The Neptunes

Background:

“There's no better feeling than just going in and just working with someone and what comes out is something that the world knows about.” Pharrell Williams

Grammy Award winning record producer, rapper, singer and songwriter Pharrell Williams is famous as part of the successful music production duo The Neptunes, along with childhood friend Chad Hugo. They has produced hit singles for various artists such as Britney Spears, Madonna, Nelly, Jay-Z, *NSYNC, Babyface, Noreaga, Mystikal and Ludacris, to name a few. They won two Grammy Awards in 2004 for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical and Best Pop Vocal Album for Justin Timberlake's debut album, “Justified,” and an additional Grammy Award in 2007 for the Lucadris hit single “Money Maker,” where Williams also made a featured performance on the song. Williams also enjoyed Grammy nominations on a few songs he has appeared in as a featured performer like Snoop Dogg's “Beautiful” (2003) and “Drop It Like It's Hot” (2004), and Jay Z's “Excuse Me Miss” (2003).

Williams is also the lead singer of the hip hop rock group N.E.R.D, whose members also include Hugo and rapper Shay Haley. Since founded in 2001, the group has released three albums, “In Search Of...” (2002), “Fly or Die” (2004) and “Seeing Sounds” (2008). As a soloist, Williams has released the Grammy nominating debut album “In My Mind” (2006, #3US; #7UK), which he solely produced on his own. Some songs included in the album are “Can I Have It Like That” (feat. Gwen Stefani), “Number One” (feat. Kanye West) and “That Girl” (feat. Snoop Dogg & Charlie Wilson). Prior to the album's release, he launched first successful single “Frontin'” (feat. Jay Z), which earned a Grammy nomination for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration.

In addition to Grammy recognition, Williams and The Neptunes was handed Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Awards for Producer of the Year (2003) and Producer of the Decade (2009).

Named Esquire's “The Best Dressed Man in the World” in 2005, Williams has his own clothing line, the Billionaire Boys Club (BBC), and a line of Shoes and T-Shirts called Ice-Cream. In 2008, he co designed (with Camille Miceli) a series of glasses and jewelry for Louis Vuitton.

In April 2009, Williams underwent laser surgery to take out most of his tattoos.

Virginia Beach Boy

Childhood and Family:

Pharrell Williams was born on April 5, 1973, in Virginia Beach, Virginia, to Pharoah Williams, a service man, and Carolyn Williams, a teacher. He has two younger brothers, Cato, a skateboarder, and Psolomon. He also has two half brothers named Pharoah and David. Growing up in Virginia Beach, Pharrell developed a friendship with future collaborator Chad Hugo. They first met in a summer band camp when they were seventh graders. At the time, Pharrell played the keyboards and drums and Chad played tenor saxophone. They went on to attend the same high school at Virginia Beach's Princess Anne High School, where the two played in the school band. In the 1990s, they founded a group, The Neptunes, with two additional friends Shay Haley and Mike Etheridge. They caught the eye of record producer Teddy Riley while participating in a high school talent show.

In My Mind

Career:

Spotted in a high school talent show, Pharrell Williams and his rap group The Neptunes signed with Teddy Riley right after graduating from high school. His first break in the music industry arrived in 1992 when Riley tapped him to write a verse for the hip hop group Wreckx-N-Effect's hit single, “Rump Shaker,” produced by and featuring Riley. The song peaked at No. 2 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks, No. 1 on the Hot Rap Singles, and No. 9 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play. The same year, his voice could be heard chatting “s...double...u...vee!” on SWV's hit, “Right Here (UK Remix).”

In 1994, Williams and childhood friend Chad Hugo had established themselves officially as a production duo under the antecedently used name The Neptunes, and produced “Tonight's The Night” from Blackstreet's self titled debut. The song reached No. 27 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks and No. 80 on the Billboard Hot 100. They went on to produce occasionally for the next three years, with credits ranging from rap trio Total's “When Boy Meets Girl” (1996; #61US, #50 US R&B), SWV's fifth top ten R&B hit “Use Your Heart” (1996, also #22 US) and Mase's “Lookin' At Me” (1997, #8US and #8 US Hip-Hop). They began gaining widespread recognition in 1998 when they produced the hip hop hit single “Superthug (What What)” for rapper Noreaga. The song, featuring

Williams and Tammy Lucas, reached No. 36 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 15 in the US Hip-Hop chart. Both “Lookin' At Me” and “Superthug (What What)” clearly showed the alleged distinctive “Neptunes sound.” 1998 also saw them producing other singles like M.C. Lyte's “It's All Yours” (feat. Gina Thompson) and “I Can't Make A Mistake” (feat. Williams & Kelis) and The Lox's “If You Think I'm Jiggy” (feat. Williams).

The Neptunes' mounting career was further confirmed in 1999 with a number of producing projects under their belt. They exclusively produced Kelis' debut album, “Kaleidoscope,” released on December 7, 1999, by Virgin Records, while also serving as executive producers and arrangesr. The album spawned the three hit singles with the songs “Caught out There,” “Good Stuff” and “Get Along with You” (all written by Williams and Hugo). Besides, the duo produced Noreaga's “ Oh No” (feat. Williams) (#49 US Hip-Hop), Ol' Dirty Bastard's “ Recognize” (feat. Williams and Chris Rock) and “Got Your Money” ((#26 US, #19 US R&B), and Clipse's” The Funeral” (feat. Williams, among other singles.

In 2000, Williams and partner Hugo cemented their reputation as successful producers with popular hit singles like Ludacris' “Southern Hospitality” and Mystikal's “Shake Ya Ass” (aka. “Shake It Fast”) and “Danger (Been So Long)”. Released as the second single of Ludacris' album “Back for the First Time,” “Southern Hospitality,” composed by The Neptunes, peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot Rap Singles, No. 6 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs and No. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100. The single “Shake Ya Ass,” released from Mystikal's forth album, “Let's Get Ready,” featuring Williams, marked a big victory for the New Orleans, L.A. Native rapper when it made No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 3 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks and No. 7 on the Hot Rap Singles. Mystikal's next single, “Danger (Been So Long)” reached No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and also peaked at No. 1 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks and No. 3 on the Hot Rap Singles. The year also saw The Naptunes produced many other singles, including Jay-Z's “I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)” (feat. Williams), Guru’s “Supa Luv” (feat. Williams and Kelis), Beenie Man's “Girls Dem Sugar” (#54 US and #16 US R&B), Lil' Kim's “How Many Licks?” (Remix),

The following year, The Neptunes produced and wrote “I'm A Slave 4 U” for pop star Britney Spears, which was released on September 24, 2001 as the lead single from her third album, “Britney.” The pop song received good reviews from critics and was a commercial success as well. It peaked at No. 27 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 35 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but fared better on the Hot Dance Club Play chart, where the song reached No. 4. “I'm A Slave 4 U” became Spears' first dance hit. The Neptunes also collaborated with Spears in the forth single “Boy.” 2001 also found the producing duo working on Noreaga's “Grimey,” Jadakiss' “Knock Yourself Out” (feat. Williams), Angie Martinez's “Dem Thangz,” Foxy Brown's “Candy,” Ray J's “Wait a Minute” (feat. Williams and Lil’ Kim) and “Formal Invite” (feat. Williams), Fabolous' “Young'n (Holla Back),” Tha Alkaholiks' “Best U Can” (feat. Williams), (P. Diddy's “Diddy” (feat. Williams), Babyface's “There She Goes,” T.I.'s “I'm Serious,” Kelis' “Young, Fresh n' New,” as well as Busta Rhymes' “As I Come Back” and “What It Is.”

It was also in 2001 that Williams and Hugo formed rock/funk/hip hop group N.E.R.D. (No One Ever really Dies) with longtime friend Shay Haley as a side project of The Neptunes, with Williams singing leads vocals, in addition to playing piano/keyboards, rhythm guitar and percussion. Their debut album, “In Search Of...,” was released in Europe in September 2001 and later re released worldwide in March 2002, with live instruments provided by the rock band Spymob. It reached No. 56 in the US and

sold over 600,000 copies. It received a gold certification from RIAA. The album also charted No. 28 in the UK. The lead single “Lapdance,” produced by The Neptunes, peaked at No. 85 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and No. 20 on the UK Singles Chart. It was followed by “Rock Star” (#15 UK) and “Provide” (# 20).

Williams and The Neptunes went on to produce a number of singles during 2002. Among them the No. 1 pop and R&B hit “Hot in Herre” from Nelly's second studio album, “Nellyville,” Lil' Bow Wow's “Take Ya Home,” 'N Sync's “Girlfriend” (#5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #2 in the UK Singles Chart) Clipse's “Grindin'” (# 30 Billboard's Hot 100; # 10 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks) and “When the Last Time” (#19 Hot 100; #8Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs), LL Cool J's “Luv U Better,” Snoop Dogg's “From tha Chuuuch to da Palace” (#23 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and #16 Hot Rap Tracks), Beyoncé Knowles' “Work It Out” (#11 US Hot Dance Club Play and #7 UK), Common's “Come Close” (#21 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs) and Tony Braxton's “Hit the Freeway” (#2 US Hot Dance Club Play). The Neptunes earned nominations for Songwriter of the Year and Producer of the Year at the 2002 Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Awards.

It was also in 2002 that The Neptune, in collaboration with Timbaland, Brian McKnight, Claus Norreen, The Underdogs, and Scott Storch, produced the solo debut album of Justin Timberlake, “Justified.” The album was a massive commercial success around the world, and earned two Grammys in 2004 in the categories of Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance (for the song “Cry Me a River”). At the same 46th Grammy Awards ceremony, Williams also won Producer of the Year for Non-Classical, sharing with The Neptunes partner Hugo. The Neptunes produced several songs on the album, including the first single “Like I Love You” (featuring Clipse) (#11 US Hot 100 and #2 UK), “Rock Your Body” (featuring Vanessa Marquez) (#5 U.S. Hot 100, #2 UK), “Señorita” (#5 Billboard's Top 40 Mainstream), “Take It from Here” and “Let's Take a Ride.”

On August 23, 2003, The Neptunes released a self-credited album called “The Neptunes Present... Clones” under Star Trek Entertainment, a hip hop record label founded by Williams and Hugo in 2002. Containing songs from various artists, the album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and stayed at the position for approximately a week. The same year, Williams and The Neptunes remained on the spotlight thanks in part to their partnership with Jay-Z on the rapper's eight studio album, “The Black Album.” They produced two tracks, including the first single “Change Clothes,” which reached No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. The Neptunes won their first Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Award in 2003, for

Producer of the Year. They also was nominated for Songwriter of the Year.

Still in 2003, Williams performed the popular song “Frontin'” with Jay-Z. Written by Williams, Hugo and Shawn Carter and produced by The Neptunes, “Frontin'” emerged as a huge summer hit in 2003. It peaked at No. 5 in The Billboard Hot 100, No.1 on both the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Tracks, and No. 6 in the UK. It brought Williams a 2004 Grammy nomination for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. Williams also became a featured performer on Snoop Dogg's Top Ten hit single “Beautiful” (2003) along with Charlie Wilson, and jointly nabbed a 2004 Grammy nomination for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. Produced by The Neptunes, “Beautiful” also earned an additional Grammy nomination for Best Rap Song.

In March 2004, Williams reunited with N.E.R.D. to launch the second album “Fly or Die,” which reached No. 6 in the US and No. 4 in the UK. It spawned two UK hits with the songs “She Wants to Move” (#5) and “Maybe” (#25). In addition to UK, “Fly or Die” also enjoyed significant success in other European countries like Italian (#10) and Sweden (#9) as well as in Australia (#11). Later that same year, in October, Williams made a featured performance on Snoop Dogg's rap No.1 hit single “Drop It Like It's Hot,” which received two Grammy nominations in 2005 for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group and Best Rap Song.

N.E.R.D. parted ways with Virgin Records in 2005 and went to go on hiatus. Throughout the year, Williams and Hugo kept on their busy work with The Neptunes producing singles like Omarion's “Touch” (written by Williams), Beanie Siegel's “Don’t Stop,” Snoop Dogg's “Signs,” Gwen Stefani's “Hollaback Girl,” Robin Thicke's “Wanna Love U Girl” (feat. Williams) and Slim Thug's “I Ain't Heard of That” (feat. Williams) (all 2005).

Williams reunited with Gen Stefani for his song, “Can I Have It Like That,” released on October 31, 2005. Produced, performed and written by Williams, the song received mostly negative reviews from music critics and was commercial failure in the US. It peaked at No. 49 in the Billboard Hot 100 and disappeared from the charts after eight weeks. It reached No. 20 on the Hot Rap Tracks, No. 31 on the Rhythmic Top 40, and No. 32 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. The single had a better luck in European, where it peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard European Hot 100 Singles chart and debuted at No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart.

Williams' first solo album, “In My Mind,” followed on July 25, 2006. The album, produced solely by Williams himself, received mostly mixed reviews from critics. It peaked at No. 3 in the US and No. 7 in the UK. In addition to “Can I Have It Like That,” the album also featured the singles “Angel” (released only in the UK), “Number One” (feat. Kanye West) (#47 US Hot 100 and #31 UK Single Chart) and “That Girl” (feat. Snoop Dogg & Charlie Wilson) (#64 US R&B). “In My Mind” was nominated for a Grammy in 2007, for Best Rap Album.

Also in 2006, Williams was featured in Robin Thicke's “Wanna Love You Girl,” Clipse's “Mr. Me Too” and Paul Oakenfold's “Sex 'n' Money.” He also made guest appearance in Ludacris' No. 1 hit single, “Money Maker” (2006), from Ludacris' album, “Release Therapy.” The song won a 2007 Grammy for Best Rap Song. For the next two years, he continued to guest star in other artists' single such as Twista's “Give It Up” (2007), Jay-Z's “Blue Magic” (2007) and “I Know” (2008), Common's “Announcement” (2008) and Hope's “I Apologize” (2008). He also produced with The Neptunes many singles, including “Green Light” (Beyoncé Knowles), “Hooked On” and “Why Should I Be Sad” (both Britney Spears), “Give It 2 Me” (Madonna) and “ I Decided: (Solonge Knowles), to name a few.

Williams rejoined N.E.R.D. in 2008 for their third album, “Seeing Sounds,” released under Star Trak/Interscope on June 6. The album debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 and made top 20 in various countries like the UK, Canada, the Netherlands, Australia and Switzerland. Unlike its predecessors, the album earned largely a positive response from critics. The album spawned two singles: “Everyone Nose (All the Girls Standing in the Line for the Bathroom)” (#41 UK) and “Spaz” (#106 US).

In 2009, Williams was featured on Teriyaki Boyz's “Work That!” (also with Chris Brown), Pitbull's “Blanco,” Clipse's “I'm Good” and Clipse's “Popular Demand (Popeyes).” He and The Neptunes also produced Shakira's “Did It Again.” The same year, The Neptunes was honored with the Producer of the Decade Award at the 2009 Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Awards.

Awards:

• Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop: Producer of the Decade (The Neptunes), 2009

• Grammy: Best Rap Song, “Money Maker” (with Lucadris), 2007

• Grammy: Producer of the Year, Non-Classical (The Neptunes), 2004

• Grammy: Best Pop Vocal Album, “Justified,” 2004

• Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop: Producer of the Year (The Neptunes), 2003