this point.
There ain't places you can turn
for that inspiration
that you need...
A nightmare just ate up
your dreams...
...because even the people with
the "shoulda, woulda, couldas,"
they don't want to be attached
to the failure.
So they quickly abandon ship,
and they get in the safety boats
with the life jackets on,
and they abandon you.
It all comes crashing
Down
It's over
Leave it
Down
It's over
Leave it
Down
It's over
Leave it
Down
It's over
Leave it
Down
(song stops)
(filtered breathing)
PHARRELL:
When I looked over my shoulder,
I just didn't like
what I was doing.
I didn't like the decisions
that I had made.
The pieces
just didn't fit anymore...
...because relevance is a drug.
Staying relevant
will have you doing
all kinds of things
that you regret...
...just to win.
To win.
Pharrell, excuse me.
Carl Sagan?
Take a look.
The Earth, it's a pale blue dot.
That's home.
On it, everybody you love,
everybody you know,
everybody you've ever heard of
lived out their days there.
Every mother and father,
every inventor and explorer,
every saint and sinner,
every supreme leader,
every revered teacher of morals
in the history of our species
lived there.
The delusion that we have
some privileged position
in the universe
is challenged by
this point of pale light.
And there is no hint
that there's anyone
who will come
and save us from ourself.
That will happen
only if we do it.
Wow.
PHARRELL:
I spent so much of my career
just being arrogant.
And I might not have been
the best person.
And I realized that I needed
to give the purest of my spirit.
-That's... everything.
-(steady beeping)
-(whooshing)
-(voices vocalizing)
(vocalizing grows louder)
(vocalizing ends)
("Get Lucky" by Daft Punk
playing)
Like the legend
of the phoenix
Huh
All ends with beginnings
(whooshing)
What keeps the planet
spinning
Ah
The force from the beginning
Look
We've come too far
To give up who we are
So let's raise the bar
And our cups to the stars
She's up all night
till the sun
I'm up all night to get some
She's up all night
for good fun
I'm up all night
to get lucky
We're up all night
till the sun
We're up all night
to get some
We're up all night
for good fun
We're up all night
to get lucky
(distorted):
Up all night to get
Up all night to get...
Chad.
Up all night to get
Up all night to get
Up all night to get
Up all night to get
Up all night to get...
PHARRELL (in distance):
Helen!
Up all night to get...
(whooshing)
-Oh, my God.
-I'm ready now.
(chuckles)
Okay.
So what are we gonna
do about that?
We're up all night
to get lucky...
(crowd cheering)
We're up all night
to get lucky
We're up
all night to get lucky.
(birds cooing)
PHARRELL:
When I look up and see
all the love
and all the support,
the people who just
never left my side...
(voice breaking):
My family.
All my friends.
The realization when, like...
(sighs)
...everyone wants you to win.
And I'm like, you know,
"Man, forget the trophy, man.
The idea that
you want me to win."
(exhales)
When thinking like that
and thinking about that,
(sniffles) my heart...
...could keep the lights
on the Earth.
-(sniffles)
-(song stops)
Do you need a Kleenex?
PHARRELL:
No, I'm okay. (clears throat)
This is therapeutic, man.
I hope in a good way.
-In a really good way.
-Yeah.
So after all that, did people
just think it was easy, then?
Oh, yeah, of course.
I call that distant assessment.
No, it was just starting
to get hard.
Why?
Because I didn't know
if I could do it again.
-Dada! -Yes, sir.
-(toy squeaks)
-Dada.
-Yes, sir.
-Dada. -Yes, sir.
-(toy squeaks)
HELEN:
We had just gotten married,
and we had our son, Rocket.
(humming)
Pharrell was pushing himself
on this song for a movie.
He wrote like eight
or nine songs,
and the studio, every time,
they were just like,
"Nope, not the one.
Nope, not the one."
I can't get it.
I don't know how to do this.
Like, I don't know
how to make a song like this.
(Rocket laughing)
HELEN:
I'd be like, "Is he okay?
Why is he staring off
into the light like that?"
(tiles clattering)
("Happy" by Pharrell Williams
playing)
(song stops)
It might seem crazy
what I'm 'bout to say
-Dada.
-That feels great.
Sunshine, she's here,
you can take a break
(laughs)
This is it.
(song resumes)
It might seem crazy
what I'm 'bout to say
Sunshine, she's here,
you can take a break
I'm a hot-air balloon
that could go to space
(lively chatter)
With the air, like "I don't
care," baby, by the way
PHARRELL: And the next thing
you know, boom.
Because I'm happy
Clap along if you feel
Like a room without a roof
Because I'm happy
Clap along if you feel like
happiness is the truth
Because I'm happy
Clap along if you know
what happiness is to you
Because I'm happy
-Clap along if you feel
-(audience cheering)
Like that's
what you wanna do
How did "Happy" happen?
-People are putting up
their own videos. -Yeah.
It was, like, no longer my song.
Roll the tape of that.
People started putting videos
around the world getting happy.
Because I'm happy
Clap along if you know
What happiness is to you,
ay, ay, ay
Because I'm happy
Clap along if you feel like
That's what you wanna do
-Because I'm happy
-Clap along
If you know what happiness
is to you, hey, hey
Because I'm happy
Clap along if you feel
Like that's
what you wanna do
-Come on.
-(song stops)
Ah. Makes me cry, too.
Makes me cry, too.
-(sniffles)
-Ah.
You know, I was just thinking
about your grandmother.
I bet she didn't even
imagine that.
No, it's beautiful.
Why am I crying on Oprah?
(Oprah and audience laughing)
-Because I'm happy
-(song resumes)
(rhythmic clapping)
PHARRELL: I love that song,
but it turned into
this other thing
that I didn't see coming.
-Happy, happy, happy, happy
-Bring me down
-Can't nothing bring me down
-Happy, happy
-Happy, happy
-My level's too high...
People are singing
and celebrating
to highlight an emotion.
-Because I'm happy...
-(song fades)
But you realize
why they feel that song:
'cause they've been
through some sh*t.
They've been through some sh*t.
(exhales)
I felt that just now.
'Sup?
People would say,
"Your song got my mom
through her chemo,"
or, like, "Man, I play
that song every day.
It just made me feel better."
It took a toll on me, though,
just seeing so much pain.
And boom, right after that...
CROWD (chanting):
Hands up! Don't sh**t!
PHARRELL:
...it got really dark.
CROWD (chanting):
Hands up! Don't sh**t!
-Hands up! Don't sh**t!
-(siren whoops, chirps)
Hands up! Don't sh**t!
PHARRELL:
It's what changed my outlook on
what it means to be Black.
OFFICER (over bullhorn):
...must disperse immediately.
Now! This is an order.
You'll be subject to arrest
and other actions.
PHARRELL:
I realized that you're Black
in juxtaposition
to the entire system.
This is literally
what we think about every day.
(jazz vocal sample repeating)
(saxophone playing jazz melody)
I remember finding
these jazz vocal samples
and playing this chord around.
Every time you hear the...
Da
...it just felt like a rainbow
of blue murky water.
(water flowing)
And what Kendrick wrote to it
was just
-poetic justice. -("Alright"
by Kendrick Lamar playing)
Alls my life I has to fight
Yeah
Alls my life, I
Hard times like, "Yah!"
Bad trips like, "Yah!"
Nazareth, I'm ... up,
homie, you ... up
But if God got us,
then we gon' be alright
We gon' be alright...
KENDRICK LAMAR:
Pharrell had the hook.
That's him on the hook.
We gon' be alright,
do you hear me?
Do you feel me?
We gon' be alright
The "alright" phrase,
what does "alright" represent?
You know,
there was a lot going on,
and still to this day
a-a lot going on.
It's something else
inside of them chords
that Pharrell put down
that feels like a statement.
When our pride was low
Lookin' at the world like,
"Where do we go?"
And we hate po-po
Wanna k*ll us dead
in the street for sure
(siren whoops)
I'm at the preacher's door,
my knees gettin' weak
And my g*n might blow,
but we gon' be alright...
(crowd clamoring)
CROWD (chanting):
We gon' be alright!
-We gon' be alright! Hey!
-(song fades)
We gon' be alright! Hey!
We gon' be alright! Hey!
We gon' be alright! Hey!
-We gon' be alright!
-Say what?!
We gon' be alright.
That record, it kind of
attached itself
to every struggle.
CROWD (chanting):
We gon' be alright!
We gon' be alright!
We gon' be alright!
PHARRELL: You know,
there's strength in numbers.
And to inspire people
to be aspirational,
you don't just aspire up.
You aspire left to right
as well,
because that's what creates
a unified front.
Without it, then you're just
like a broken community.
And we've had spells
where it's felt like that.
If we put our heads together
or our hearts together,
like, what can't we do?
(crow cawing)
The bird is even chiming in.
Why?
Because the crow gets it.
-(caws)
-Yes.
(caws)
Yes.
-(caws)
-That's right.
You see? That's how it works.
(seabirds calling)
WOMAN (in distance):
Pharrell!
MAN:
Hey! Thank you, Pharrell!
Oh, my gosh!
(chuckles)
I'll never forget what
this neighborhood felt like.
Ever.
All of that is hitting me
right now.
That was my room right there.
My grandmother lived here
until, like, I was 15.
Why me? Why me?
I grew up with kids
that could do anything.
But no one saw
the propensity in them.
All I saw was talent.
Beauty.
Everybody has that.
Man, this is gon' be
a LEGO movie, bruh.
I know.
Like, you don't understand.
Trying to, like, take it apart
brick by brick.
Put it back together.
So it makes sense.
(jet engines whooshing)
One day, you wake up
and you realize
that this was all designed.
And because it's a design,
there's potential for us
to change it.
(waves lapping)
("Pure Imagination"
by Gene Wilder playing)
Hold your breath
Make a wish
Count to three.
One, two, three, four.
("Piece by Piece"
by Pharrell Williams playing)
(cheering)
Look what we can do when
we come together, Virginia.
(cheering)
I decided long time ago
I would write
my own chronicle
Sit around? That ain't me
Nor is following a lead
Let me build what I see
You know it starts
with a piece
Give it time, let it breathe
Instead of suffocating
crazy dreams...
Wow!
PHARRELL:
Missy Misdemeanor.
Timbaland.
-Till it start paying off
-Hey
Till it start paying off
And when it pays off,
pays off
It feels so good inside
Screaming,
"I told you, I told you"
And the only way
it happened was mine
When it was time
I got butterflies
Don't look surprised, girl
With a dream this size
Yeah, everything seems
so easy
For other guys
But I never moved my eyes
It takes a thousand tries
Till it start paying off
-Hey
-Till it start paying off
Hey
-Till it start paying off
-Hey
Till it start paying off
-Hey.
-(song ends)
These days, I am more interested
in diving deeper.
What's that mean,
"diving deeper"?
I don't know if you have
the time for that one.
(chuckles): Yeah. Well, it is
the end of the movie, so yeah.
Right.
When you go deeper, you realize,
like, we're just vibrating,
buzzing molecules.
Light, sound, everything is
vibrating all at once.
And so, you realize that
life is much bigger than you.
That's when you ask yourself,
"How do I serve this thing
called life?"
(band playing "Piece by Piece")
And when it pays off,
pays off
It feels so good inside
Screaming,
"I told you, I told you"
Ain't happen
any other way but mine
Never took days off,
days off
If they hated,
now they want to die
Finding that brick
and where it goes to
So we keep stacking
high, high, high
Piece by piece
Piece by piece,
piece by piece
Piece by piece
Piece by piece,
piece by piece
Piece by piece
-Piece by piece.
-(song ends)
Dad, is that it?
-I think we're done.
-What?
("For Real"
by Pharrell Williams playing)
Whew.
What a legendary story, yeah?
Holy moly guacamole.
I'm extremely proud to be
a part of this movie
slash whatever this is.
Um, like I said,
this bakery shop is awesome.
(laughing)
I've been staring
at this certain star
Concentrating, like,
every night
All alone
and the lights are off
Wish that I could do
whatever I like
I been wishing
to the universe
'Cause to be real,
I'd be better off
Wanna know
what I'm waiting for
Some kind of sign
like a meteorite
Something to happen,
some kind of magic
To make me for real
I wanna experience
I want some control
I just wanna feel
Anything that has no soul
Is guaranteed to fall
So once it happens
You will know
'Cause you hear
God's voice inside...
I wanna open my eyes
And know that it's okay
I'm awake
My dream has come true
And I would do it for free
If that is what it takes
What it takes
That's how bad I want to
Am I a toy?
I got feelings, too
First they pick me up
-And then put me down
-Down, down, down
I am lost,
who am I appealing to?
That's what they all say
When I'm not around
So I pray to the universe
That it would come true
finally
I'll be whoever
I decide to be
Worry about yourself
'cause I'll be all right
Something'll happen
Some kind of magic
To make me for real
I wanna experience
I want some control
I just wanna feel
I must admit that I was slow
'Cause what I didn't know
All my dreams and my goals
Were inside me
the whole time...
I wanna open my eyes
And know that it's okay
I'm awake
My dream has come true
And I would do it for free
If that is what it takes
What it takes
That's how bad I want to.
(song ends)
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Piece by Piece (2024)
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