Pharrell Williams aka Skateboard P (born April 5, 1973 in Virginia Beach, Virginia) is one half of the primarily hip hop music production and songwriting duo, The Neptunes (with Chad Hugo) as well as rap/rock group N*E*R*D with Hugo and Shae Haley. As part of The Neptunes Pharrell has produced numerous number one tracks for megastars such as Madonna, Mariah Carey, Beyoncé , Britney Spears , Snoop Dogg, Gwen Stefani, Nelly, Justin Timberlake, Mystikal, Jay-Z, *NSYNC, Shakira, Ciara and others. Pharrell was born the oldest of three sons to Pharaoh Williams and Carolyn Williams. His father was a handyman, and his mother was a teacher. ...show more

Pharrell Williams aka Skateboard P (born April 5, 1973 in Virginia Beach, Virginia) is one half of the primarily hip hop music production and songwriting duo, The Neptunes (with Chad Hugo) as well as rap/rock group N*E*R*D with Hugo and Shae Haley. As part of The Neptunes Pharrell has produced numerous number one tracks for megastars such as Madonna, Mariah Carey, Beyoncé , Britney Spears , Snoop Dogg, Gwen Stefani, Nelly, Justin Timberlake, Mystikal, Jay-Z, *NSYNC, Shakira, Ciara and others. Pharrell was born the oldest of three sons to Pharaoh Williams and Carolyn Williams. His father was a handyman, and his mother was a teacher.

In seventh grade, Williams met fellow band mate Hugo. The two began working together, mixing beats and playing in various live bands in which Williams played the drums. In 1992, while the two were attending different high schools in Virginia Beach, they sold their first song, "Rump Shaker", to Wreckx-n-Effect. They then began songwriting and production assignments with popular hip-hop artists such as Noreaga, SWV, Total and Ma$e.

In August 2002, The Neptunes were named Producers of the Year at both The Source Awards and the Billboard Music Awards. In 2002, Williams wrote and produced rapper Nelly's single called, "Hot in Herre," the single hit No.1 in the US and the UK. He repeated the success by doing the same with Britney Spears' dance-pop single, "I'm A Slave 4 U". But it wasn't until the summer of 2003 that Pharrell released his first solo single, "Frontin'" featuring Jay-Z. ...show less