Watch Pharrell’s Commencement Speech At NYU

On Wednesday, Pharrell Williams received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from NYU and delivered the commencement speech at the university's graduation ceremony.

During his nearly 10-minute address, Pharrell spoke about humility, innovation, and the changing world that the graduates are entering. "The days of being anonymous activists or participants are over. How can we inspire if we are behind the scenes?" he said, before discussing the importance of uplifting women. "Your generation is unraveling deeply entrenched laws, principals, and misguided values that have held women back for far too long and, therefore, have held us all back."

Pharrell closed out his commencement speech by urging students to serve a purpose greater than themselves. "There is no humanity without education and there is no education without humanity," he said. Watch Pharell's full commencement speech at NYU below.