{"id":47295,"date":"2025-11-15T02:10:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-15T02:10:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/47295\/"},"modified":"2025-11-15T02:10:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-15T02:10:09","slug":"pharrell-williams-honored-with-the-key-to-miami","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/47295\/","title":{"rendered":"Pharrell Williams Honored With the Key to Miami"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t\t<img width=\"1240\" height=\"744\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Pharrell-Keys-to-the-city.jpg\" class=\"article-thumbnail-image wp-post-image\" alt=\"Photo of three people holding a frame.\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"  \/><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tMayor Daniella Levine Cava presented Pharrell Williams the Key to the County during the 5th Annual Black Ambition Demo Day.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>Photo by Edysmar Diaz-Cruz<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.miaminewtimes.com\/arts-culture\/eyes-on-miami-pharrell-williams-marc-anthony-and-others-40500787\/\">Pharrell Williams<\/a> just added another accolade to his legacy \u2014 this time from the 305. On Friday evening, the Grammy-winning artist and entrepreneur was presented with the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.miaminewtimes.com\/music\/kodak-black-receives-key-to-the-city-of-north-miami-23723722\/\">key<\/a> to Miami-Dade County by Mayor Daniella Levine Cava during the 5th Annual Black Ambition Demo Day at the Sacred Space Miami. The honor was also awarded to Felecia Hatcher, CEO of Black Ambition.<\/p>\n<p>The moment marked a salute to Williams\u2019 growing <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.miaminewtimes.com\/food-drink\/upscale-miami-japanese-restaurants-open-with-backing-from-pharrell-21946957\/\">footprint in Miami<\/a>, not just through nightlife staples like Swan and Strawberry Moon, but through his deep investment in Black innovation and ownership. \u201cThere\u2019s so much brilliance out there that never gets seen,\u201d Pharrell said. \u201cThat\u2019s why we built Black Ambition, to make sure talent doesn\u2019t stop at potential.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The event brought together investors, artists, and emerging founders for a high-energy celebration of entrepreneurship and access, capped off with a surprise performance by <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.miaminewtimes.com\/music\/chance-the-rapper-surprises-miami-fans-at-dantes-hifi-23876675\/\">Chance the Rapper<\/a>. The evening was backed by national partners including Visa, Louis Vuitton, Adidas, and the Lennar Foundation.<\/p>\n<p>This year, nearly 2,500 entrepreneurs applied for the Black Ambition Prize. Twenty-five finalists received over $1 million in funding, and six standout founders hit the stage to spotlight ventures tackling food insecurity, maternal and infant mortality, and inclusivity in the skincare industry.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWhen news happens, Miami New Times is there \u2014 <br \/>Your support strengthens our coverage.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p class=\"fundraising-thermometer-body\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWe\u2019re aiming to raise $30,000 by December 31, so we can continue covering what matters most to you. If\u00a0Miami New Times\u00a0matters to you, please take action and contribute today, so when news happens, our reporters can be there.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" height=\"614\" width=\"1024\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Chance-the-Rapper-.jpg\" alt=\"Photo of a young man performing on stage wearing a white baseball cap. \" class=\"wp-image-40502469\"  \/>The event capped off with a surprise performance by Chance the Rapper.<\/p>\n<p>Photo by Edysmar Diaz-Cruz<\/p>\n<p>Attendees also witnessed a powerhouse fireside chat between Pharrell and Mellody Hobson, President and Co-CEO of Ariel Investments, moderated by Hatcher. During the conversation, Williams opened up about growing up in the projects while navigating ADHD, and how music became his anchor. He didn\u2019t hold back politically either: \u201cI hate politics; it\u2019s a magic trick that isn\u2019t real. I don\u2019t believe in either side, because if you\u2019re on either side, you\u2019re supporting division.\u201d He added, \u201cWe can\u2019t just be the inspiration for American capitalism; we need to start capitalizing on that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hatcher summed up the moment during her onstage conversation with Williams: \u201cWe just received the keys to the city, and keys are supposed to open doors. But for many founders, those doors often stay closed.\u201d Williams followed with purpose: \u201cThat\u2019s what we want to do with Black Ambition.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For the Miami founders and creatives in the room, the night was a call to action. In a city that thrives at the intersection of culture, community, and, as Rick Ross immortalized, \u201chustle,\u201d Black Ambition\u2019s Demo Day empowered many ideas in the room.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mayor Daniella Levine Cava presented Pharrell Williams the Key to the County during the 5th Annual Black Ambition&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":47296,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[323,123,125,124,13605],"class_list":["post-47295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-celebrities","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news","tag-philanthropy-nonprofits"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47295","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47295"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47295\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47296"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}