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The Neptunes

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For the fictional band of the same name, see Jabberjaw.

The Neptunes
The Neptunes in 2019
The Neptunes in 2019
Background information
OriginVirginia Beach, Virginia, U.S.
Genres
Years active1992–2024[1]
Labels
SpinoffsN.E.R.D.
Past members
Websitetheneptunes.org

The Neptunes were an American record production duo composed of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1992. Williams often provided backing vocals and music video appearances on the duo's productions, while Hugo remained behind the scenes.

Since their inception, the Neptunes have produced songs for several music industry artists, including Clipse, Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Kelis, N.O.R.E., Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Nelly, Ludacris, T.I., Robin Thicke, Gwen Stefani, and Snoop Dogg, among others.[2] In 2009, Billboard ranked the Neptunes number one on their list of the top 10 producers of the decade.[3] In January 2020, the Neptunes were announced to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame as a part of the 2020 class,[2] and in May 2021, Hugo and Williams received Honorary Doctorates from Berklee College of Music and Boston Conservatory at Berklee.[4]

History

[edit]

Williams and Hugo met at a summer camp for the school of the Gifted and Talented in Virginia Beach, Virginia, where Williams played drums and Hugo played tenor saxophone.[5][6] Upon entering a local talent contest in 1991, the Neptunes were competing with childhood friends Missy Elliott, Timbaland & Magoo, which led to the duo to be discovered by record producer Teddy Riley, whose studio was close to Williams' school.[6][7] Through working with Riley, the Neptunes wrote Wreckx-n-Effect's 1992 song "Rump Shaker" while still in school.[6] They also worked with Riley's group Blackstreet, co-writing the single "Tonight's the Night" from their self-titled debut album.[6]

In 1998, the Neptunes produced New York City-based rapper Noreaga's single "Superthug".[6] They also produced Ol' Dirty Bastard's 1999 single "Got Your Money" featuring singer Kelis,[6] for whom they would entirely produce her debut studio album, Kaleidoscope (1999), and her 2001 album Wanderland.[8] The Neptunes produced hip hop duo Clipse's album, Exclusive Audio Footage (1999), which was intended to be Clipse's debut album before eventually being shelved.[9] In 2000, the Neptunes produced Jay-Z's single "I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)" from his fifth studio album, The Dynasty: Roc La Familia, and Mystikal's "Shake Ya Ass", from his fourth studio album, Let's Get Ready.[6] In addition, The Neptunes produced Cuban Link's single "Still Telling Lies" from Cuban's 24K album. They also co-wrote the hook to "Play How You Want" featuring P!nk.

In 2001, N.E.R.D. released their debut studio album, In Search of..., featuring production from the Neptunes.[10] In the same year, the Neptunes gained their first worldwide hit with Britney Spears' single, "I'm a Slave 4 U", for her eponymous third studio album, Britney.[11]

The Neptunes wrote and produced NSYNC's final single, "Girlfriend", then wrote and produced most of co-lead singer Justin Timberlake's debut solo album, Justified (2002), including lead singles "Like I Love You", "Rock Your Body", and "Señorita".[12]

In 2003, the Neptunes released a compilation album, Clones, featuring songs and remixes from various Star Trak artists. The Neptunes won "Producer of the Year" at the 2004 Grammy Awards.[13]

In 2024, Hugo filed a legal action against Williams over the trademarks for the production duo's name.[14] Williams subsequently confirmed the duo were no longer on speaking terms.[15]

Discography

[edit]
Main article: The Neptunes production discography
See also: N.E.R.D. discography

Compilation albums

[edit]
List of albums, with selected chart positions
Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications
US
[16] 		US
R&B
/HH
[16] 		CAN
[16]
Clones 1 1 7

Singles

[edit]
List of singles, with selected chart positions
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
US
[18] 		US
R&B
/HH
[19][20] 		US
Rap
[21]
"Frontin'"
(featuring Jay-Z) 		2003 5 1 — Clones
"Light Your Ass on Fire"
(featuring Busta Rhymes) 		69 23 12
"It Blows My Mind"
(featuring Snoop Dogg) 		— 68 —
"Hot Damn"
(featuring Clipse) 		— 58 —
"Pomegranate"[22]
(with Deadmau5) 		2020 — — — Non-album single
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Awards and nominations

[edit]
The Neptunes awards and nominations
Totals[a]
Wins6
Nominations18
Note
  1. ^ Certain award groups do not simply award one winner. They acknowledge several different recipients, have runners-up, and have third place. Since this is a specific recognition and is different from losing an award, runner-up mentions are considered wins in this award tally. For simplification and to avoid errors, each award in this list has been presumed to have had a prior nomination.

The duo has received numerous awards, such as from the Grammy Awards, where they were nominated every year from 2004 to 2007. The Neptunes have received three Grammy Awards: Producer of the Year, Non-Classical, Best Pop Vocal Album for Justified and Best Rap Song for "Money Maker". Overall, the Neptunes have received six awards from eighteen nominations.

Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Awards

[edit]

The Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Awards are sponsored by Billboard magazine and held annually in December.[23][24][25]

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2002 The Neptunes Songwriter of the Year Nominated
Producer of the Year Nominated
2003 The Neptunes Songwriter of the Year Nominated
Producer of the Year Won
2004 The Neptunes Producer of the Year Nominated
2009 The Neptunes Producer of the Decade Won

Grammy Awards

[edit]

The Grammy Awards are awarded annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States.[26][27][28][29]

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2004 The Neptunes Producer of the Year, Non-Classical Won
Justified Best Pop Vocal Album Won
"Frontin'" Best Rap/Sung Collaboration Nominated
"Beautiful" Best Rap/Sung Collaboration Nominated
Best Rap Song Nominated
"Excuse Me Miss" Best Rap Song Nominated
2005 "Drop It Like It's Hot" Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group Nominated
Best Rap Song Nominated
2006 The Neptunes Producer of the Year, Non-Classical Nominated
2006 The Emancipation of Mimi Best Contemporary R&B Album Won
2007 "Money Maker" Best Rap Song Won
In My Mind Best Rap Album Nominated

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Angel Diaz (September 12, 2024). "Pharrell Says He & Former Neptunes Partner Chad Hugo Are No Longer on Speaking Terms". Billboard. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Mariah Carey, Neptunes Inducted Into Songwriters Hall of Fame". The Hollywood Reporter. January 16, 2020. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  3. ^ Nigel D. (December 18, 2009). "Billboard's Top 10 Producers Of The Decade | RealTalkNY". Realtalkny.uproxx.com. Archived from the original on October 4, 2011. Retrieved October 31, 2011.
  4. ^ "Celine Dion, Donald Harrison, the Neptunes, Chita Rivera, and André Watts to Receive Honorary Doctorates at 2021 Commencement | Berklee".
  5. ^ "Pharrell Williams on meeting his Neptunes partner Chad Hugo". CBS Sunday Morning. April 13, 2014. Archived from the original on November 13, 2021 – via YouTube.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g "Like the song? These guys wrote it". The Age. May 15, 2004. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
  7. ^ "Chad Hugo: Rock Star Archived May 8, 2006, at the Wayback Machine, an interview with Yolk Magazine, 2002
  8. ^ Bierut, Patrick (March 7, 2020). "'Kaleidoscope': How Kelis Rewrote The R&B Rulebook". Udiscovermusic.com. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  9. ^ "On 'Exclusive Audio Footage,' The Long-Lost Clipse Album". Vinyl Me, Please. April 19, 2018. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  10. ^ Bernstein, Michael (March 25, 2002). "N.E.R.D.: In Search of... Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  11. ^ "The Neptunes produced Britney Spears 'Slave 4 U'". Capital Xtra. Retrieved June 14, 2020.[dead link‍]
  12. ^ Kaufman, Gil (August 23, 2002). "Preview Of Justin Timberlake Album From Neptunes' Hugo". MTV. Archived from the original on May 12, 2014. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  13. ^ "The Neptunes earn long-overdue Grammy". Today. February 9, 2004. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  14. ^ Donahue, Bill (April 1, 2024). "Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo Locked In Legal Dispute Over 'Neptunes' Name Rights". Billboard. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  15. ^ Fekadu, Mesfin (September 11, 2024). "Pharrell on Checking His Ego for the New Lego Doc About His Life". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 25, 2024.
  16. ^ a b c "The Neptunes Present... Clones – The Neptunes". Billboard. Retrieved October 30, 2011.
  17. ^ "RIAA – Searchable Database: Neptunes". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved October 30, 2011.
  18. ^ "The Neptunes Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved October 30, 2011.
  19. ^ "The Neptunes Chart History: R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. Retrieved October 30, 2011.
  20. ^ References for "It Blows My Mind" and "Hot Damn":
  21. ^ "The Neptunes Chart History: Rap Songs". Billboard. Retrieved October 30, 2011.
  22. ^ Minsker, Evan (May 20, 2020). "deadmau5 and the Neptunes share new song 'Pomegranate': Listen". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on May 27, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  23. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Album". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 22, 2003. Retrieved September 15, 2008.
  24. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 2, 2003. Retrieved September 15, 2008.
  25. ^ "Finalists & Winners". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 3, 2004. Retrieved September 15, 2008.
  26. ^ "46th Grammy Awards – 2004". Rock on the Net. Retrieved September 15, 2008.
  27. ^ "47th Grammy Awards – 2005". Rock on the Net. Retrieved September 15, 2008.
  28. ^ "48th Grammy Awards – 2006". Rock on the Net. Retrieved September 15, 2008.
  29. ^ "49th Grammy Awards – 2007". Rock on the Net. Retrieved September 15, 2008.
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