Pharrell Lanscilo Williams, sometimes known mononymously as Pharrell, is an American record producer, musician, singer, songwriter, rapper, and fashion designer. Born and raised in Virginia Beach, Virginia, he first gained mainstream recognition as one half of the hip hop and R&B production duo the Neptunes, which he formed in 1992 with fellow musician Chad Hugo. Collectively, they have produced 15 singles which peaked within the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100—including four songs that peaked atop the chart—as Williams gained initial recognition as a frequent backing vocalist for the duo's productions. He also formed the alternative band N.E.R.D. with Hugo and drummer Shay Haley in 1999, for which Williams serves as lead vocalist. He has been widely considered as one of the most influential music producers of the 21st century, and is credited with impact on various genres of modern popular music.
Nardwuar the Human Serviette, or simply Nardwuar, is a Canadian celebrity journalist and musician. He formed the Vancouver-based garage rock band, the Evaporators in 1986, for which he serves as lead singer and keyboardist.
Takashi Murakami is a Japanese contemporary artist. He works in fine arts as well as commercial media and is known for blurring the line between high and low arts. His influential work draws from the aesthetic characteristics of the Japanese artistic tradition and the nature of postwar Japanese culture. He is credited for designing the album covers for Kanye West's third studio album Graduation and West and Kid Cudi’s collaborative studio album Kids See Ghosts.
Terrence LeVarr Thornton, better known by his stage name Pusha T, is an American rapper. He rose to prominence as one-half of the Virginia-based hip hop duo Clipse, which he formed with his older brother No Malice. Mainly active from 1994 to 2010, the duo were discovered by fellow Virginia-based act Pharrell Williams and signed with his record label Star Trak Entertainment, an imprint of Arista Records to release three studio albums—Lord Willin' (2002), Hell Hath No Fury (2006) and Til the Casket Drops (2009)—to mild commercial success. The former spawned the Billboard Hot 100-top 40 singles "Grindin'" and "When the Last Time", for which they became best known.
James Sutton, known as Jam Sutton, is an English visual artist.
A Bathing Ape is a Japanese fashion brand founded by Nigo in Ura-Harajuku in 1993. The brand specializes in men's, women's and children's lifestyle and street wear, running 19 stores in Japan, including Bape Stores, Bape Pirate Stores, Bape Kids Stores, Bapexclusive Aoyama, and Bapexclusive Kyoto. The Kyoto store also includes Bape Gallery, a space used for various events and art shows sponsored by Bape. There are also stores located in Hong Kong, Taipei, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Qingdao, Shenyang, Seoul, Jakarta, Dubai, New York City, Kuala Lumpur, London, Paris, Miami and Los Angeles.
Brian Donnelly, known professionally as Kaws, is an American artist and designer. His work includes repeated use of a cast of figurative characters and motifs, some dating back to the beginning of his career in the 1990s, initially painted in 2D and later realized in 3D. Some of his characters are his own creations while others are reworked versions of existing icons.
Nigö is a Japanese fashion designer, disc jockey (DJ), record producer and entrepreneur. He is best known as the creator of the streetwear brand, A Bathing Ape (Bape), and currently serves as artistic director for Kenzo. Additionally he is a member of the Japanese group Teriyaki Boyz, serving as their official in-house DJ since the group's 2005 debut.
Alexander Junior Grant, professionally known as Alex da Kid or by.ALEXANDER, is a British music producer from Wood Green, London. He has gained recognition for producing several hit singles for artists of multiple music genres, such as Dr. Dre, Nicki Minaj, B.o.B, Eminem, Matthew Koma ("Stars"), Diddy, Imagine Dragons and Cheryl.
Black women filmmakers have made contributions throughout the history of film. According to Nsenga Burton, writer for The Root, "the film industry remains overwhelmingly white and male. In 2020, 74.6 percent of movie directors of theatrical films were white, showing a small decrease from the previous year. In terms of representation, 25.4 percent of film directors were of ethnic minority in 2020. Of the 25.4 percent of minority filmmakers, a small percentage was female.
The Mis-Adventures of Awkward Black Girl is an American comedy web series created by and starring Issa Rae. It premiered on a dedicated YouTube channel on February 3, 2011. The show follows the life of J as she interacts with co-workers and love interests who place her in uncomfortable situations. The story is told through first-person narrative as J usually reveals how she feels about her circumstances through voice-over or dream sequence.
Michael Len Williams II, known professionally as Mike Will Made It or simply Mike Will, is an American record producer and rapper. He is best known for producing trap beats for several Southern hip hop and pop artists on commercially successful singles. His credits include "Black Beatles" and "Powerglide" by Rae Sremmurd, "Mercy" by Kanye West, "No Lie" by 2 Chainz, "Bandz a Make Her Dance" by Juicy J, "Pour It Up" by Rihanna, "Love Me" by Lil Wayne, "Body Party" by Ciara, "We Can't Stop" by Miley Cyrus, "Formation" by Beyoncé, and "Humble" by Kendrick Lamar. He embarked on a career as a non-performing lead artist in 2013 with his debut single "23", which peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. His 2017 follow-up single, "Rake It Up" peaked at number eight on the chart. He has released six mixtapes and one solo studio album, Ransom 2 (2017).
"Remember You" is a song by American rapper Wiz Khalifa featuring Canadian singer the Weeknd, released as the second single from the former's fourth studio album, O.N.I.F.C.. Produced by Dpat and Illangelo, the song samples "Tell Me Do U Wanna" by Ginuwine. It was released on September 24, 2012, by Atlantic's YouTube channel.
Styled to Rock is an American reality competition television series based on the British television series of the same name, executive produced by recording artist Rihanna which focuses on fashion design. The contestants would compete with each other to create the best outfit for one or more famous music acts every week, restricted by time and materials. Their designs were judged and the music act of the week would choose their favourite one, and one designer was eliminated each week.
Jo-Issa Rae Diop, credited professionally as Issa Rae, is an American actress, writer, and producer. Founder of Hoorae Media, she achieved wider recognition as the co-creator, co-writer, and star of the HBO television series Insecure (2016–2021), for which she was nominated for multiple Golden Globes Awards and Primetime Emmy Awards.
"Happy" is a song written, produced, and performed by American musician Pharrell Williams, released as the only single from the soundtrack album for the film Despicable Me 2 (2013). The song was first released on November 21, 2013, alongside a long-form music video. The song was reissued on December 16, 2013, by Back Lot Music under exclusive license to Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music. The song also served as the lead single from Williams's second studio album, Girl (2014).
"Peaches N Cream" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Snoop Dogg, featuring vocals from American singer Charlie Wilson. was released on March 10, 2015, as the first single of his thirteenth studio album Bush, with the record labels I Am Other and Columbia Records. The song was produced by Pharrell Williams, who also participated in the band composition, along with the interpreters and Nelly, Garry Shider, George Clinton, James Brown, Robert Ginyard, Jr., Mary Brockert, and Walter Morrison.
Simmie Sims III, known professionally as Buddy, is an American rapper, singer, and dancer. Previously on the I Am Other label, he is now signed to Cool Lil Company and RCA Records. He is also a member of the hip-hop supergroup Zoink Gang, with JID, Smino and Guapdad 4000.
Giants is an American web series created by James Bland and starring Bland, Sean Samuels, and Vanessa Baiden as the lead characters. The series premiered on Issa Rae's YouTube channel on January 25, 2017. A second season premiered on the same channel in 2018. Both seasons were financed by crowdfunding campaigns on Indiegogo. It has since been acquired and released for streaming on BET+.
James Bland is an American actor, writer, director, and producer based in Los Angeles, California. He is known for his work on the web series Giants.
