"I wanted to speak from the perspective of my block and neighborhood, but in a different manner," he says during a break from Grammy rehearsals. "Anyone can talk about bottles of champagne and getting signed, but I wanted to relate how I grew up and what I saw every day."
Dan MonickThis article first appeared on Billboard.com.
The NBA has unveiled the list of headlining musical artists at its All-Star Weekend in New Orleans later this month, with Pharrell Williams continuing his hot streak by headlining the Entertainment Series presented by Sean John at Macy’s. The NBA All-Star Game will take place at New Orleans Arena on Feb. 16.
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Pharrell, whose solo hit “Happy” enters the Top 10 of the Hot 100 this week, will perform during the player introductions, and will be bringing out some special guests. The producer scored two of last summer’s biggest hits with Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” and Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky,” and has also been confirmed to perform “Happy” at the upcoming Academy Awards.
Meanwhile, the NBA All-Star Game halftime show will consist of a New Orleans-influenced collaboration between Earth, Wind & Fire; Janelle Monae; Dr. John; Gary Clark Jr.; and city native Trombone Shorty with his band Orleans Avenue. Shorty and Orleans Avenue recently performed alongside Macklemore & Ryan Lewis at the Grammy Awards, while Monae was honored as Billboard’s Rising Star at last year’s Women In Music event.
Kendrick Lamar has been tapped to headline the Saturday night (Feb. 15) of NBA All-Star weekend, with a performance prior to Sprite Slam Dunk. Finally, Clark Jr. and Serena Ryder have been confirmed to perform the U.S. national anthem and Canadian national anthem, respectively, at the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday.
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Performers will be announced shortly for the Sprint Pregame Concert before the NBA All-Star Game, which will air live on TNT at 8 p.m. ET. Last year’s NBA All-Star Weekend included performances from Alicia Keys, Fall Out Boy, Ne-Yo and Phillip Phillips.
