NEED TO KNOW
Justin Timberlake re-emerged to pay tribute to Pharrell Williams.
On Thursday, Jan. 29, the *NSYNC member — who has been laying low since wrapping his tour amid a Lyme disease diagnosis — made a surprise appearance at the Recording Academy’s Black Music Collective event at The Fairmont in Los Angeles to honor his longtime collaborator and friend.
During the event, Williams, 52, was presented the Dr. Dre Impact Award, which recognizes “not only his musical achievements but also his entrepreneurial innovation, philanthropic efforts and far-reaching cultural influence worldwide,” per the Recording Academy.
Before presenting him with the award, Timberlake, 44, performed a 15-minute medley of tracks that the pair worked on together throughout the years, including 2002’s “Rock Your Body” and “Señorita.”
Other songs featured in the tribute were The Neptunes alum’s Jay-Z team-ups “I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me) and “I Just Wanna Love You” from 2000, his 2003 track with Snoop Dogg “Beautiful,” his 2013 hit “Happy” and more. The tribute also featured performances from performances by Clipse and Leon Thomas.
“I was thinking about what I was going to say, and Tyler [The Creator] took all that s—,” the “SexyBack” performer joked as he presented the Dr. Dre impact Award to Williams. “No, no, no, you’re good. You’re good. Anybody that’s come in contact or been in the same frequency with Pharrell Williams is changed forever.”
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Timberlake continued, “He came into my life at a time where I was entering my own, and funny enough, you made me feel like I belonged. Your creativity is unparalleled. Your energy is infectious.”
He then called Williams his “big brother” even though joked he was “already taller” than him when they met.
“You changed my life. You changed my life. And I will forever, forever be grateful. And I know so many people in this room, and you can make some noise if you are inspired by this man,” said Timberlake.
The 10-time Grammy winner then remarked that he doesn’t know what Williams, who’s also the creative director of Louis Vuitton, has “left to do.”
“You believed in me and you taught me so much, and you continue to teach me so much from music to just conversations,” said Timberlake. You are one of my favorite humans, bro. You are one of one and I’m so honored to be here.”
He added, “I’m so privileged to know you. You changed my life. Thank you, brother.”
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When Williams accepted the Dr. Dre Impact award, he thanked Timberlake.
“You showed your ass tonight!” he said. “You reminded this community how you love us so much and what we mean to you. Come to Paris bro, it’s time.”
Williams and Timberlake have been close friends and musical collaborators for over two decades.
The Neptunes, Williams’ former production duo with Chad Hugo, produced more than half of Timberlake’s 2002 debut solo album, Justified. But even before then, The Neptunes produced *NSYNC’s 2001 hit “Girlfriend.”
The Grammys will broadcast live from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 1 on CBS or stream them live and on-demand on Paramount+.
