01x02 - Pharrell and Carolyn Williams

[bunniefuu]

- ♪ MTV

- And this is where you wanted
the chairs--my chair like this?

- Mark, second sticks.

- So, tell me about Pharrell
as a kid.

- As a child, Pharrell was
inquisitive, energetic--

all those things.

- [giggling]

- The thing that stands out

is how he would always
make these noises,

constantly beating
on Grandma's pots and pans

and whatever, whatever,
whatever.

Whatever he could find,
he would be making noise.

And so my mom suggested drums.

Went to Incentive Music,
got some drums.

We started him
with music lessons.

- None of us really knew just
how talented Pharrell was.

But my mother,
Pharrell's grandmother,

I believe she knew.

She was a deeply
religious woman.

Pulled Pharrell aside, and she
began to explain to him

that the Lord showed her
in a dream

that he was way up in the air,

way above the stars.

And she told him,
"I believe your career

"is gonna go above the stars.

"And if you honor God,

there's nothing that you won't
be able to accomplish."

[uplifting rock music]

♪

♪

[cheers and applause]

[bike bell ringing]

[indistinct chatter]

- When I was growing up,

wasn't a lot there
in Virginia Beach.

And there was no burgeoning

music industry there
at the time.

There was no bands
that you heard of.

There was no scene.

That didn't exist.

We had nothing.

So the only thing we could do

was make our own sh*t,
you know?

And I don't know
why I'm cursing.

I know my mom,
and she's probably watching.

[laughs]

- Something in the Water
is here.

- Locals and tourists alike

are preparing
for a star-studded weekend.

[laid-back music]

♪ ♪

- Entertainer and Virginia
Beach native Pharrell Williams

and his team
really thought of it all

when they were putting
this festival together.

Thousands of people are soaking
in the sunshine and music.

- Oh!

♪ ♪

- People always come down here
around this time

for normal,
like, college beach weekend.

- You know how, like, it is
at Spring Break for Miami.

It's like that,
but Virginia style.

- This brought more
organization to the weekend.

It's Something
in the Water weekend,

you know what I'm saying?

- He's giving back
to the community,

where he came from,
and that's really nice.

- Virginia made me
and my family.

all: VA! VA! VA!

My mom was always about "Never
forget where you come from."

We are Virginia.

all: VA! VA! VA! VA! VA!

I mean, that's part of the
reason why we're here today.

[lively music]

♪ ♪

- [growls]

- So, has Dave been
at this all day?

- Yeah.
It's an overnight thing.

See that smoker, that big
black thing in the back?

He had somebody drive
that across the country.

He's serious about it.

[laughs]

My son David and Pharrell
grew up 200 miles apart

from each other in Virginia.

- When I tell you that that was
so good--that was so good.

- When your dad came around

for the second plate,
I was like...

- [laughs]
- Yeah.

- Pharrell's mother Carolyn
and I were both teachers.

And I'm not sure if it was our
profession or our personality,

but both of us tried
to teach our sons

that when you work
hard enough,

nothing is off limits.

- 11-time Grammy winner
who does so many things,

he almost makes
Will Smith look lazy.

- Producer, a rapper,
a songwriter.

- Hi, Pharrell Williams.

- The phenomenally cool
Pharrell Williams.

- ♪ Because I'm happy ♪

♪ Clap along if you feel ♪

- He's 1/2 of record
production duo The Neptunes.

- At one point,
responsible for 43%

of all the music
played on the radio.

- I can't turn on the radio

without a Pharrell song
coming on, it's on fantastic.

Who you working with now?

- ♪ Pop that, pop that,
c*ck and reload ♪

♪ This another hit,
I got an ace in the hole ♪

- ♪ Do you mind
if I steal a kiss? ♪

- ♪ It's gettin' hot in here

♪ So take off
all your clothes ♪

- ♪ She too fly for words ♪

♪ And where I'm at now
I'm too high for birds ♪

- ♪ I wanna rock your body ♪

♪ Please stay ♪

- For more than two decades,

Pharrell has been the man
behind hit after hit.

- ♪ She's up all night
till the sun ♪

- This guy has done it all,
be it music, fashion,

or hosting "The Voice."

- ♪ I'm up all night
to get lucky ♪

- Hi, I'm Pharrell Williams,
and this is my mom.

- Hi, I'm Carolyn Williams,
and this is my son.

- Mom, why do you sound
like a public access?

I don't--why did you--
what was that voice?

- I'm sorry.
[both laugh]

- "Hi."
What was that?

All right.
That's my mom.

[pensive music]

♪

- Hey.
- Pharrell.

- What's up, man?
- Hi.

- What's happening?
- What'd you get going

right there?
- I know, man, I just--

- What is that?
- I just, like, started this.

- Come here, look.

- Wow, this is your space?
- Yes.

We built this place,
like, about 15 years ago.

In Virginia,
I was living in Alexandria,

and I had a studio
in my basement in the house.

It was great,
'cause we could record there,

and no one would
ever mess with us.

So that's kind of
what I wanted to do.

I just wanted to build
a place

where we could hang out
and record.

- This is how you do it.
- This is how we do it.

- Oh, boy.

- When was the last time
you played drums?

♪

- I don't know.
Maybe ten years.

I never advanced past decent.

Just play a groove
if I needed to, but that's it.

- Play the Justin groove.

Yes, Pharrell and I
are both from Virginia,

and we're both drummers.

But I think the one thing
we most have in common

is our love
and obsession of music,

the desire to create
and perform and produce.

Both of us have restless souls
that just need to create.

When Pharrell was first making
beats in Virginia Beach,

I was living 200 miles north,

playing in punk bands
in Springfield, Virginia.

[upbeat drumming]

[birds chirping]

Oh, let's see what we have.

This is a band I was in
when I was 16.

Dain Bramage.
- I hated that name.

I just thought
it was disturbing.

- You have all of this stuff,
Mom.

I can't believe it.
- I know, "Heart-Shaped Box."

- I learned to play guitar
first.

When I was maybe 13 or 14,
and I discovered Rush...

[upbeat music]

You know, the drums are almost
in the forefront of the music.

♪

I could hear
the different drums,

that I knew that this hand
was doing this on this part,

this hand was doing
this over here,

so I was fascinated with that.

At home, I had this chair
that I would use as a hi-hat.

I'd put a pillow between
my legs as a snare drum

and use my bed as the toms,

and put an album on
and play along to it.

♪

Just learned to play that way,

until finally I was in a band
where I said,

"You play the guitar.
I'll play the drums."

[rock music playing]

- I didn't know
how good he was,

because we didn't have
a drum set in our house.

Ever.

My memory is of one
particular show.

I was very surprised when I saw
him sitting behind the drums.

The kids were loud, and they
were jumping up and down.

And I remember watching David
playing the drums.

And he was crazy good.

- [indistinct singing]

- It was strong,
and it was intense.

♪ ♪

And he was just having a good
time doing it, you could tell.

- Hi, Mom!

- It wasn't even my drum set.

I didn't even know
how to set it up.

The first band I played
the drums in,

I couldn't--I didn't know
what to do, other than to play.

And it was years
before I got my own drum set.

There was once
when we needed money

and we sold a table
to a neighbor for $100.

My mom was taking the $100
to the bank to deposit it.

We were driving up the street,

and in front
of someone's house,

there was a Ludwig Vistalite
drum set for sale,

for $100.

And I didn't even ask,
because I knew

that if I get those drums,
we're not gonna eat for a week.

I thought,
"I'll keep with the pillows."

You know, it was fun to dream.

I can still picture
it sitting there.

- ♪ On and on ♪

- Your mom was a teacher too.
- Yeah.

She taught sixth grade
for 30-something years,

and then she retired.

- Schoolteacher work ethic...
- Yeah.

- I think was a huge influence
or inspiration as a kid.

I still have this fear that
if I don't work hard enough...

- Mm-hmm.
- Like, whether it's doing this

or out
on the road doing that...

- Yeah.
- Or whatever it is,

my fridge is gonna
f*cking go empty.

- Our moms are a major factor.

Mom's personality,
mom's ways--as they say,

the apple doesn't fall far
from the tree.

[bright music]

♪ ♪

When I was growing up,
we didn't have a lot.

From birth to, like,
seven or eight years,

I lived in the projects
called Atlantis.

My mom was always
playing music in the house.

My mom listened to
Earth, Wind & Fire records

and The Spinners.

The Jacksons were a huge deal.

Music and, like,
the way it made us feel,

and dancing, was just, like,

a very important part
of the story.

It's just what we do.

It's what you do when you
grew where we grew up.

Music was like
another member of our family.

- I always loved music.

I sang in the choir from
the time I was in elementary.

Growing up,
music was our thing.

I mean, what else is there
for country people to do?

[upbeat music]

- Tell me about your mom.

Let me hear your version
of her story.

- My mom doesn't talk
about herself as much.

She's always, like,
thinking about other people.

When I was young,
my memory of that time

was mostly around her
going back and forth

to college every day,
to the local college.

She loves learning.

We probably all had to beg her
to stop, like,

signing up for more classes.

Like, "Mom, you got
your doctorate degree."

But, I mean, come on.
Like--

- She has four PhDs?
- No.

- Four degrees.
- Oh, four degrees.

- No, no, no,
I'm saying--she does?

- She's got four degrees
and a PhD.

One of them is--

- My mom has four degrees
and a PhD.

You see,
she keeps things from us.

[indistinct chatter]

- I am a Virginia Beach native.

Yep, born, raised.

My grandfather was a farmer.

Our house sat in the middle
of the farm land plot.

My God, we had a big garden.
We had a grapevine.

We had a peach tree.
We had chickens.

I mean, you name it.

I loved school.

Obviously,
if you live on a farm

and you only have relatives,

when you go to school--
fun place to be.

When you farm,
you have to prepare the land.

What you do is you burn
the field, and then you plow.

When I was in third grade,
this particular summer,

the fire was set,
and the wind changed,

and our house caught afire.

It burned to the ground.

The fire was so hot,
it melted coins together.

We had relatives that,
you know, took us in.

No, we didn't go to counseling.

Back in the day, you dealt.

You had family support.

And of course,
you know, church.

Going to church helped a lot.

- My mom is strong,
super resilient,

but she doesn't wanna be
celebrated like that.

She doesn't talk about
when she was young.

She's just that
kind of person.

But my mom would always
talk about God,

and how important God
and the Spirit was to us.

- Church played a very
important part in our lives,

and still does.

[gospel music]

- We went
to a Pentecostal Church,

Church of God in Christ.

- Sundays, weeknights, whenever
there was special convocations

or meetings,
we were there.

- [shouts]

If it's good,
God's gonna give it to you.

'Cause you're
walking in obedience to Him.

I don't care
how many demons in Hell

have risen up against you.
It's gonna work for your good.

- Church is where,
when people sing,

you feel something in the room.

- ♪ Jesus hears every prayer ♪

- There's nothing like
a good old song.

It's just so powerful.

Talk about chills
and goosebumps.

- When I look back, I remember
all those moments where, like,

certain chord structures
would happen,

and someone would be singing

and they hit
a particular melody that,

when those two things
come together...

you just feel
this well of emotion.

- ♪ Ah ♪

- There are no words
to express the feeling.

You just shake your head.
Like, you understand.

- ♪ Oh, Father ♪

- Man, the Spirit,

when music is being played
and people are singing--

like, that same Spirit
is that same Spirit

that you're, like, praying to.

It's, like, the Spirit--
you know,

that moving element.

- ♪ Shall I go ♪

- I had no idea that that had
such an effect on me

and the way I feel
about music.

- Yeah, you have to come
and visit our church sometime.

- I would love to come
visit your church.

I need some
songwriting lessons.

[both laugh]

Well, hold on a second.

Okay, so your family
is really religious.

- Mm-hmm.
- So then also, you're, like,

in the hip-hop world.
- Mm-hmm.

- Like, the stuff you did
with Snoop or Busta

or something like that--

like, if your mother
hears that, what happens?

[Snoop Dogg's
"Drop It Like It's Hot"]

- ♪ Snoop ♪

- We used to hear his music
more and more.

Like, we'd be out.

We would just kind of, like,
look at each other

and just, you know,
kind of shake our head.

- ♪ Snoop ♪

- I don't curse
around my parents.

I don't have beers
with my dad.

Not that guy.

When I'm around them,
I'm still a kid.

I'm sitting, like,
one leg right now, like--

- [chuckles]
- [laughs]

♪ So don't try to run up
on my ear ♪

♪ Talking all that raspy sh*t,
trying to ask me sh*t ♪

♪ When my niggaz fill ya vest
they ain't gon' pass me sh*t ♪

♪ You should think about it,
take a second ♪

♪ Matter fact,
you should take four B ♪

♪ And think before you f*ck
with lil skateboard P ♪

- Years ago, his grandmother
knew he was a secular artist,

but had never heard his music.

But other people had.

Now, I don't know
how these other church people

got to listen to his songs,
but anyway...

So, his grandmother
asked about his singing.

- ♪ I'm an outlaw ♪

♪ Quick on the draw

♪ Somethin' you've
never seen before ♪

♪ And I dare a m*therf*cker
to come in my face ♪

- I cannot remember the song
that she got to hear.

But it was quite interesting.

- ♪ Ooh, baby, you want me?
Ooh, baby, you want me? ♪

♪ Ooh, baby, you want me?

♪ Well, you can get this
lap dance here for free ♪

- Everybody is like
holding their breath,

trying to see what Grandma
is gonna say

about Pharrell's music.

And Grandma says,

"That's his job.

He doesn't talk like that
all the time."

And I think all the aunts were,
like, passed out on the floor,

because they could not believe
that, in essence,

Grandma had given Pharrell
the thumbs up

of he was doing a good job.

♪

Do you remember that?
[laughs]

[indistinct chatter]

- Pharrell was very adamant

that at
Something in the Water

there was an avenue for God--
pop-up church.

- ♪ Everybody say
- Everybody say.

♪ You're worthy
- ♪ You're worthy of praise ♪

- In all that he does,

Pharrell tries to find a way
to involve the community.

- The people came together.

People were there
praising the Lord.

It was hot, as they say.
Right?

At the end of the day,
Pharrell will be the first

to tell you
that it's not about him,

'cause God could have chose
somebody else, you know?

- [indistinct shouting]

♪ ♪

[cheers and applause]

- One thing that I noticed
in the last, like, 15 years,

all of a sudden
there was this wave of drummers

that you knew
were coming from the church.

- Yeah.
- I'm just, like,

it's game over, dude.

It's like a whole new sport.
- Yeah.

- Like, dudes like me
are just like...

- The church that I, like,
spent the most time at,

I would never dare even go
anywhere near the drums.

- I know that you play live
drums on some of your songs.

- Yeah.
- Right?

- I used to.
I haven't done it in...

- Really?
- A really long time.

- There was the Justin song.

- ♪ Señorita, I feel for you

- I remember hearing it,
I'm like,

"Who the f*ck is playing drums
on this song?"

And then I asked you that
one time, and you were like,

"Oh, it's me."
I was like, "Of course it is."

- ♪ But you could feel
this real love ♪

- But you were a drumline kid.
- Yeah.

- ♪ Uh-huh, this my sh... ♪

♪ All the girls stomp your feet
like this ♪

♪ 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 ♪

- When I was in
the seventh grade,

I started marching band.
Marching band is everything.

Marching band
taught me discipline,

how to collaborate with people
and do something big

and be out
in front of audiences.

- ♪ Let me hear you say,
this shh is bananas ♪

♪ B-A-N-A-N-A-S ♪

♪ This shh is bananas

♪ B-A-N-A-N-A-S ♪

♪ ♪

- It was just fun to do.

- See, I'm jealous.
- Oh, really?

- Yeah.
- Well...

- I wanted to be
a drumline kid.

Like,
I wanted to be in drumline.

- Why not?
- But I can't read music.

I couldn't then.
I still can't now.

All I wanted to do was be

in a line of drummers,
all playing drums.

- And I was decent.

I wasn't, like, your level.
Like, I'm--

- Dude, stop saying
I'm a good drummer,

because I'm the most basic
f*cking drummer.

If you listen to "Nevermind,"
the Nirvana record,

I pulled so much stuff
from the Gap Band and Cameo

and Tony Thompson,
on every one of those songs.

All that...

[Nirvana's
"Smells Like Teen Spirit"]

- Wow.
- That's all--it's all disco.

That's all it is.
- [imitates expl*si*n]

How'd I not hear that?
- Nobody makes the connection.

- That's straight up Gap Band.
- I told Tony Thompson that.

He came to my house
for barbecue with somebody.

And I was like,
"Man, I just wanna thank you,

"because, you know,
I owe so much.

I've been ripping you
off my whole life."

He goes, "I know."
- Well--

- A big disco fan.

Like, it works, every time.

Can't believe you have this.
- What?

- The only drum lesson
I ever took.

I think I was maybe 14.

And a drummer named
Lenny Robinson,

he sat down and played
some crazy jazz stuff,

and said, "Okay, let me see
what you can do."

And I started...

And said, "All right."

He said, "Well, first of all,

you're holding
your sticks backwards."

I'm like, "I am?"

And then he had me
doing drumrolls...

For $30 an hour,
and I was like, "f*ck this."

- David didn't like lessons--

guitar, drum, or school.

He had lots of friends

and he played a lot of sports.

His teachers liked him, even
though they were flunking him.

He didn't enjoy anything
about the classroom.

And there was nothing
that would call on his talents

that he might have been able
to get involved with.

- This right here is
Thomas Jefferson High School.

My freshman year
of high school was here.

- He did the morning
announcements here.

Woke everybody up with--
I don't know.

Who were you playing?
Slayer?

- Yeah.

- "Good morning,
Thomas Jefferson."

- "Wake up!"

- Sometimes he would do
his homework and then lose it,

or just do half of it.

When I would say,
"Have you done this?"

and he would say, "Sort of."

[laughs]

That meant,
"No, of course not."

- When I would do poorly
in school,

I felt terrible, because I was
disappointing you,

and I was disappointing Dad.

But for whatever reason,
that didn't motivate me

to do any more work.
- Right.

I always thought, "Okay, this
year--this will be the one.

"This year, he's gonna have
a teacher that gets through,

that gets him excited
about learning something."

[melancholy music]

Somebody this morning
was commenting

that she'd looked over
the book, and she said

it surprised her
how many of the mothers in it

were teachers.
I guess, well, we might have

a little more patience than
the run-of-the-mill parent.

- Certainly,
you have to develop

that patience for your own.
- Yeah.

But we have different views
of learning,

and know that there are
many different styles.

- Yeah.
- And then a lot of us had seen

there wasn't much for
the creative child going on.

- Yeah.
Yeah, oh, my goodness.

- I don't want to go through
those years again.

- Well, you know, you look back
now and you kind of laugh.

Pharrell...

what I remember
is his teacher telling us that,

instead of working
on his exams,

he would be writing beats,

or he would be writing lyrics,
versus taking his exams.

And as an educator,
that's very frustrating, right?

And as a parent,
it's frustrating,

because you want your child
to do the best they can do.

And they don't always do that.
- Yeah.

[school bell rings]

- Seventh grade,

I started writing
the worst raps in the world.

Because they were
doing it in school,

and that sh*t looked so fun.

So I would practice
every day in the mirror.

You know, and then that's when
I became obsessed with it,

and then, like,
I would go to school,

and anytime a teacher
started talking about

something I didn't care about,

I immediately
thought about music.

It would always take me there.

But I knew a lot of kids
that way.

Yeah, they call it ADD.
[laughs]

- They got a name for it now.
- Yeah.

- He wasn't really
k*lling it in school.

I mean, you're a mother

and you're an educator,
and you have a son,

and he's not doing
well in school.

- It's...

it's different.
It's difficult.

Of course, he was intelligent.

Of course, he was capable
of doing whatever.

But his interest
was not necessarily school.

Now, he excelled
in band and music.

But the academics,
he only did enough to get by.

That was it.

What do you do?
You have a conversation,

and you encourage.

- Pharrell, you remember
those conversations?

- Yeah.
I remember them.

I was the, you know,
C, D, E student,

because I wasn't interested.

So I would do
just enough to get by.

And when it's time
to take exams,

I did whatever I needed to,
and I was writing verses.

[light jazzy music]

And I'm just glad
that music found me.

- Hey, folks.
So, you want some sounds.

[music samples playing]

Well, you've come
to the right place.

[upbeat percussive music]

- ♪ Check it out ♪

- I met Chad in seventh grade.

- Getting together
with Pharrell after school,

Pharrell would bring
these records over.

He would introduce me

to groups like
Earth, Wind & Fire,

and Blood, Sweat & Tears,
and stuff like that.

And I'd be kind of like,
"Holy sh*t.

You guys--your parents
listen to this stuff?"

- I would go to his house,
and we'd make tracks

on the Casio keyboards

that he could afford
at the time.

[synth music playing]

We made them work,
you know, for us.

- ♪ I'm a man,
I'm a man ♪

- Kept toying around
with music,

because we liked the way
it felt to make tracks.

♪ You think that you
don't have to ever quit ♪

♪ You think that
you can get away with it ♪

- Did you have any career
aspiration at all,

or were you
just messing around?

- Hell no--we only did it
because we thought it was fun.

It was like the only thing
that was more fun

than skateboarding
at the time.

♪ We ain't gonna
take it no more ♪

- Were you guys already
calling yourselves

N.E.R.D. at that point?

- No, at that point, we had
really embarrassing names.

- Like what?
- No.

- Come on.
- No.

- Please?
- No.

- Come on.
- No.

- I'll tell you some of mine.
- It doesn't matter.

Really bad.

So bad!

♪ You can't be me ♪

- When I think about Chad,
just very warm memories.

- Pharrell's like my brother
from another mother.

Carolyn Williams
is like my other mother.

- Watching Chad and Pharrell
was amazing.

They were just kids,

and they were feeding off
of each other,

the vibe, and it always
just seemed to click.

- Some kind of synergy
that Pharrell and I

had when we worked together.

I guess we were learning
from each other.

- ♪ It's almost over now,
it's almost over now ♪

- Good friends.

[cheers and applause]

- At high school, we had
these school talent shows.

Hey!

♪ I'm a little teapot
short and stout ♪

♪ There's some shake up
in around me ♪

♪ Know it's talking about

And at one of our school
talent shows,

that's when Tammy Lucas--

she saw us
and told Teddy Riley about us.

- Ladies and gentlemen,
Teddy Riley in the house.

[cheers and applause]

You've produced
a lot of people.

Go down the list of some of
the people that you produced.

- James Ingram.
Patti LaBelle.

Tom Jones.

Michael Jackson.

- ♪ Kick it ♪

- Biggest guy in the music
industry, you know, producer.

For whatever reason,
he relocated

to Virginia Beach,
of all places.

- ♪ I wanna get with you ♪

- His studio was right next
door to our high school.

Our high school,
this little waterway,

and a bridge, and on
the other side of the bridge,

literally, was the studio.

So I remember being like,
"Wow.

They say, you know,
Teddy's studio is over there."

- ♪ I wanna get with you ♪

- ♪ Come on and, come on
and get with me ♪

- ♪ I just gotta get with you ♪

- ♪ It will feel
all right tonight ♪

- When I grew up,
the back of my school

was the backstage
of The Apollo.

When we'd go out for lunch,
I didn't play with the kids.

I went to the fence.

Just like Pharrell.
He went to the water.

And he seen the studio.

He just kept seeing
the studio.

Pharrell and them
used to sit on that bench

in the front foyer
of Princess Anne High School,

and...

and then start rapping.

You know, my friends
and my staff

would come up and say,
"You're in for it,

because these kids
are really talented."

- ♪ We expressed ourselves ♪

He decided to do
a talent show--Teddy.

And that's when we got in,
and when we got in,

like, you know, we won.

♪ You and your girls
are going out tonight ♪

♪ Y'all been planning this
all week, right ♪

♪ You got something
boys can't deny ♪

♪ Here's a hint,
it's like apple pie ♪

- When I finally seen them,

I did an override
on the judges.

I said, "I need you all
to pick these guys.

They're the winners."

I'm the boss.

[N.E.R.D.'s "Everyone Nose"]

- Yeah!
Yeah, yeah!

- Being in Teddy's studio

kind of opened our eyes
to what was possible.

- Pharrell, when he soaked
something in,

he didn't only learn it,
but he mastered in.

He watched me
in the studio all night.

The singer, the writer--

and they would be asleep
sometimes.

But Pharrell and I would be up.

- Pharrell, as a senior
in high school,

he would leave late at night,

and he says
he's going to the studio.

- ♪ Oh, oh, oh, yeah ♪

- I think a couple times
I'd ask

why do they do it
late at night?

But I learned that,
you know,

that's the time that they have
for that particular session.

- I told my mom and dad.
They were like, "Okay."

At that time,
she was happy for me,

but she just really
didn't know what that meant.

- Now, this is the route
that I would take

when I would drive myself
to go to Annandale High School.

And I'd sit in the parking lot
and decide

whether I was going
to go inside the school.

And I'd usually just turned
around and go back home.

- Yeah.

- I'm just skipping school
one day,

and I walk into
my local music store,

and there's a piece of paper
on the wall

that says Scream
is looking for a drummer.

Scream was a band
that was established.

These guys were ten years
older than me.

And I considered them
to be the best band

in Washington, D.C.

And I thought,
"Oh, my God, this is it."

- ♪ We don't know what
it's like to not be free ♪

♪ Like when you've
lost your sight ♪

- I was playing
with some friends

in a neighborhood
punk rock band.

I was failing at school
as I was becoming a musician.

But there was no debate
in my mind

I was going to play music.

So I got an audition.

I think I was 17 at the time.

I lied about my age.
I said I was older.

I didn't tell them
I was still in high school.

And they asked me to join.

- ♪ But like a tree
that's dead ♪

♪ It'll fall,
though it's tall ♪

- This is where you and Dad

and I had that
fateful meeting with...

- Counselor's office.
- The counselor's office,

which was just in those doors.

Scene of the crime.

- He said, "I want to tour
Europe with Scream."

He would have to drop out
of high school to do that.

- In my mind, I thought,
"Okay,

"am I gonna fail another year
at Annandale High School,

"or am I gonna take
this opportunity,

which I may never get again?"

But the last thing
I wanted to do

was disappoint my mother
and my parents and say,

"I don't wanna go
to school anymore."

How on earth would
she ever understand

that all I wanna do
is play music?

And fortunately,
she understood.

- No one supported my decision
to be okay with it.

Other teachers, family,
my mother--

nobody thought
I was in my right mind.

- As we were walking
out of the guidance

counselor's office,
into the parking lot,

Mom was going to her car,
I was going to my VW Bug,

my dad was going to
his forest green Volare,

and it was decided that

I wasn't gonna
go to school anymore.

It was dark, and my father
looked at me and said,

"Stay off the drugs!"

And, uh...

I didn't.
[laughs]

- Yeah!

[guitar wailing]

- How you doing?
- How are you?

- Good.
- Thomas, principal.

- Dave Grohl.
- Oh, wow, nice to see you!

- Hey, Dave Grohl!
- We saw some cameras,

and we thought we'd come out
and see what's going on.

- Yeah.
- So you're providing

a little
historical perspective, huh?

- Yeah, a little bit.
- Outstanding, welcome back.

- My mother was a teacher here
for a few years.

She's actually in the car.
- Oh, is that right?

- Yeah.
- That's cool.

- How long have
you been principal?

- This is my fourth year.
- Oh, is it?

- Yeah.
- Wow. Well, hey, man,

it's really nice to meet you.
- Likewise.

- Thanks for coming out.
- Nice to see you.

- All right, guys.
- You guys have fun.

- Cool.
- Take care.

- That's the nicest
conversation I ever had

with the principal in my life.
[laughter]

[soft dramatic music]

- Seeing the principal
come out and practically

throw his arms around you
is a little too much...

for me.
- That never happened.

- This irony overload.

After not being appreciated
by a single person

in a single school
in this area,

and now,
"All hail. He's home."

[laughs]

- Pharrell Williams making his
way across the football field

at his alma mater,
Princess Anne High School.

Days before the Something
in the Water Music Festival,

Pharrell had a message
for this next generation

of potential young artists.

- You guys,
don't let anybody tell you

that you can't do something
with your music.

We love our parents.

We want our parents
to understand

that music
can take you very, very far.

When you're young, you don't
understand the pertinence

of that time in school

and how it could affect
the rest of your life.

The other part of me
recognizes my hardwiring

was revealing itself
in a system

that was really only created
for one type of learner.

- Pharrell's perspective
on education changed

once he started
traveling abroad,

overseas,
and different places,

and he wanted to bring those
same opportunities to his area.

all: The keyword is education.

all: Yes, we can.

[cheers and applause]

- From One Hand to Another
is a STEAMM camp:

science, technology,
engineering,

arts, math, motivation--

free camp for underserved kids.

- Right there.
- Okay.

- We wanted to
create a location

where kids could learn
about different careers

and experiences
and opportunities.

- And it's just been growing.

Now it's like 35 cities,
right?

- Locations.
- Yeah, 35 locations.

I said 35 cities, sorry.
- [laughs]

And you'll begin to take some
things and go on your own--

- She does all the work.
I'm not the one doing the work.

I cannot take any of that
glory and praise.

That's my mom.
That's the team.

College students volunteering,
educators volunteering.

They're the people
who are actually,

really doing the work.

- But I tell people
that I am the medium

to which his vision
can come to pass.

- My mom has taught
me so much, man.

Everything.

I was so into being in the
music industry and being young

and not knowing any better,
and you just--like,

you're getting more money
than you ever made

in not only your life
but your parents' lives

and anybody you know--
like, it's different.

But that, you figure out.

The other part,
not being flashy,

not being braggy--

they had been saying it
all along, you know.

My mom was always about,
"You gotta be humble."

Humility is something my mom
has had this entire time,

and it took me going out
and seeing the world

to know that that was,
like, the right route.

Humility is where you find
love and gratitude.

I'm so grateful for my parents.
So grateful.

We're all humans.
No one's perfect.

I'm not perfect.

But I'm--I really am--
I'm grateful.

- I'm sure they're
very proud, dude.

- I hope so.

[cheers and applause]

[N.O.R.E.'s "Nothin'" playing]

Oh!
Oh!

♪

Oh!

Hey!

Oh!

♪

♪ Hey, homeboy,
I came to party ♪

♪ Yo' girl was lookin' at me ♪

♪ She's a haggler,
nah, I'm not tagging her ♪

♪ But you don't want them boys
to come over ♪

♪ And start asking ya ♪

♪ What you wanna do? ♪

♪ What you trying to do? ♪

♪ What you wanna do? ♪

♪ What you trying to do?

♪ Hot in ♪

- When Pharrell is on stage,

it's a full platter
of emotions.

[cheers and applause]

We came from nothing.
Nothing.

Living in the projects.

And there...there were days,

there were times.

To now...pulling so many

differences together
to create peace.

If there could be
heaven on Earth,

that probably was
a heaven on Earth moment.

- ♪ Oh

Make some noise
for the amazing Charlie Wilson.

- I can't hear you.
Sing it a little louder.

- My big brother,
legendary Snoop Dogg.

- Hey VA, can I get y'all
to put your hands together

one time like this?
Come on, y'all.

Now everybody,
just clap your hands.

Now everybody, just clap
your hands.

And let me hear you say...

all: ♪ I just want you

♪ To know that
you are really special ♪

♪ Oh, my, oh, my,
oh, my, oh, my ♪

♪ I just want you to know
that you are really special ♪

- This is for Virginia.

all: ♪ Oh, my, oh, my,
oh, my, oh, my ♪

- ♪ I just want you to know
that you are ♪

- Oh, you gonna do that
to them?

You finna do that to them?
Watch this.

I'm finna turn into a fan now.
That's all right.

- And in all honesty,
you just say,

"Thank you, God,
for choosing us,

choosing him."

And you realize that it could
have been anybody else.

And I think he understands
that his purpose in life,

what he does
in bringing people together,

we have an obligation
to give back.