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Today - Season 71

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Pharrell Williams has cemented his place in music history. After creating The Neptunes with Chad Hugo, the Virginia native became one of the most prolific hitmakers in the 90s and the early aughts. The duo crafted memorable hits like SWV’s “Use Your Heart,” Snoop’s “Beautiful” and “Drop it Like It’s Hot,” Kelis’ (now controversial) “Milkshake,” Ludacris’ “Southern Hospitality” “Grindin’” by the Clipse and Justin Timberlake’s “Rock Your Body,” among other culture-making jams.

Now 49, though his youthful visage belies his actual age, Williams wants to declutter. So he’s selling some of the contents of 11 storage units through a new site called Joopiter, continuing his fascination with naming important things in his life after planets. (His oldest son, by wife Helen Lasichanh, is named Rocket.) The collection of 52 lots, named “Son of a Pharoah” (William’s father’s name is Pharoah, so it’s not just a historical reference), begins on Friday, Oct. 14, and will benefit Black Ambition, a non-profit created to assist aspiring Black, brown and Asian entrepreneurs.

“The idea behind JOOPITER is to embrace the energy that is released when objects change hands, and to respect the value that’s been created around these objects,” Williams said via press release.

Items on the list include some of the hip-hop era’s most memorable touchstones custom-made for the beatmaker. There’s a gold Blackberry, a pair of Swarovski crystal-studded Adidas, a Louis Vuitton steamer trunk, a gold and diamond skateboard pendant from Jacob the Jeweler, a Casio G-Shock x Bape gold and diamond watch, and a Goyard trunk with BAPE, Star Trak and Billionaire Boys Club labels.

Joopiter marks the beginning of Williams’ foray into auction sites, similar to StockX or high-end shopping sites like Tradesy or the Outnet.

“There’s not really one size fits all, “Williams told The Financial Times in a recent interview, referencing the array of websites that sell gently used clothing and/or artifacts to a fashion and culture savvy consumer. “I’m not going to sell furniture on StockX. You know what I’m saying. I’m not going to sell, you know, 20-plus-carat diamond rings on [The] RealReal.”

Given his storied career and the wealth that has come from it, Williams, in the interview with FT, was nonchalant not just about selling a good portion of his collection but at the intersection of fashion and music his career exemplified.

“Fashion and music is like time and space, you can’t have one without the other,” Williams said. “You know, even Mozart was wearing something.”

Pharrell Williams Launches Joopiter To Sell Off All His ‘Cultural Artifacts’  was originally published on cassiuslife.com