Whether measured by sales, radio airplay, critical reception, awards, influence, or endurance,
the Neptunes are one of the all-time most successful production teams. Heirs to pioneers of bare-knuckled rap and pop-flavored electronic R&B, from Larry Smith and
Rick Rubin to
Jimmy Jam and
Terry Lewis, and peers of fellow Virginians
Timbaland and
Missy Elliott,
Pharrell Williams and
Chad Hugo have set themselves apart with an ever-evolving sound that has appealed to the streets, the charts, and multiple generations of listeners. Candy-coated, animatedly funky, and often powered by beats that can be replicated with fists pounding a cafeteria table, their work is instantly identifiable, and further distinguished by
Williams' voice, a frequent secondary element that has often blurred the distinction between duettist and hype man with bumptious rhymes and falsetto hooks. Having tasted the Top Ten for the first time with
Mase's "Lookin' at Me" (1998), the duo repeatedly hit the upper tier of the Hot 100 in the ensuing years with
Nelly's "Hot in Herre" (2002),
Justin Timberlake's "Rock Your Body" (2003),
Kelis' "Milkshake" (2003), and
Snoop Dogg's "Drop It Like It's Hot" (2004) only scratching the surface of their early output. At the same time, they launched the pigeonhole-evading
N.E.R.D., topped the Billboard 200 with
The Neptunes Present...Clones, and won a Grammy for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical. After more triumphs with the likes of
Snoop Dogg,
Gwen Stefani, and
Madonna, they were listed at the top of Billboard's Producer of the Decade list for the 2000s.
Williams and
Hugo diversified and thrived separately and together in the 2010s, as a younger artists like
Kendrick Lamar,
Frank Ocean, and
the Internet championed and drew from their foundational recordings and sought them out for collaborations. The duo started their fourth decade in 2020 by entering the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Williams and
Hugo met at seventh grade band camp in their native Virginia Beach, and continued together in marching band. Outside school,
Williams recorded with DJ Timmy Tim and Melvin Barcliff, later known as
Timbaland and Magoo, in the Native Tongues-inspired rap group S.B.I. (Surrounded by Idiots). Around the same time,
Williams and
Hugo, along with Sheldon "Shay" Haley and
Mike Etheridge, formed a more R&B-oriented act called
the Neptunes. They performed in a talent show held at Princess Anne High School, where three of the four members were students. (
Hugo attended nearby Kempsville.) The event was sponsored by new jack swing architect and
Guy member
Teddy Riley, who operated a recording studio near the campus. Impressed by
the Neptunes, the producer signed them to a development deal after they graduated.
Williams was the first one to benefit from the convergence. He worked with
Riley and
Riley's brother
Markell to co-write
Wreckx-N-Effect's "Rump Shaker," a number two Hot 100 hit in 1992, and the next year he was heard on the
Riley-produced "Human Nature" remix of
SWV's "Right Here."
Hugo officially entered the frame with contributions to the self-titled 1994 platinum album by
Riley's
Blackstreet, and with
Williams co-wrote "Tonight's the Night."
Mike Etheridge, aka Mike E., branched out with his own work for
Blackstreet and later recorded
Riley-produced solo material for Capitol. Shay Haley would eventually reconnect with
Williams and
Hugo, who continued under
the Neptunes name. It wasn't until 1996, in the liner notes for albums by
Total and
SWV, that
Williams and
Hugo were formally credited as such. "Use Your Heart," a tender slow jam off
SWV's
New Beginning, became
the Neptunes' first true hit as a production team, reaching number 22 on the Hot 100 and number six on the R&B/hip-hop chart. The distinct
Neptunes sound reached full bloom two years later with
Mase's "Lookin' at Me" and
N.O.R.E. (aka Noreaga)'s "Superthug," singles that peaked respectively within the Top Ten and Top 40.
Williams stepped to the fore on the latter by providing the amusing intro and secondary vocal. "Superthug" also featured vocals from
Kelis, who assisted
the Neptunes' next Top 40 hit in 1999,
Ol' Dirty Bastard's "Got Your Money," and took the spotlight toward the end of the year with
Kelis'
Kaleidoscope, produced exclusively by
the Neptunes and featuring "Caught Out There," a Top Ten R&B/hip-hop single.
As they honed a flexible and distinct style that was identifiable and as mimicked as that of the prominent
Timbaland and
Missy Elliott -- the latter yet another Virginian --
the Neptunes were now among the most prolific and desired producers in R&B, rap, and pop.
Williams and
Hugo were particularly hot during the first few years of the 2000s, during which they conducted a bombardment on the Top 40.
Mystikal's "Shake Ya Ass" (number 13),
Ludacris' "Southern Hospitality" (number 23),
Jay-Z's "I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)" (number 11),
Ray J's "Wait a Minute" (number 30),
*NSYNC's "Girlfriend" (number five),
Britney Spears' "I'm a Slave 4 U" (number 27), and
Usher's "U Don't Have to Call" (number three) all landed in 2000 and 2001. In 2002,
the Neptunes topped the Hot 100 for the first time with
Nelly's "Hot in Here," and regularly crossed the Top 40 and cracked the Top Ten during the rest of 2002 and 2003 with
N.O.R.E.'s "Nothin'" (number ten),
Clipse's "Grindin'" (number 30),
Snoop Dogg's "Beautiful" (number six),
Jay-Z's "Excuse Me Miss" (number eight) and "Change Clothes" (number ten),
LL Cool J's "Luv U Better" (number four),
Justin Timberlake's "Rock Your Body" (number five), and
Kelis' "Milkshake" (number three). These hits account for a small percentage of
the Neptunes' handiwork from the period. And while they were responsible for some unavoidable smashes, their admirers ranged across the musical firmament, exemplified in part by their remix clients, a select crop that included
Sade,
Garbage,
Daft Punk, and
Air.
Concurrent with their rise,
Williams and
Hugo established the major-label joint venture Star Trak, a boutique outlet for
N.E.R.D., their categorization-defying side project with Shay Haley, and a sequence of signees including
Clipse,
Kelis,
Slim Thug, and
Robin Thicke. After debuting
N.E.R.D. with versions of
In Search Of... released in 2001 and 2002, the duo topped the Billboard 200 in 2003 with a production showcase entitled
The Neptunes Present...Clones, featuring tracks headlined by assorted Star Trak artists and the likes of
Busta Rhymes and
Ol' Dirty Bastard. The compilation's number five pop hit "Frontin'," featuring
Jay-Z, effectively launched
Williams as a solo act. As producers of "Hot in Herre,"
the Neptunes had been acknowledged by the Recording Academy when
Nellyville, its parent LP, was nominated for a Grammy in the category of Album of the Year, but the duo were showered with accolades at the next ceremony, the 46th Annual Grammy Awards, in early 2004. They were behind recordings nominated for Best Rap Song ("Beautiful" and "Excuse Me Miss") and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration ("Frontin'").
Timberlake's
Justified, over half of which was produced by
Williams and
Hugo, was up for Album of the Year and took the award for Best Pop Vocal Album. Most significantly,
the Neptunes rose above a field of candidates that included major inspirations
Jimmy Jam and
Terry Lewis to win Producer of the Year, Non-Classical.
The Neptunes continued to ride high as they juggled sessions with a mix of established associates, pop stars, and developing acts, and still found time for personal and less commercially minded pursuits like
N.E.R.D. and deep involvement with left-field musicians such as
Kenna. Moreover, the artists with whom they scored number one pop hits in 2004 and 2005 -- one an Eastside Long Beach gangsta rapper, the other an Orange County singer known for ska-pop -- could not have been more different.
Snoop Dogg's "Drop It Like It's Hot," lean and booming, and
Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl," informed by
Williams and
Hugo's marching band background, also led to more Grammy nominations, including Record of the Year for the latter, amid additional nominations for
N.E.R.D.'s "She Wants to Move" (from second album
Fly or Die) and
Mariah Carey's
Neptunes-assisted
The Emancipation of Mimi.
The Neptunes were just as active in 2006 and 2007, credited with highlights such as
Ludacris' Grammy-winning "Monkey Maker" (another number one pop hit),
Stefani's "Wind It Up" (number six), the entirety of
Clipse's critically praised
Hell Hath No Fury (number 14 on the Billboard 200), and
Jay-Z's "I Know," off the rapper's chart-topping
American Gangster.
Williams also hit the Top Five during this period with In My Mind, his first solo album. Amid involvement with dozens of other sessions,
the Neptunes closed out the decade with a Best Dance Recording Grammy nomination as co-producers of
Madonna's "Give It 2 Me," made a third
N.E.R.D. album,
Seeing Sounds, and put in some extensive cross-cultural work with
Teriyaki Boyz, the Star Trak-issued
Fast & Furious soundtrack (featuring
Tego Calderón and
Pitbull), and
Shakira (including "Did It Again," a number one hit on the dance chart).
Following the 2010 release of the Despicable Me soundtrack (featuring
Williams) and
N.E.R.D.'s
Nothing,
Williams and
Hugo worked separately with increased frequency. Still early in the decade,
Hugo formed Missile Command, a DJ team with Daniel Biltmore, and worked with
Interpol's
Paul Banks on a short-lived project called No Planes in Space. Up through 2014,
Williams and
Hugo factored in scattered tracks by
Jay-Z and
Kanye West,
Pusha T,
Kendrick Lamar (the title track from the landmark Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City), and
Earl Sweatshirt, the latter a member of
Odd Future, the L.A.-based misfit collective who had grown up devouring
Neptunes and
N.E.R.D. recordings. Another
OF affiliate,
Frank Ocean, sought out
Williams to co-write and co-produce "Sweet Life" for his Grammy-winning 2012 album
Channel Orange.
Hugo himself contributed to another
Odd Future offshoot,
the Internet, co-producing the
Feel Good highlight "Dontcha," and assisted one of that album's featured artists,
Yuna, on the album
Nocturnal. Meanwhile,
Williams racked up hits with
Robin Thicke,
Daft Punk, and his own "Happy" (from Despicable Me 2). At the 56th Annual Grammy Awards in 2014, he took Producer of the Year, Non-Classical, and with
Daft Punk was a winner in three additional categories.
G I R L, his second solo album, followed later that year.
Neptunes activity started to pick up again in 2015, when
N.E.R.D. provided material for the soundtrack of
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, and continued to accelerate when
Snoop Dogg released the Top 20 album
Bush, all tracks of which were either co-produced by
Williams and
Hugo or executed alone by the former.
N.E.R.D. enjoyed their greatest level of commercial success with the 2017 single "Lemon," a rowdy collaboration with
Rihanna that crashed the Top 40 and carried their fifth album,
NO ONE EVER REALLY DIES.
Williams and
Hugo's tight affiliation with
Justin Timberlake continued as they co-produced the majority of the singer's chart-topping 2018 album
Man of the Woods. In 2020,
the Neptunes were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, placed two tracks on
Suga, the Top Ten EP by
Megan Thee Stallion, and co-headlined "Pomegranate" with
Deadmau5. ~ Andy Kellman