Pharrell Pulls Something In The Water Fest From Virginia

BYAron A.2.8K Views
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Pharrell cites the "toxic" energy of Virginia Beach, VA as the reason why he's pulling his festival from the city.

Pharrell Williams launched Something In The Water festival in his hometown of Virginia Beach, VA. The super producer brought the festival, with massive headliners, in 2019 before the pandemic hit but unfortunately, it will no longer be making its return. Pharrell penned a letter to city manager Patrick Duhaney explaining that the death of his cousin, 25-year-old Donovon Lynch, at the hands of the police was met with little concern from the city leaders.

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"When we did the festival, it was to ease racial tension, to unify the region, bring about economic development opportunities and broaden the horizons of local businesses," he wrote. "We've achieved those things! I wish the same energy I've felt from Virginia Beach leadership upon losing the festival would have been similarly channeled following the loss of my relative's life."

He continued to explain that the city's "toxic energy" has bled through the city's infrastructure. "The toxic energy that changed the narrative several times around the homicide of my cousin, Donovan Lynch, a citizen of Virginia, is the same toxic energy that changed the narrative around the mass murder and senseless loss of life at building number 2."

Ultimately, Pharrell made it clear -- he provided proposed solutions to issues of human rights facing the citizens of Virginia Beach that the city neglected to acknowledge. 

Check the full letter below via WAVY.com.

About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.
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