Pharrell Williams Wears Many Hats

Pharrell Williams' album "In My Mind" was due out last November. Then December. Then January, February, then April and now finally it's out. With so many delays, it's only natural to wonder exactly what kept this project - the first solo album from an artist who has sold millions for others - moving as slowly as rush- hour traffic.

"I just pulled back the curtains too fast, being artistic minded and not following protocol," said the Virginia Beach native. "As a producer, there's no rush on me for anything, but as an artist you have to answer to your fans - so I put on my artist hat and finally got it done."

Forget the "trucker hat" that he helped to make trendy in 2001. Virginia Beach's famous son wears so many hats these days it's a small miracle that his album is ready at all.

Musically, you'll find the two-time Grammy winner's name on forthcoming projects from Beyonce, Omarion, Robin Thicke, Jay-Z, Chris Brown and Velvet Revolver.

Yet increasingly, Williams' attention has been turned to the world of fashion. Esquire magazine named him the "World's Best Dressed Man" last year. GQ magazine honored him this year with a lengthy spread. He was front row at all the important men's shows in Milan. His pricey streetwear lines Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream (think $350 for a hooded sweatshirt) are bona fide hits. Last year he designed 14 silhouettes for sunglasses for the French luxury house Louis Vuitton. His LV jewelry will arrive next year, and from now until next year, he is the male "face" for the company's advertising campaign.

In the 10 years since Teddy Riley plucked him and Chad Hugo from a talent contest, Williams, 33, has become, in short, a phenomenon.

He's the rare musician able to leap convincingly among rap and pop and rock and an R&B falsetto with street cred unscathed. He's in a triumvir ate of superheroes (along with Jay-Z and Sean Combs) who can appear somewhere as pedestrian as BET's "106 and Park" one month and then, in Williams' case, be photographed at a polo match with Prince William the next. How does he traverse so many worlds?

"I really have no idea," he said.

Though he's been all over the radio for nearly 10 years, either through production or guest starring on songs, he said he doesn't see himself as a pop artist.

"I work with a lot of pop artists, and I'm grateful. But I'm a boutique artist in a lot of ways. I make records for everybody else that sells 5, 6, 10 million records. I don't have that kind of audience. My audience is 1.5 to 2 million, but we're strong in our army. We wear the clothes we want to wear; we eat how we want. ... We're just different. Some people see them as cool people . I just see them as very specific and eclectic in taste."

He said his manager encouraged him to do a solo album. "I was like, 'If I do it, it's going to be incredibly quirky.' This album is like a great art piece. It's for people who are down with my movement, which is individuality." "In My Mind" features seven hip- hop songs and seven R&B songs .

While he's starting the third album from the rock trio N.E.R.D., which includes his homeboys Hugo and Shay Haley, he sounds most excited about the resource center he hopes to build in Virginia Beach. Apple, Microsoft and The Discovery Channel are working with him on the idea for a computer-based center, Williams said.

"What keeps me going, honestly, is the kids."

Williams, who's occasionally spotted at Mount Trashmore, acknowledges that other superstars from Hampton Roads have practically left Virginia in their rear-view mirrors.

"They do do that. But I refuse to. Virginia is the very reason why I'm here. I come from the Atlantis Apartments. And if I could do it, any one of my peers could do it. There would be no me at Louis Vuitton or me with a Grammy or me with my own stores in Japan if it wasn't for Virginia. It's what raised me."

He said that low-income young people are prey to gangs because of a lack of educational and growth opportunities.

"You know deep inside these kids aren't being educated and they're going to take on the wrong mentality. How do you not have a conscience and say to yourself, 'I've got to help these kids?' That's why I can't just turn my back on Virginia , because Virginia is where I come from and I can't just watch this happen. I love my city. I love my town."

Because Williams has done so much, one wonders what's the next big thing he's dreaming of ? A book? A movie?

"I'm always dreaming. I don't know if my aspirations are so clear. I never sat down and said I'm going to conquer the world. I just seized opportunities that presented themselves.

"I learned when I was young a lot of people have the ability to dream, but only some have figured out a way to manifest the dream. So I try and tell all the kids I can: You never know where you're going to end up if you pursue something you really love. Don't do it because you're going to make money. Do it because you love it, and you're going to have a really great life. "

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