Piece By Piece: The Pharrell Williams Story – Some Major Collaborators Missing in Action!
Piece by Piece: A LEGO Celebration of Pharrell's Epic Career!
Piece by Piece, a new LEGO movie, brings Pharrell Williams' incredible life story to the big screen; debuting in theaters on October 11, 2024! It's already earning rave reviews (81% on Rotten Tomatoes, an amazing 91% audience score!), and a killer box office debut ($8.1 million and fifth place its opening weekend!). Directed by Morgan Neville (the mastermind behind Won't You Be My Neighbor? and Roadrunner), this film has many cameos from those big names in music such as Kendrick Lamar, Justin Timberlake, Gwen Stefani, Daft Punk, and Snoop Dogg.
The movie shows Pharrell's incredible journey. From forming The Neptunes (with Chad Hugo) in high school, to collaborating with everyone under the sun and making crazy hits like "Hollaback Girl" (for Gwen Stefani) and so much more! We see the birth of N.E.R.D. and his hugely successful solo career which makes this musical icon even more legendary. This documentary covers so many elements related to the musical and business aspects within music! It demonstrates not merely the impressive skills, the artistic approach; and explores other important aspects including his impressive work ethics; his own innovative thinking methods that made his rise in prominence something entirely his own achievement!
This movie isn't entirely comprehensive however! There's a whole host of super impressive artists who got completely omitted from this movie! Let’s have a look!
The Missing Collaborators: 20 HUGE Names Left Out of Piece by Piece
20. Kanye West: A One-Hit Wonder Collaboration
Pharrell and Kanye West teamed up ONCE on "Number One" (from Pharrell's 2006 album, In My Mind). Despite their individual success since, this song was strangely their ONLY collab.
19. Future: "Move That Dope" and Beyond
Pharrell was featured on Future's hit 2014 track, "Move That Dope." It made waves, hitting Gold status! Yet their work since includes a whole host of hit songs, yet many people may only remember this song and completely missed others in his incredible and consistently creative and innovating collection of songs which have never stopped in the years that followed their collaboration!
18. 2 Chainz: Two Tracks and Ongoing Success
These two collabed twice –"Feds Watching" (2013) and "Bailan" (2017)! Yet 2 Chainz remained one of the consistently productive and prolific hip-hop stars in recent years, creating this whole amazing array of extremely varied content. Many who might only remember the collaboration between him and Pharrell might miss his contributions in multiple genres.
17. Alicia Keys: A Brief but Memorable Partnership
Alicia Keys joined Pharrell on "Know Who You Are" from his GIRL album (2014). While this is all they officially did together on record, they’ve crossed paths in the past (he was a coach on The Voice and she was his advisor).
16. Kid Cudi: From "Surfin'" to "AT The PARTY"
Pharrell and Kid Cudi worked on at least two tracks in that amazing and critically lauded Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin' album (2016). Then we had Travis Scott and Pharrell appear with Cudi on "AT The PARTY" from Cudi's latest album, INSANO.
15. Robin Thicke: "Blurred Lines" and Other Collabs
"Blurred Lines" (with T.I.) features in Piece by Piece, but not Robin Thicke. These two artists went further; on tracks like "Wanna Love You Girl" (2005) and "Take Me Higher" (2021)! Their entire history involved more collaborations, especially during those earlier stages, adding incredible musical diversity to that entire experience! Their long collaborative relationship however makes this even more noteworthy.
14. Lil Uzi Vert: A High-Energy Duo
Pharrell featured on Lil Uzi Vert’s "Neon Guts" (2017) – also on "Juggernaut" (with Tyler, the Creator)! It's awesome and also demonstrated that amazing blend of style that only these highly specialized and distinctive artists could truly offer!
13. Travis Scott: High-Octane Collaboration with A Powerful Track
"AT THE PARTY" (with Kid Cudi) shows another incredible and unexpectedly massive crossover, while "Skeletons" (2018) features Pharrell, Tame Impala, and The Weeknd; these combinations add incredible diversity into these very particular sounds, creating something unexpected and intensely creative. The incredibly popular song demonstrated how impressive and innovative some music production methods truly were! Another interesting collab appears during those collaborations with "Down In Atlanta" (2022).
12. Usher: R&B Hits That Shook the Charts
Usher collaborated with Pharrell on "Anything" (with Jay-Z, also a big hit featuring on the documentary!) (2006) and "Twisted" (2012)! That specific combo alone showcases just how powerful these seemingly unlikely artist combinations could actually become; especially through the influence that The Neptunes provided! That collaboration demonstrated just how extremely influential those music choices were during that specific era. Those collaborations had a high impact that affected several parts across genres and those combinations and varied sound blends demonstrated that the music produced would last in a distinctive manner!
11. Ludacris: A Fast and Furious Collaboration
Ludacris's platinum-certified "Money Maker" (2006) was made with The Neptunes; their collaborative efforts even extend to another Release Therapy song ("Girls Gone Wild"). These creative artists and collaborative attempts generated so much great music; demonstrated in his appearance within a high-profile franchise; proving that crossover potential remains extremely noteworthy, emphasizing why this artist had so many successful crossover collaborations across multiple genres!
10. The Weeknd: From "Wanderlust" to "Skeletons"
"Wanderlust" (2013) and "Skeletons" (2018) show the diverse creative combinations available with different artists, especially during the combination with Travis Scott. This is one of those extremely commercially successful collaborations in The Weeknd’s long history, and these blends remain impressive in various ways! A surprisingly successful creative mix showing just how easy it might be for fans to remember the song’s massive influence!
9. Miley Cyrus: A Long-Term Collaboration with Unsung Songs
"Doctor (Work If Out)" (2024) is their newest. But Pharrell produced four tracks in Bangerz (2013) with Miley Cyrus which might’ve easily remained unknown. Those initial collaborations never gained the prominence later discovered after that more recent collaboration; proving that success within a commercial industry often might hinge on extremely specific and totally unpredictable events!
8. Common: A Deep Dive into Collaborative Versatility
Common and Pharrell met multiple times on Universal Mind Control (2008) ("Universal Mind Control," "Announcement"), and with T.I. on "Goodlife" (2006) adding a touch of crossover appeal through diverse soundscapes, blending those distinctly separate styles together to generate some interesting musical compositions that would leave a memorable mark. This entire combined collaboration has multiple elements worthy of remembering! It’s just insane how good his music always ends up being; in all these very varied collaborative settings.
7. Calvin Harris: Dance-Pop Fusion at Its Finest
This might surprise people but is incredibly significant; these two musical artists who specialize in relatively different categories collaborated several times on extremely successful songs; demonstrating crossover capability across styles and the creative energy and surprising sounds these kinds of artists deliver! Calvin Harris’s "Feels" (with Katy Perry and Big Sean, another insanely commercially successful combination of various music artists across completely different soundscapes), "Heatstroke," and "Stay with Me" (2022, featuring Justin Timberlake and Halsey) demonstrates just how powerful and varied collaborations could actually become.
6. A$AP Rocky: Hip-Hop Synergy at the Highest Level
Pharrell has appeared frequently in the history of A$AP Rocky’s amazing catalogue of commercially successful albums. Their collaborations, from the classic "Pretty Flacko (Remix)" (2012) to "RIOT" (2023), show his ever-present versatility. Their extremely extensive collaborative projects suggest just how highly impactful those combinations are likely to be! These are just major hits, and people should consider this incredible combination.
5. Lil Wayne: A Consistent Collaborative Relationship Throughout the Years
Pharrell and Lil Wayne worked together since at least 2006 ("Gettin' Some (Remix)"). They continued in 2009 ("Ay Man"), recently creating another recent track "Can’t Hold Me Down" (featuring Lil Yachty, DOODLES, and Kyle Richh). That is a seriously successful, long term relationship between musical artists which emphasizes what this could truly create!
4. Wiz Khalifa: A Blend of Hip-Hop Styles
"Rise Above" (2012, on Wiz Khalifa's O.N.I.F.C. album) shows those diverse skills –also appearing later with "Stare" (2017, from Ty Dolla $ign’s Beach House 3). The consistent creation of varied tracks throughout his albums really demonstrates that innovative, varied sound design capable of changing the perception surrounding the musical landscape. It creates unique sounds, blends various tastes, creates surprisingly successful combinations and impacts audience tastes, especially surrounding various combinations that might've otherwise not really worked so well without creative guidance!
3. Nelly: Multiple Collabs across Different Musical Styles
Pharrell and Nelly met many times; since 2004 ("Play It Off"), generating those iconic Nelly hits across different albums, especially those including "Let It Go," "IDGAF," "Get Like Me" (2013, with Nicki Minaj). These collaborations showed what can be achieved through various music production strategies; through clever choices on song-mixing and also using distinctive performers to emphasize what was actually unique about each performer!
2. The Game: Early Collaborations from Another Famous Artist
Pharrell produced many tracks on The Game’s early mixtapes (Purp & Patron and California Republic from 2011-2012). That shows amazing musical ability and diverse creativity but it unexpectedly faded, even though those earlier songs created some memorable music.
1. T.I.: A Legendary Collaboration, Surprisingly Short-Lived
That incredible musical bond, an amazing long term relationship, but short-lived after those extremely commercially successful collaborative music productions. Starting with "What's Yo Name" (2001), extending throughout multiple T.I. albums (including "King," "No Mercy," "Paperwork")—this was completely eclipsed after their monumental hit "Blurred Lines". It highlights just how unpredictable musical success truly is! Even that kind of early success in developing successful creative partnerships is not always maintained. This creative partnership ultimately demonstrates those highly unique skills available during some highly collaborative work!
Conclusion: The Untold Stories Behind Pharrell's Massive Success
Piece by Piece is excellent and highlights Pharrell's major career achievements and partnerships. This does however leave behind so many other highly valuable elements from his overall history! Those omissions highlighted today really demonstrate how vast and unpredictable that overall creative output and massive commercially-successful works remain, leaving viewers wishing that there was room to appreciate just how varied and impressive that particular output really was and how diverse and talented other featured performers were in all those missing moments; resulting in more popularity from viewers!
