Hip-Hop Artist/Producer Pharrell Williams is opening his own youth center in his native Virginia to provide youngsters with an outlet for their creativity.
The rapper/singer/producer has recruited renowned architect Chad Oppenheim to create a modern tree house-style space in Virginia Beach that youngsters can escape to and receive support in nurturing their artistic talents.
Williams tells design magazine Wallpaper, “I wanted to provide people with the same opportunities I got. My teachers didn’t let me go until I had realized my potential. They taught me to fight my way out of a paper bag.”
“Children need guidance and creative discipline and someone to be there when they fall. They also need a safe haven. At the moment, arts organizations across the U.S. are having their funding cut and we can’t let that happen. There’s so little regard for creative skills. Where would we be without design?”
And Williams hopes to take the project nationwide, if the Virginia center is a success.
He says, “This is just a prototype. If all goes well, we will look at setting it up in another cities across the U.S. as well, such as Miami.”
The eco-friendly Pharrell Williams Youth Center, which will also help to raise funds for Williams’ charity, the From One Hand to Another Foundation, is expected to open next year (2012).
Pharrell Williams is credited with producing award-winning songs for nearly 20 years, including many you may remember:
1994: “Tonight’s The Night” (BLACKstreet feat. Tammy Lucas)
1996: “When Boy Meets Girl” (Total feat. 112)
1996: “Use Your Heart” (SWV)
1999: “Caught out There” (Kelis)
2000: “Southern Hospitality” (Ludacris)
2000: “Shake Ya Ass” (Mystikal feat. Pharrell)
2001: “Danger (Been So Long)” (Mystikal feat. Nivea)
2001: “I’m a Slave 4 U” (Britney Spears)
2001: “There She Goes” (Babyface)
2002: “Hot in Herre” (Nelly)
2002: “Pass the Courvoisier pt 2” (Busta Rhymes feat. Pharrell & P. Diddy)
2002: “U Don’t Have to Call” (Usher)
2002: “Girlfriend (‘N Sync)
2002: “Work It Out” (Beyoncé Knowles)
2003: “Excuse Me Miss” (Jay-Z feat. Pharrell)
2003: “Beautiful” (Snoop Dogg feat. Pharrell & Charlie Wilson)
2003: “Milkshake” (Kelis)
2005: “Hollaback Girl” (Gwen Stefani)
2006: “Wind It Up” (Gwen Stefani)
2007: “Green Light (Beyoncé Knowles)
2007: “Hooked On” (Britney Spears)
2008: “I Decided” (Solange Knowles)
2008: “Give It 2 Me” (Madonna feat. Pharrell)
2009: “Did It Again (Shakira)
2010: “My Big Secret” (Britney Spears)
2010: “Amazing” (T.I.)
