Pharrell Enlists Diddy, Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes for NBA All-Star Game
Pharrell performed a 20-minute greatest hits set to kick off the NBA 2014 All-Star Game Sunday night, bringing out special guests Diddy, Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes, Nelly and Neptunes co-producer Chad Hugo to assist him in the crowd-pleasing medley.
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With a live band backing him, the singer/producer opened the set with his 2003 debut solo single “Frontin'” before introducing Nelly to perform the Neptunes-produced “Hot in Herre.” Jay-Z didn’t appear alongside Pharrell for next song “I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me),” but the Academy Award-nominated musician made up for it with Diddy and Busta Rhymes appearing for “Pass the Rock This Way,” a basketball-themed update of their 2002 smash “Pass the Courvoisier, Part II.”
After a brief break to introduce the Eastern Conference All-Stars, Pharrell kicked off the next part of the set with Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” and N.E.R.D.’s “Rock Star” before bringing out Snoop for the 2003 Neptunes-produced hit “Beautiful.”
The singer took a breather to allow the Western Conference All-Stars to be introduced before taking on Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” and his own hit “Happy,” the latter featuring all the guest stars and his now-infamous oversized hat. Watch the whole performance below:
Later that night, the All-Star’s halftime show doubled as a tribute to Sunday’s home city of New Orleans. Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue kicked off the 12-minute set with “Do To Me” before introducing Dr. John to perform the oft-covered New Orleans song “Iko Iko.” Gary Clark Jr., who delivered a galvanizing performance of the National Anthem earlier that night, reappeared for “Bright Lights” before ceding the stage to Janelle Monae. The Atlanta resident blessed the crowd with “Electric Lady” with Clark Jr., followed by a closing performance of “Shining Star” with R&B/funk legends Earth, Wind & Fire.
“We love music, we love funk, we love soul, we love to jam,” Monae told Billboard. “We didn’t really even have to rehearse [the performance] as many times as we did. Everybody’s fans of each other’s music.” Check it out below:
On Saturday, Kendrick Lamar performed “m.A.A.d. City” and “Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe” in between the night’s three-point contest and slam dunk contest.