Pharrell and Jay-Z Drop Single Celebrating Black Entrepreneurship The "Entrepreneur" music video features Tyler, the Creator, Issa Rae and a dozen other Black entrepreneurs.

By Jessica Thomas

Brian Ach | Getty Images

Music industry heavyweights Pharrell Williams and Jay-Z made headlines and racked up more than 150,000 views in 10 hours when they released a new single and video, "Entrepreneur," on August 21. The five-minute video features more than a dozen Black entrepreneurs, among them Tyler, The Creator, Issa Rae and Broadway performer Robert Hartwell. The video cycles through the entrepreneurs as title cards explain who they are and what their businesses have meant to their communities while Williams' and Jay-Z's track plays in the background.

"The intention for a song was all about how tough it is to be an entrepreneur in our country to begin with," Williams said in an interview with Variety. "Especially as someone of color, there's a lot of systemic disadvantages and purposeful blockages. How can you get a fire started, or even the hope of an ember to start a fire, when you're starting at disadvantages with regards to health care, education, and representation?"

See the full video below.

Related: 6 Ways You Can Support Black Businesses Long-Term

In addition to releasing the video, Williams teamed up with TIME magazine on a special cover project titled "The New American Revolution," a compilation of essays and interviews by and with prominent Black leaders. "In assembling this project, I asked some of the most qualified people I know in every field — from Angela Davis to Tyler, the Creator, to Representative Barbara Lee — to talk with us, and with one another, about the way forward," Williams wrote in the issue. "I wanted to convey a vision of a future filled with the artists, creators and entrepreneurs who can fulfill the promise of this country's principles."

Related: U.S. Black Chambers Celebrates Juneteenth's 150th With Launch of byblack

Jessica Thomas

Entrepreneur Staff

Senior Digital Content Director

Jessica Thomas is the senior digital content director at Entrepreneur. Prior to this role, she spent nearly five years on staff at Worth magazine and was a staff writer for Bustle. 

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Business News

AI Could Cause 99% of All Workers to Be Unemployed in the Next Five Years, Says Computer Science Professor

Professor Roman Yampolskiy predicted that artificial general intelligence would be developed and used by 2030, leading to mass automation.

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.

Buying / Investing in Business

From a $120M Acquisition to a $1.3T Market

Co-ownership is creating big opportunities for entrepreneurs.

Buying / Investing in Business

Big Investors Are Betting on This 'Unlisted' Stock

You can join them as an early-stage investor as this company disrupts a $1.3T market.

Business News

Mark Zuckerberg 'Insisted' Executives Join Him For a MMA Training Session, According to Meta's Ex-President of Global Affairs

Nick Clegg, Meta's former president of global affairs, says in a new book that he once had to get on the mat with a coworker.