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Interview, May, 2001 by Jonathan Moskowitz

TWO OF MUSIC’S FAVORITE PRODUCERS SLIP INTO THE SPOTLIGHT

“I grew up around all types of music,” says Chad Hugo, who along with his partner, Pharrell Williams, comprises the red-hot hip-hop production team the Neptunes. “I used to listen to Rush, the Who, classic rock. But also hip-hop when it hit the scene. So everything that we do now is influenced by all that music.”

Having produced Mystikal’s “Shake Ya Ass,” and Jay-Z’s “I Just Wanna Love U [Give it 2 Me],” the Neptunes have unassailable hip-hop credibility, and with so much buzz around them as producers, it was a natural progression for them to make the jump from behind the mixing board and into the spotlight. The two recently recorded In Search of … (Virgin) their debut as artists, which they released under the acronym N.E.R.D. (No one Ever Really Dies). “Dying is a doorway,” explains Williams. “And you don’t die in a doorway. You go somewhere else.”

Their music certainly goes somewhere new. Joined by Shay, their Virginia hometown friend, Hugo and Williams have crafted a sound that references the minimalism of their production work as the Neptunes while at the same time incorporating a sonic eclecticism. It’s a hard record to pigeonhole, though there are certainly elements of the work of Outkast and the Native Tongues posse, with a classic rock vibe thrown in for good measure.
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“I don’t really care how we’re classified,” says Williams, “as long as it’s something positive. It’s modern, chance-taking music that shows people you can do whatever it is you want to do.”