Conversation: Pharrell Williams

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The NASCAR world has been invaded by celebrities for several years now, as anyone from Ben Affleck to Anna Nicole Smith has shown up at the track.

From the music industry, Kid Rock, 3 Doors Down and others have become a big part of NASCAR. And, of course, NASCAR is rooted in country music.

But there's an untapped market out there -- R&B and rap. That's one reason why Grammy Award-winning producer Pharrell Williams recently got involved in the sport.

	Pharrell Williams

Williams, who has produced songs for Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake and Nelly, is part of the LidRock program that is sponsoring Bill Lester's No. 22 Toyota in the Craftsman Truck Series.

LidRock is a program that delivers multimedia content in CDs and DVDs embedded in lids of fountain drinks. The first LidRock program features Williams and his group, N.E.R.D., and their song, "She Wants to Move."

The CDs and DVDs will also have NASCAR-related material and will be available in March.

Williams recently spoke with NASCAR.com's Lee Montgomery about LidRock, about winning a Grammy, about cars and about how he got involved with NASCAR.

AUDIO  •  Listen to the Q&A

First off, how did you get involved with NASCAR? Where did that come from?

Pharrell Williams: We got a few phone calls asking us if we wanted to be part of a team. A big equation, Toyota getting involved. It was very different, it was a big deal. I didn't know a whole lot about NASCAR -- as I still don't. I'm here learning, every moment, learning about the process, what it takes to race, how to place. I was just told what a draft is. There are so many different things when it comes to this thing. It's cool. It's something I used to watch on TV as a child, never, ever imagining that I would be here as a part of it, so I want to educate myself and get a little more intelligent about it.

I was going to ask you if you were much of a race fan growing up. Other than watching it on TV, what do you remember about it?

Pharrell Williams: When you're a kid, that's all you want to do, is drive fast in a car. You kind of forget about it when you get older, depending on what your surroundings are, what your atmosphere is. For me, I got into music. But racing cars is still attractive to us, you know what I mean? It's still something you want to be around and see and experience and feel. I don't know, it's just cool. There was that movie that Tom Cruise had years ago.

Yeah, Days of Thunder.

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Pharrell Williams: Yeah. That brought a lot of heat around the NASCAR situation. I suspect it's going to blow up even bigger now. It's 2004, there's Earnhardt Jr. with a whole different feel to things. It's not what you expect. It's cool. It's opening up to a broad world. And you know what? Contrary to what most people think, even the conservative people of the NASCAR association, they welcome it broadening. It's more money. Money is green. You know?

I was going to ask if your music, other R&B stuff, can be accepted by this crowd. I guess it can be.

	Williams chats with Bill Lester during Daytona Speedweeks. Credit: Sherryl Creekmore/NASCAR

Pharrell Williams: I've been signing autographs all day. I don't know if that answers the question, but it surprised me -- I mean, not really, because I know music transcends, but still. It's still impressive to know that you can come to a whole other world, and they'll know you and recognize you.

So you've been accepted here? People have noticed you and known who you were? That's cool.

Pharrell Williams: Not much of the older folks, but definitely all the younger kids, like 25 and younger. Young kids, a lot of girls.

Talking about going fast. Is there ever any desire to get in a race car, even to just go around a track once or twice or do a racing school?

Pharrell Williams: Not really, but I know myself. If they offered the opportunity, I'll be out there.

You keep it under the speed limit in your personal car, right?

Pharrell Williams: Uh, no, not really.

What kind of personal vehicles do you drive?

Pharrell Williams: I have a Phantom Rolls Royce, I have a Rolls Royce, a last-of-the-line Rolls Royce, I have a white Ferrari 550 Maranello, I have a turbo Porsche.

So you're a car lover?

Pharrell Williams: Yeah, but none of them have any miles on there because I never get to drive them. I'm always working, either in the studio or on tour. But it's cool. When I get a chance to drive, I drive.

What have been your impressions of this place, this sport. You said you've been soaking it all in and trying to learn. What comes to your mind?

Pharrell Williams: Geez, there's so much corporate involvement out here. I never knew. It's big business, big business.

And you want to tap into that a little bit. Tell me about this LidRock deal. How did you get involved with that? How did that get going? Just another way to get music out there?

Pharrell Williams: LidRock is important because with each purchase of a drink in a lid, you put your CD in, and it gives you all this information, beyond just the songs you love. It offers all this other service, a conduit between all the products that you may love or may not know about. They give you things for signing up. Who can complain? All this coming from a lid. It's great. LidRock is a great program, and it benefits so many people, so many people.

How did you get into the music business. I'm guessing you were involved with that as a kid. Talk about how you got involved. How did you get a break?

	Williams and Lester show off the N.E.R.D./LidRocks truck. Credit: Sherryl Creekmore/NASCAR

Pharrell Williams: I got discovered in a high school talent show, more or less. It was pretty cool.

You were singing, playing drums?

Pharrell Williams: Playing drums.

Cool. You and your partner won a Grammy this year. How cool is that? Where is the actual Grammy right now?

Pharrell Williams: It's very cool. It's an incredible feeling. It's still on its way to our house. It's on its way to my house, and to my partner, Chad Hugo, his is on his way to his house. It's cool. It still hasn't hit me yet. It probably won't hit me for another year. I'm still numbed by the whole realization that we finally got recognized and considered.

That's cool. You've obviously worked with a lot of talented people as a producer, and you're also an artist. What kind of satisfaction do you get from each one?

Pharrell Williams: Music is music to me, no matter what I'm doing. It's just music. It's a great feeling.

How did you come up with the name Neptunes?

Pharrell Williams: Being young and creative. It's just something that makes sense to us. It was all about water for us when we were young.

You're still pretty young.

Pharrell Williams: Thank you, sir.

Are you going to come back to a racetrack any time soon and bring some more friends?

Pharrell Williams: We're involved. We're involved. We're going to tell everybody about it and how great it is and how interesting it is. It's an adrenaline pump. That's what we're going to do. We're going to let everybody know that.