What Goes on in Pharrell's Mind?

Aug. 3, 2006— -- Pharrell Williams has some serious bling. He has two "proper rings": One is a 26-carat canary yellow Asher-cut diamond, and the other is a 23-carat white Asher-cut diamond. These are not "going to the club" rings, he said, but are reserved for more special occasions.

Williams, one of the hottest producers in hip-hop, also opts for the fashionable/functional. He is currently waiting for famed jeweler to the stars Jacob the Jeweler to finish his gold-plated BlackBerry.

Did Williams ever see himself donning these kinds of accessories, let alone becoming the male face of luxury designer Louis Vuitton, when he was a kid growing up in a Virginia Beach, Va., housing project?

"No way!" he told ABC News.

Now, at 33 years old, he is one of the most sought-after producers in the music industry. He hopes to push the limits of music even further with his first solo album, "In My Mind," which dropped last week.

The album, which has received mixed and downright negative reviews from Rolling Stone and The New York Times, comes from a place that Williams calls "left of center."

Williams sees this latest venture as purely artistic and experimental. The purpose of this much-anticipated and much-delayed album is not to make money, although that would be nice, but to break some ground, he said.

"It's meant to sort of let people in and let my friends into my mind," he said. "It's kind of like the director's cut for the first chapter of my career."

Williams' musical story began at age 12, when he started playing the drums, but he had long been surrounded by music.

When he was 9, his family moved from the projects to a modest suburban home that he said was often filled with the sounds of soul music by Earth, Wind and Fire, and the Jackson Five. A biker group called the Renegades lived across the street and exposed Williams to rock.

His musical palette craved diversity from an early age, and he found a kindred spirit in Chad Hugo, whom he met in junior high. The two later formed the Neptunes production company.