In one of the more powerful moments of the evening, Pharrell Williams delivered a poetic, sound bite-filled acceptance speech for Shoe of the Year at the 2025 Footwear News Achievement Awards in NYC on Wednesday.

“Sound bite this. Since most people don’t like to read or do research anymore, sound bite this,” Williams said. “God is the greatest. Sound bite this. I’m from Virginia. Sound bite this. You don’t know what I know. You ain’t seen what I saw. No, you ain’t been where I go. I’m from the mud. As a child, nobody’s been evicted more times than me. Lights turned off, water turned off, and at times, had to pump the water. And I didn’t have a name brand sneaker until I was 16, when I could afford them for my first paycheck from McDonald’s. Sound bite this. They were Adidas low-top In

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