Pharrell Williams Explains Why He Was Completely Unbothered By Drake’s “MELTDOWN” Diss

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Karwai Tang / Contributor via Getty Images and Mark Blinch / Stringer via Getty Images

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Pharrell Williams and Drake

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In 2022, Pharrell Williams decided to part ways with over a million dollars’ worth of jewelry, watches, sneakers and other pieces that he stashed over the decades as a part of JOOPITER’s debut. A few weeks later, several of the chains and pendants, many of which included N.E.R.D. and BBC logos, found their way into Drake’s “Jumbotron S**t Poppin” video in January 2023.

On Wednesday (Nov. 13), in a cover story with GQ, Williams looked back on the Canadian star’s big splurge and subsequent threat to melt the jewelry on Travis Scott’s 2023 track “MELTDOWN.” When asked about it, the “Happy” hitmaker admitted he didn’t expect Drake to use the purchase against him, even several years after frequent collaborator Pusha T’s infamous feud with the OVO founder: “I think beyond all of the on-goings.”

“At the heart of all of it, he’s a fan of music. He’s a fan of the history of what it is, and I happen to be a part of that, and those artifacts are a part of it,” Williams explained.

“Man, f**k all that spinnin’ the narrative s**t / I melt down the chains that I bought from yo’ boss / Give a f**k about all of that heritage s**t,” Drake spat on the UTOPIA cut. Later in the guest verse, he claimed that “the members done hung up” Louis Vuitton after Virgil Abloh’s untimely passing — Williams succeeded the late designer as the label’s menswear creative director.

However, Williams was apparently unfazed by Drake’s remarks. “When you let things go, a huge part of it is actually letting go. Not just of the physical item but letting go of your connection to what it’s supposed to mean,” he told the publication. “It’s like when people sell something, and they go, ‘I just want to make sure you take care of it because this is my baby.’ And I’m like, ‘No, no, no.’ This is not my baby. That’s why I’m letting it go.”

Since then, Williams’ jewelry has made a cameo in Drake’s video for “Family Matters,” in which the rapper responded to direct shots from Kendrick Lamar on “euphoria.” The five-time Grammy Award winner dished out lines like, “You wanna take up for Pharrell? Then come get his legacy out of my house.”