You may never hear Pharrell's new song about global warming

Singer and superstar Pharrell Williams is in Shanghai today for his latest project, a top secret collaboration with Louis XIII cognac, and #legend was there to learn all about it.


The man behind 2014’s smash hit, “Happy” has teamed up with the “King of Cognac” to create an environmentally-minded song, not to be heard until 2117. Entitled ‘100 Years’, it is a message to today’s leaders about the impact our actions are having on our environment. It comes just two years after ‘100 Years: The Movie You Will Never See’, a collaboration between Louis XIII and actor John Malkovich that marked the first chapter of what we hope is an ongoing series of collaborations.

Only one copy of Pharrell’s ‘100 Years’ exists. It is stored on a specially created clay record, made from the soil of Louis XIII’s vineyards. Tonight, at precisely 8:45pm, it will be played to 100 exclusive guests, and then sealed in a safe and kept in Louis XIII’s cellars in France. It will not be opened for a century, the exact amount of time it takes to create Louis XIII cognac.

There’s just one catch: the safe will self-destruct if submerged, meaning if water levels continue to rise, the song will dissolve and be lost forever. Thus, the piece transcends music and becomes protest: a blatant reminder that what we do today will effect generations to come.


In an intimate interview this afternoon, the singer described the collaboration as “one of those awesome opportunities” that aligned perfectly with his current goals as a person and as an artist. “At first, it was a larger than life consideration – like, man what do I do for that? And then you realise, I’m not going to be there then; the people causing all the tumult and turmoil at this point will be long gone; and they’re probably going to f*** everything up anyway, so I might as well just write to them now because they’re going to ruin it.”

When asked to describe the song we’ll never hear, Pharrell emphasised that it’s not a typical ‘call to action’ piece which you listen to once and then forget. It’s different, sarcastic, and a little bit angry. “I thought, let me just troll all of the pseudo-scientists that don’t necessarily care about the ecosystem. There are a lot of great, fine scientists out there, we just happen to have some that agree with our current administration in the [United] States.”

This comment raised a few eyebrows at the press conference in Shanghai, but he’s standing by it. “We’re not doing what we as a species should be doing to protect our one and only home right now.” So there you have it, the singer song writer, fashion icon and film producer can add a new feather into his multifaceted hat (one would assume it’s a large one, to match his penchant for oversized head wear): political activist.

#legend will be covering the ceremony tonight, which is strictly no phones and no social media allowed. Check out our upcoming December print issue to learn more about Pharrell’s collaboration with Louis XIII.