“The first 10 years are simply you getting ran over, over and over again, and thinking there are not decent people in the world,” Williams said at a post-screening Q&A in Atlanta that was attended by Morehouse and Spelman students.
Pharrell Williams debuted another movie in Atlanta a week after it was announced that he and director Michel Gondrey had decided to postpone the release of their much-anticipated musical Golden for Universal from its May 9 date. Gabriel Moses, a photographer and filmmaker from London, collaborated with Division and Adidas on the short film All Day I Dream About Is Sport. The title, when rewritten as an acronym, parodies the name of the sneaker company. Williams’ big-screen musical, which featured Janelle Monae, Kelvin Harrison Jr., and Halle Bailey, is nothing like this “visual love letter to West African culture immersed in the ordinary experience of life in Senegal.” Instead, it highlights the Dakar community.
The 20-minute film, which opened its weeklong run on Le Cinema Friday, features a range of people to illustrate the difficulties of life, from the elderly to an unborn kid photographed via ultrasound. The film highlights a variety of sports along the route, such as swimming, martial arts, and rowing, while simultaneously capturing beauty and delight. The film is primarily in black and white, with occasional flashes of color.
Williams also oversees a diverse score that features the notable “Mike Tyson Blow to the Face.” Set against a very African backdrop, this American piece was contributed by his former protégé Pusha T, who was present at the premiere on the High Museum site in Atlanta (also supported by Soho House). Officially available for streaming on February 17, the song features a breathtaking image of a ravishly black Senegalese man racing on a horse while wearing a cowboy hat and bare chest.
During the post-screening Q&A, Williams told Complex EIC Aria Hughes and the audience, “It was one of those things I [thought] would [give] excellent texture, a good alien texture, opposed to everything else that was in there, which was sourced African music.” He was working on a new song for the rapper who, with his 2018 diss single that revealed the Canadian superstar had a son, may have begun the destruction of Drake.
Morehouse College and Spelman students (known as SpelHouse) attended the Q&A, which featured prominent power player and event co-sponsor James Whitner, whose Whitaker Group owns multiple boutiques, including A Ma Maniére. Later that night, Morehouse recognized Williams, a 13-time Grammy winner, Louis Vuitton Men’s design director, Oscar-nominated musician and film producer, philanthropist, and entrepreneur, for his achievements in the arts and entertainment.
Back at the panel, Williams gave some professional advice. His autobiographical film Piece by Piece details his climb using LEGO bricks. Given how much he enjoys his work, the father of four suggested, “I know your parents are telling you one thing, but it would be good if you could attempt to find a career tied to something that you love so much that you would do it for free.”
When Hughes asked him how he worked with Moses on their movie, Williams explained that he collaborates with people in all creative undertakings. He declared, “I am a different kind of collaborator.” “When I am with the talent, I put myself in the background because I want the talent to be the skill.” It is my responsibility to hold up the mirror so that you can discover the courage and strength to approach your trade in a way that has never been done before. If it works, we have won.
To emphasize his point, he employed Atlanta’s Andre 3000, half of the recent 2025 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame contenders Outkast. His ability to do things when others would not and then succeed at them is what makes him so amazing. He would carry his hood, his Blackness, and his unique experience on this planet with him in a verse, but he would tackle it in a variety of ways. “Not everyone is Andre when they wake up in the morning,” he said. “Not everyone is capable of that. I am one of those people who truly need manufacturers to do that.Additionally, you work in a field where trendhop is the norm. He used musicals as an example, saying that they had a “dead era” and that “now it is all the rage.” “They trendhop, like they go from lap to lap to lap, it is ridiculous,” he swore.
Students were given his gigantic $200 Pharrell x Adidas Superstar 92 sneakers, which were only available at Atlanta’s A Ma Maniére shop that day, and the $85.00 7D Gel Facial Set from his skincare business Humanrace at the reception he was unable to attend.
