Pharrell Williams, a.k.a. Skateboard P, is about to rule everything around you—without even trying. The nonchalant rappin’ and singin’ producer, who merged the cultures of hip–hop, high fashion and skate, tells Donnie Kwak about his latest musical project, style, Virginia Beach and what really matters.

Photographs by Melodie McDaniel

Purpose?

Pharrell Williams: That’s not my character. You know what I’m sayin’? I be pretending that I’m sexy. It’s all in my mind. That’s why it was perfect for my album title. I figured I would do something a little more reflective of how I think, and the best thing was In My Mind, because in my mind I’m all these things—I’m good, I’m bad, I’m holy, I’m horny.

Your solo album is half rap, and you’ve been popping up on more guest verses lately. Did you always want to rhyme?

Pharrell Williams: It’s all a form of expression. I don’t really think I can sing, I don’t really think I can rhyme. I’m just expressing myself. I’m just saying whatever comes out of my mind, whatever comes out of my mouth. It’s more like a diary. ’Cause before, when I used to rap–rap, I looked at it like, “Niggas is gonna go crazy when they hear this.” Now it’s not about that. Now it’s more about self–expression. It’s really more art than anything else. I’m at another point of my life where I’m trying to practice being non–judgmental and being pro art.

Some of your songs refer to Virginia Beach. How would you describe your hometown?

Pharrell Williams: It’s cool. Virginia is an incredible place. It’s not too racy, but it’s got all the things that everywhere else has. It’s that we got a cool pace. It don’t mean that niggas won’t shoot you, it don’t mean that niggas won’t run up in your crib and tie everybody up, because that happens every day. And it doesn’t mean that there’s not a great suburban life. It just means that it’s a different speed and a different set of rules. There’s not a lot of entertainment stuff going on there. Maybe there is now, but when I was growing up, we didn’t have that. So Teddy Riley landing his studio literally five minutes walking distance from my high school was incredible, unreal. But Virginia’s a great place to raise your kids.

Is it accurate to say that you came up in a crossroads between suburban and urban life?

Pharrell Williams: Yeah. Suburban and urban. We were like low–to–middle income. I don’t like saying lower class, middle class? that class shit is not cool. Nobody can tell you what class you are, you can do anything you wanna do. I’m telling you, we weren’t really raised to think that we could go outside of Virginia and make something big of ourselves and come back and bring success home. We weren’t raised to think that. It just doesn’t seem like a possibility in Virginia Beach.

Yeah, ’cause New York has some of the illest hoods in the world, but at least there’s the bright lights, big city.

Pharrell Williams: Right. Virginia Beach is not a metropolis. I guess that’s what it is. There’s not really a downtown in Virginia Beach. They’re building one now. And it’s not that we country or anything like that. It’s just that we had more of a suburban life. It was about getting a great job, getting a great education, and that was pretty much high society. Now it’s, You can do anything you wanna do, and it’s beautiful because Virginia is growing. And all of the conservative–minded people there are coming around and understanding that our youth wanna do more than just study—they wanna skate, they wanna do all these alternative things in the world.

You were recently named the top dresser by a men’s magazine. What do you make of that?

Pharrell Williams: I’m buggin’ out. Home // CELEBRITIES // COVER STORY // Pharrell Williams