Like Father, Like Son: Pharrell’s 17-Year-Old Son Rocket Is Cooking Up Beats — and Tagging North West

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree in the Williams household. Pharrell Williams’ 17-year-old son, Rocket Williams, is stepping out of the background and into the studio spotlight, sharing previews of beats he’s been working on — and one detail in his posts has the internet doing detective work.

On Thursday, October 29, Rocket posted a series of beats to his Instagram Stories, giving followers a first real taste of his production. The clips showed a young producer clearly raised around greatness, layering sounds with a confidence that suggests this is far more than a hobby.

But it was one tag that set timelines buzzing: in one of the previews, Rocket tagged North West, the daughter of Kanye West and Kim Kardashian, who has herself been building a reputation as both a rapper and a producer.

Neither teenager has confirmed any collaboration, and a tag alone is far from a finished song. Still, the connection is easy to see. North has been leaning into aggressive, bass-heavy production associated with hip-hop’s newest generation, and Rocket already has a real credit to his name, having produced “Sam & Colby,” a collaboration between Mag!c and Lil Novi — the son of Lil Wayne and singer Nivea.

Interestingly, North has worked with that same pair, producing their song “Justswagup” earlier this year. The two young producers keep orbiting the same circles, which is why fans are watching closely.

Rocket has mostly stayed out of the public eye despite growing up with one of music’s most recognizable fathers. He’s been spotted at major moments, though, including throwing out a ceremonial first pitch alongside Pharrell at a New York Yankees game in 2022 and attending his father’s debut Louis Vuitton menswear show in Paris in 2023. Music, by all accounts, has been in him from the start — Pharrell has said his son was already playing piano at just three years old, long before Pharrell himself picked up the instrument.

With his 18th birthday coming up in November, Rocket’s growing online presence looks like a young artist getting ready to be heard on his own terms. Whether North West ends up on a track with him remains to be seen, but the beats are already speaking for themselves — and hip-hop’s next generation is clearly paying attention.

What do you think of Rocket’s beats — and would you want to hear a Rocket x North West collab? Drop your thoughts in the comments, and keep your requests coming to the Kiss 101.7 request line at +1 302-357-9831.

Source: XXL and HotNewHipHop