All language subtitles for piece.by.piece.2024.hdr.2160p.web.h265-letshaveablockparty.en

- Dada.
- Yes, sir.

- Dada.
- Yes, sir.

Careful. Don't crash.

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...

- And good morning, brother.
- Hey.

- Are we good?
- Yeah. All set.

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?

What's that?

What if, like...

What if nothing's new?

What if life is like a LEGO set?

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.

- Seriously?
- Yes.

- LEGO?
- Yes.

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.

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.

'Kay.

Moving on.

Here's an easy question.

Well, maybe
it's easy, maybe it's hard.

Where are you from?

I'm from the mud.

Close to the fabled Atlantis.

I just became obsessed with,
like, water, you know?

And, like, King Neptune.

I feel like
my obsession with water

triggered something in me.

Different kinds of abilities.

I don't know where it's from.

But I knew I was different.

Really?

I've always grappled with that.

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.

You'd just witness music
bouncing off the walls.

And the Blue Angels,
they would fly over

my housing project.

We lived in the crash zone,

so we had the best view.

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 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.

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.

All the Stevie music
would do it to me.

Beautiful hues of light
cascading.

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.

Man, he was way out there.

He must have got it
from his mama.

Oh, my God.

And me.

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.

We basically lived
in the same neighborhood.

We were kids, so it was like,
"Hey, we're gonna ride our bikes

to Mount Trashmore."

And I was the kid

in the neighborhood
with the skateboard.

Yeah.

We explored everywhere.

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.

The best rappers there
made a name.

You have Timbaland,
who's known as DJ Timmy Tim.

We all kind of knew each other
from school.

Yeah, I knew Timbaland.

I knew Timbaland 'cause
we were in class together,

and he was cool with Missy.

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.

In Virginia,
we've been saying for years

there's something in the water.

They always say
there's something in the water,

but I think
it's just Virginia itself.

But I wasn't the best student.

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.

Hey! Earth to Pharrell.

Stop daydreaming
and get to work.

I have, like, anxiety about it

and refuse to go back.

So, I was
in seventh grade twice.

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."

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.

Soul...

Train!

I wanted to escape.

Hello and welcome aboard.

You're right on time for
another ride on the big train.

Live long and prosper.

TV, for me,
became like this magical place

where, like, my imagination
would just run super wild.

Even in the outskirts
of our own solar system,

we humans have barely begun
our explorations.

Carl Sagan's
way of looking at life

was amazing to me.

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.

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...

God has given you
a special gift,

but to whom much is given
much is required.

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.

She saw that in me, and that's
when, in the seventh grade,

she got me a snare drum.

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.

And that's when I met Chad.

Chad understood colors in music,

and we bonded on that.

Both of them
was kind of different.

They was like little nerds.

Chad was always kind of quiet.

I mean, it's true.

Yeah.

But to see the two of them

do music together,

it's like they read
each other's minds.

We were just being ourselves

and were just-just having fun,
you know?

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.

I'm sorry, I have to say it.

We skipped so much school.

It was so bad.

Every day,
we would create songs.

Everything sounded futuristic.

"Let's try this.
Let's try that."

It's like the person
who invented

peanut butter and jelly.

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!

- Chad.
- Yeah?

We need a name.

- Yep.
- What do you think it should be?

Um... I don't know.

Don't know.

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.

He had a whole separate business

selling nuggets
out the back door.

Dealing nuggets? No.

That never happened.

Nice, Shae. Nice one.

And he would
come home with, like,

at least a hundred nuggets.

They were so good.

But it's the reason I got fired,

'cause I was eating
all the time.

- You got fired?
- Yeah, I got fired.

Three times.

A number one, extra large.

You want some fries with that?

Remember, this is
Virginia Beach, Virginia.

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?"

Huh?

And then, out of nowhere...

the biggest producer
in the world at the time

comes to Virginia Beach.

I was looking at the future.

Ladies and gentlemen,

get ready for
the new jack swing king.

He's produced hits
for Keith Sweat,

Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince,

and of course Michael Jackson.

Teddy Riley in the house.

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.

That shook our town up.

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.

So, Mr. Riley,
where did this all begin?

The story of Pharrell began
with these two policewomen.

- Police?
- Yes.

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.

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.

All right. All right, now.

How many of you are ready
for Teddy Riley?

Do you even remember
what the music was?

It was a lot of, like,
baby Whitney Houstons.

All of the judges were like,

"These people are
the next greatest singers."

All right, last but not least,

here come The Neptunes!

But when Pharrell
and The Neptunes came on...

I was like...

Oh, these guys are different.

It went from
one thing to another.

Pharrell went from rapping

to singing,

and then got on the drums.

It felt like the most incredible
freestyle performance.

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...

- Yes.
- Oh, wow, okay.

Absolutely. Can't wait.

Here you have it.

Whoa. It's real.

Oh.

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."

It's The Neptunes for Teddy.

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?

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?

And the engineer would just
give me the dirtiest look.

Hey, man, listen.

Teddy's the boss.

- Mm-hmm.
- When he's working,

- you don't say anything.
- Yes, sir.

You're lucky to be in the room.

That's where
I learned discipline.

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?

The thing that raised
my eyebrows was

Pharrell leaving home
late at night.

And I'm thinking,
"This guy is wasting his time."

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.

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.

I don't think he had it,

but he just went in the room
and freestyled it.

And then I mimicked what he did.

- And he was like...
- Nah, it's pretty simple.

Just let it bounce.

Oh, my God.

And one day he came home,

he said, "Dad, this ain't bad
for a first paycheck."

But, I mean,
I blew it in like two weeks.

I mean, I was like 19 years old.

He wanted to try to get
on another level.

That gave him, like,
an artistic itch.

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.

He said I wasn't ready.

I was, like, really
at my wits' end.

I thought I might have to get
out of that deal with Teddy.

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.

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.

Hey.

Pharrell would come to my house

with a beat in his head.

We would tell ourselves,
"We can do this."

Let's make some music.

I'm choking on french fries,

but that's okay.

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.

For, you know, like five years,

time just passes,
just stacking beats.

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.

What am I gonna do?

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.

So I called this A&R guy,
Kenny Ortiz.

One of his interns
would always answer the phone.

That was Rob Walker.

Hello?

You know, the first few times,

it was kind of like, you know...

Kenny's not here.

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?"

- What's up, man?
- Hey, man.

What's going on?
Like, what's happening?

We were like phone friends,
like...

Oh, that wasn't from you?

They almost made...

There was a connection there.

And I finally met him.

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.

And I'm, like,
immediately blown away.

Like, blown away.
And I was like, "Holy..."

Wow. Like, this is great.

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.

Every week, we'd send out tapes

and then he would market them
around as best as he could.

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.

Whatever I had to do.

Yeah, I just need
like five minutes, B.

We did the rounds.

We met everybody
that was somebody.

And Pharrell was coming
full throttle.

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.

It got really bad.

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.

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.

He was like this
little brother that you wanted

to knock upside the head.

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.

Yeah, what?

Like, we can't do that, man.

You're gonna, like,
kill yourself in this thing.

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.

- 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.

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.

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.

No one had talked to me

like that before,
you know what I'm saying?

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."

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.

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.

I remember the album coming out

and all the DJs
start playing the record.

I remember bringing them to Jay.

I remember bringing them
to Nas.

But everyone was
a little skeptical

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."

When "Superthug" dropped,
everything changed.

- Forever.
- Hello?

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.

Not everybody can sit
in that hot seat for long.

I remember watching
the Mystikal video.

- And I was like...
- He in the video?

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!

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'.

Um, yeah.
I knew him from before.

He's Jay-Z. He's a legend.

You know, I'd reached
a level of success

as a, quote-unquote,
"superstar."

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,

I was shooting a video
for another track.

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."

Who-who did that?

- Pharrell.
- Pharrell?

Pharrell just took it.

At the same time
of being a visionary,

Pharrell has, uh, an affinity
for, like, hood shit.

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.

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.

Make some noise
for Pharrell Williams!

One time, everybody, jump!

He was sort of, like,
finding himself and his way

about how he was gonna deal
with this success now.

Yeah, I think he went
a little crazy with it.

This is my favorite game.

This is Galaga.

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.

Lately, it's been so busy,
we hardly watch any TV.

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?"

- Rolling sound. Marker.
- Okay.

Uh-oh. We have some gardeners.

Let me go get them t-to stop.

- Okay, we're ready.
- Okay.

We got our... We got
our quiet back.

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
we went to the studio.

- What's up, Gwen?
- Hi.

- No Doubt.
- Hi.

Pharrell was, like,
intimidatingly cute...

and hip-hop.

And I'm not hip-hop.
I'm from Anaheim.

Pharrell, he was like,
"I'll play you five tracks."

I'm like...

What? A track?

At that time,
we just wrote songs as a band.

But I remember he played us
the track for "Hella Good."

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.

How can we come together?

How can we make something new

out of something
that already exists?

To me, the most common thread

of different worlds
is a feeling.

And-and trust me,
people just want to feel good.

Even though it seemed like

we were from
two different planets,

it was like two cultures'
collision of beautifulness.

Pop music could be fun,

but I wasn't gonna
leave hip-hop.

I was trying to call him,
but he didn't pick up.

- Just now?
- 'Cause I was gonna ask him,

"What do you want me
to lie about?"

I-I'm curious.

When were you even first aware
of The Neptunes?

It was like some rock music,

and it was on the video game.

I think it was on Madden.

This is beautiful work
that you've been doing.

Thank you, man.

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,

I told somebody
the other day...

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.

I'm just, like, channeling him.

So I made that beat
out of my mind.

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...

So I had to figure
the words out.

Then Chad came in
and started putting

all of that
dynamic synthesizers like...

That was like
the candle on the cake.

We was like, "God d..."

Oh, come on!

This the crazy part
that they may not know.

"Drop It Like It's Hot" was my
first number one single ever.

- 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.

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."

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?

- 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.

Oh, my God. Okay.

I remember
a really fancy studio.

Everybody worked there.

And Pharrell, he was literally

working all of the rooms
at the same time.

- Pharrell. This beat is hot.
- Whoa.

It slaps you in the face.

I was so excited to get
The Neptunes at that time.

It felt like a real moment.

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.

We would hear,
like, a crazy stat like,

"Oh, it's the biggest record
at radio."

"Nah, this is
the biggest record at radio."

Who are The Neptunes?

You just got to turn on a radio
to find out

who we are.

It's gonna get a little crazy.

- You're the greatest, lil' bruh!
- Yo! Did you hear that?

And the Source Award
for the Producer of the Year

goes to The Neptunes!

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.

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,

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.

"It is the best beat

that I've ever made,
so you need to get here."

There was no way
anybody could get anything

that he thought so highly about
other than me.

He was like...

You don't even know,
but you're shining.

Pharrell really made a choice

that no one else
would have made,

and he helped me
in the best way possible.

That's the new joint
from Virginia's own,

The Clipse and The Neptunes.

We on fire right now, baby.

Local to global, baby.
This joint going worldwide.

Virginia. "Grindin'."

I firmly believe

if man can make it on the moon,

we can make it
out of the projects.

It's aw...

All right. All right. Hold on.

Come on, man. Stop playin'.

Why are you playin', man?
Why are you playin'?

And that's when we did
our first N.E.R.D. album.

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.

You know, we go
on tour overseas, and we see

70, 80,000 people going bananas.

Like, that just opened our eyes

to a whole different
perspective.

We've been around the world
and people embrace him the same.

No matter where he's at.

Japan, Russia,
anywhere in the world.

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.

- Star Trak.
- N.E.R.D.

- Star Trak.
- Nerd for life.

Star Trak.

Nobody told him,

"You can't do that."

Nobody told him,
"Black people don't skate."

What he sees, he believes.

But maybe it's the gift
and curse of him, too.

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.

This beat was for Prince,

and he heard it
and didn't respond.

But I saw the potential.

I tried my best to get this beat

for Usher.

I begged him for that record.

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.

"Frontin'" was a huge hit.

Hell yeah.

Is Pharrell here?

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.

It was very comfortable

standing next to Jay-Z.

But "Frontin'" was in reverse.

Jay-Z was standing next to me.

Pharrell is here today.

"Frontin'" is

the missed opportunity
of a lifetime.

He was supposed to become
a solo artist after that song.

Everyone was waiting.
Everyone was waiting for that.

Like, "What happened?"

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.

"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.

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.

Hi.

It's great to finally
sit down with you.

For sure.

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?"

Yeah, that's crazy, right?

Yeah.

I first met Pharrell
at a friend's barbecue party.

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.

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.

Okay. Okay.

I actually did break up
with that guy,

and we started
really hanging out.

From one day to another,
I was like...

I think I love you.

He was like,
"Well, you know, I told you

I wasn't ready
and blah-blah-blah."

And then I was like...

"Okay."

Sometimes it takes a moment
for things to register.

Right?

I think the hardest thing
with-with me and Pharrell

was keeping on focus.

I want to think outside the box.

I want to do
all kinds of things.

Like, it was always
the next thing.

"What's the next thing?
What we doing next?

What we doing next?"

I don't want
to be fit into a box.

Thing about Pharrell is that

if he gets inspired
by something,

he wants to do it.

Amazing.

Amazing, amazing, amazing,
amazing, amazing.

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 in
until I do.

He was endorsing

high-end designers.

Artists weren't doing that
back then.

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.

- Did he?
- Yeah, he did.

Wow. I didn't know that.

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

that I'm doing."

Hey, it's the new fragrance
from Pharrell Williams.

Gonna like it.

Because it smells good.

He did a drink called Qream
with a "Q" for "queen."

- Ladies like it, right?
- We love it.

That pink liqueur, it looked
like Pepto-Bismol to me.

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."

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."

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.

You know, I think
what is really important

is keeping your ear
to the streets.

And you can't do that
when your head's in the clouds.

My grandmother, she was sick.

She had an incredible
impact on me.

She saw things in me
that I couldn't see in myself.

I remember
my grandmother used to say...

"Find
something you love to do..."

and you'll know
when it's right.

When you can find a purpose
for humanity in it.

But what does that really mean

at the end of the day?

I-I don't know.

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.

So, are The Neptunes

the top priority
of your business now or...?

Mm...

- Maybe.
- "Maybe."

The Neptunes broke up.

So many of the people
in the room with him

when he was at
his most adventurous left.

It...

Yeah, it was,
it was a difficult time, man.

He couldn't pay someone
for a hit.

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.

I made the worst record
of my life

called "All Eyes On Me"
with Pharrell.

I don't remember the song.

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.

So when you say
he says he was lost,

I believe that.

He would've had to have been.

You're being written off
at this point.

There ain't places you can turn

for that inspiration
that you need...

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.

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.

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.

Chad.

Helen!

- Oh, my God.
- I'm ready now.

Okay.

So what are we gonna
do about that?

When I look up and see

all the love
and all the support,

the people who just
never left my side...

My family.

All my friends.

The realization when, like...

everyone wants you to win.

And I'm like, you know,

"Man, forget the trophy, man.

The idea that
you want me to win."

When thinking like that
and thinking about that,

my heart...

could keep the lights
on the Earth.

Do you need a Kleenex?

No, I'm okay.

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.

- Dada.
- Yes, sir.

- Dada.
- Yes, sir.

We had just gotten married,

and we had our son, Rocket.

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.

I'd be like, "Is he okay?

Why is he staring off
into the light like that?"

- Dada.
- That feels great.

This is it.

And the next thing
you know, boom.

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.

Ah. Makes me cry, too.
Makes me cry, too.

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?

I love that song,
but it turned into

this other thing
that I didn't see coming.

People are singing

and celebrating
to highlight an emotion.

But you realize
why they feel that song:

'cause they've been
through some shit.

They've been through some shit.

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...

Hands up! Don't shoot!

it got really dark.

Hands up! Don't shoot!

Hands up! Don't shoot!

Hands up! Don't shoot!

It's what changed my outlook on

what it means to be Black.

must disperse immediately.

Now! This is an order.

You'll be subject to arrest
and other actions.

I realized that you're Black

in juxtaposition
to the entire system.

This is literally
what we think about every day.

I remember finding
these jazz vocal samples

and playing this chord around.

it just felt like a rainbow
of blue murky water.

And what Kendrick wrote to it
was just

poetic justice.

Pharrell had the hook.

That's him on the hook.

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.

We gon' be alright!

We gon' be alright! Hey!

We gon' be alright! Hey!

We gon' be alright! Hey!
We gon' be alright! Hey!

- We gon' be alright!
- Say what?

That record, it kind of

attached itself
to every struggle.

We gon' be alright!

We gon' be alright!
We gon' be alright!

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?

The bird is even chiming in.

Why?

Because the crow gets it.

Yes.

Yes.

That's right.

You see? That's how it works.

Pharrell!

Hey! Thank you, Pharrell!

Oh, my gosh!

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.

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.

One, two, three, four.

Look what we can do when
we come together, Virginia.

Wow!

Missy Misdemeanor.

Timbaland.

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.

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?"

Dad, is that it?

- I think we're done.
- What?

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.