Most days, Pharrell Williams certainly looks the part of a self-professed “big kid” with a penchant for skateboarding, White Chocolate Reese’s, and Sponge Bob Square Pants. Standing among racks of colorful clothes and rows of sneakers in the SoHo showroom of A Bathing Ape clothing, the baby-faced 33-year-old is like a spindly teenager in his Billionaire Boys Club hoodie, Ice Cream sneakers, and blue baseball hat, especially when presented with a new pair of rainbow patent-leather sneakers by his good friend and design collaborator, Nigo. “I’m the sample size,” he explains, eyeing the size 9s and flashing a smile that outshines the blinding string of diamonds around his neck. “I’m going to have to wear these tonight.”
Pharrell has flown to New York for just one night to attend the one-year anniversary celebration of Bathing Ape’s New York store at the Chelsea hot spot Marquee. While someone takes his lunch order, another is filming him on a camcorder, and his trusted barber-to-the-stars, Johnny, patiently waits nearby. “There’s definitely an inner conflict of me being a kid in a candy store and just doing what I want to do,” says the Grammy-winning producer, who is wearing far too many rocks to count, including a $.5 million Royal watch by Jacob the Jeweler. “Only three people have it. Me, Sean Carter”—a.k.a. Jay-Z—“and Sean Combs. This is the first one,” he says grinning proudly, and then catches himself. “By luck, though.”
Pharrell has never shied away from high fashion, and is quick to rattle off his favorites: Gucci for suits, Prada for shoes, Fendi for accessories, Louis Vuitton for luggage… and Levi’s 501s for jeans (“If it ain’t broke, don’t try to fix it,” he says).
“I always wanted the Ricky Schroder life—you remember Silver Spoons?”
Pharrell struggles with a love for pricey accoutrements and a disdain for elitism. “But at a certain point it starts to look like”—he pauses and breaks into a pompous accent for effect—“Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous! And he must have cat food every morning, and they ship it in from Italy”—his voice trails off. “Like, I don’t ever want to be that man.”
The man he strives to be never forgets where he came from, which in Pharrell’s case was a modest but happy upbringing in Virginia Beach, where he was hired (and fired) by three different McDonald’s branches in an attempt to earn money so he could look “fresh.” Now, as the recognizable half of the Neptunes, who churn out radio-ready hits like Nelly’s “Hot in Herre” and Gwen Stefani’s omnipresent “Hollaback Girl,” Pharrell’s golden touch ensures that others sound fresh. So infectious are the beats bouncing around in his head that he’s received up to $2 million for just one song.
All this has afforded him more than a few well-deserved luxuries, including a new Miami pad that boasts 360-degree views of the city, furniture by Versace, and an outlandish jewelry collection full of his own designs with either Jacob Co. or Lorraine Schwartz. Pharrell says he’s constantly sketching ideas, and was commissioned by Marc Jacobs to design a line for Louis Vuitton. “It’s going to be revolutionary,” he says, adding that he’s even invented his own diamond cut that has since been patented but will not be unveiled until the summer.
In the meantime, Pharrell moves from behind the soundboard into the spotlight with his highly anticipated solo debut, In My Mind, which he promises will be equal parts celebratory hip-hop and emotional R&B and, rather boldly, “record of the year.” The first single, “Can I Have It Like That,” became an instant club hit, with catchy beats, fun rhymes, and coy vocals lent by Gwen Stefani.
“I’m not a drug type of guy, and I rarely ever drink, but music gets me high,” he says. “And that sense of euphoria has been unmatched till this day. As a kid you imagine, but you never know where it could go.” And as his lunch arrives from SoHo’s Cafe Habana, he just can’t help but point out his preference for local cheap eats. Cracking a smile, he asks, “You thought it was going to be Nobu, didn’t you?”
In this story: Hair, Malcolm Edwards for John Frieda Salon; makeup, Mark Carrasquillo. Produced by Oliver Hicks for NorthSix.