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Good luck explaining the contemporary pop, hip hop and R&B landscape without Odd Future. Many of its current trends – colourful, jazz inflected production, a focus on collectives and collaborative scenes, free genre experimentation and cross pollination, were all channelled through a crew of LA school kids, skateboarders and their friends at the dawn of the 2010s. Tyler, The Creator, Frank Ocean, Earl Sweatshirt, The Internet, and numerous acts and artists who have orbited the now defunct label of Odd Future represent a dominance of modern US popular music that is tough to truly calculate. We sift through their influence and pick out some of their most important music.
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The Neptunes are a Grammy winning record production duo consisting of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo who created the sound for very successful hip hop, R&B and pop artists in the late-90s and early 2000s. Their biggest hits include Britney Spears' "Slave 4 U", Kelis' "Milkshake" and Nelly's "Hot in Herre".
The Neptunes' sound is a highly distinctive (although frequently imitated) brand of off-kilter, stripped-down electronic funk.
Along with Timbaland and Dr. Dre they were the driving force behind many of the musical characteristics of late-90s/ early 2000s hip-hop and pop, helping to re-introduce sci-fi style sounds into the hip-hop mainstream, along with sounds from Middle Eastern and Asian music including percussion and woodwind.
Pharrell and Chad met, despite going to different schools, at a jazz workshop at age 12 where Williams was a drummer and Hugo played tenor saxophone. They were also both members of a marching band; 'P' played kettle drum and Chad was a student conductor. In 1990 Chad and Pharrell formed a 4-piece "R&B type" group along with friends Shay and Mike Etheridge, which they named The Neptunes. Upon entering a local talent contest, they were discovered by Teddy Riley, whose studio was close to Pharrell's school. After graduating from high school, they signed with Riley as a group.
Through working with Riley, Pharrell went on to write a verse for Wreckx-N-Effect's 1992 #2 (billboard hot 100) hit "Rump Shaker". In 1994, Hugo and Williams had established themselves formally as a production duo under the previously used name "The Neptunes", and produced "Tonight's The Night" from Teddy Riley's group BLACKstreet's self-titled debut. Over the next three years they continued to produce occasionally. Some of the production, such as for SWV (1996) and Total (1996), had little resemblance to what would become their distinctive sound, while other songs such as Mase's 1998 No.8 (Billboard hot 100) hit "Lookin' At Me" (from the Harlem World album, 1997) showed clear signs the Neptunes sound was developing.
Their first major production hit, and the most clear beginning of the distinctive Neptunes sound, came with N.O.R.E.'s Superthug in 1998, reaching #36 on the Billboard Hot 100, and gaining them widespread attention for the first time. The duo then went on to work heavily with Kelis, producing her first album Kaleidoscope and Ol' Dirty Bastard's record Got Your Money, on which Kelis is featured. They achieved huge commercial success with tracks like Jay-Z's "I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)", Mystikal's "Shake Ya Ass", and then-newly-renamed Diddy's single "D.I.D.D.Y". Other notable hits during their commercial rise were Busta Rhymes' "Pass The Courvoisier pt. 2" and Usher's "You Don't Have to Call".
Kelis was one of several artists whose careers Hugo and Williams have helped launch; artists such as the Clipse, Vanessa Marquez and Justin Timberlake's solo career were also closely tied to the Neptunes' involvement. They have also helped re-launch the careers of Snoop Dogg, Robin Thicke and Mystikal.
In 2001 The Neptunes gained their first worldwide hit with Britney Spears' single, "I'm A Slave 4 U", which reached #1 in several countries in Europe and South America. The following year they reached #1 in the U.S. with Nelly's single, "Hot in Herre". In August of the same year, The Neptunes were named "Producers of the Year" at both The Source Awards and the Billboard Music Awards.
In 2003, they released a self-credited album called The Neptunes Present… Clones, featuring songs and remixes from various Star Trak artists. This album topped the US Billboard 200 Albums Chart.
The Neptunes won two Grammy Awards in 2004, one for "Producer of the Year, Non-Classical", and another for "Best Pop Vocal Album" for their work on Justin Timberlake's No.2 Billboard hit Justified. They also gained their first UK #1, again with Nelly, and Flap Your Wings.
A survey in August 2003 found the Neptunes produced almost 20% of songs played on British radio. A similar survey in the US had them at 43%. This level of radio domination is unprecedented in recent years, and highlights the effect they have had on music and production development in this era.
Their 'sound' is mostly synthesizer riffs, Sampling Keyboard and modules. The Neptunes sound was first heard on Noreaga's 1998 track Superthug, although not their first production, the song made it officially known as "The Neptunes Sound".
The alternative group NER*D is composed of Pharrell, Chad and Shay Haley. It is an acronym of No one Ever Really Dies. Their group hits include "Lapdance", "Rock Star (Poser)" and "She Wants To Move". The first two singles came from their debut album In Search Of… released in 2001, while the latter came from their eagerly anticipated follow-up Fly Or Die in 2004. The band recently released a third album, Seeing Sounds, on June 10 2008.
In recent years, Pharrell and Hugo have written many beats separately on different projects, despite production still being credited to The Neptunes in all cases except Pharrell's solo debut In My Mind and Hugo's work on Kenna's New Sacred Cow. The most recent project to receive substantial writing input from both Pharrell and Hugo was Common's Universal Mind Control in December 2008 and for 2009 a list of songs to look forward to.
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 four awards from 16 nominations.
The Neptunes are a Grammy winning record production duo consisting of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo who created the sound for very successful hip hop, R&B and pop artists in the late-90s and early 2000s. Their biggest hits include Britney Spears' "Slave 4 U", Kelis' "Milkshake" and Nelly's "Hot in Herre".
The Neptunes' sound is a highly distinctive (although frequently imitated) brand of off-kilter, stripped-down electronic funk.
Along with Timbaland and Dr. Dre they were the driving force behind many of the musical characteristics of late-90s/ early 2000s hip-hop and pop, helping to re-introduce sci-fi style sounds into the hip-hop mainstream, along with sounds from Middle Eastern and Asian music including percussion and woodwind.
Pharrell and Chad met, despite going to different schools, at a jazz workshop at age 12 where Williams was a drummer and Hugo played tenor saxophone. They were also both members of a marching band; 'P' played kettle drum and Chad was a student conductor. In 1990 Chad and Pharrell formed a 4-piece "R&B type" group along with friends Shay and Mike Etheridge, which they named The Neptunes. Upon entering a local talent contest, they were discovered by Teddy Riley, whose studio was close to Pharrell's school. After graduating from high school, they signed with Riley as a group.
Through working with Riley, Pharrell went on to write a verse for Wreckx-N-Effect's 1992 #2 (billboard hot 100) hit "Rump Shaker". In 1994, Hugo and Williams had established themselves formally as a production duo under the previously used name "The Neptunes", and produced "Tonight's The Night" from Teddy Riley's group BLACKstreet's self-titled debut. Over the next three years they continued to produce occasionally. Some of the production, such as for SWV (1996) and Total (1996), had little resemblance to what would become their distinctive sound, while other songs such as Mase's 1998 No.8 (Billboard hot 100) hit "Lookin' At Me" (from the Harlem World album, 1997) showed clear signs the Neptunes sound was developing.
Their first major production hit, and the most clear beginning of the distinctive Neptunes sound, came with N.O.R.E.'s Superthug in 1998, reaching #36 on the Billboard Hot 100, and gaining them widespread attention for the first time. The duo then went on to work heavily with Kelis, producing her first album Kaleidoscope and Ol' Dirty Bastard's record Got Your Money, on which Kelis is featured. They achieved huge commercial success with tracks like Jay-Z's "I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)", Mystikal's "Shake Ya Ass", and then-newly-renamed Diddy's single "D.I.D.D.Y". Other notable hits during their commercial rise were Busta Rhymes' "Pass The Courvoisier pt. 2" and Usher's "You Don't Have to Call".
Kelis was one of several artists whose careers Hugo and Williams have helped launch; artists such as the Clipse, Vanessa Marquez and Justin Timberlake's solo career were also closely tied to the Neptunes' involvement. They have also helped re-launch the careers of Snoop Dogg, Robin Thicke and Mystikal.
In 2001 The Neptunes gained their first worldwide hit with Britney Spears' single, "I'm A Slave 4 U", which reached #1 in several countries in Europe and South America. The following year they reached #1 in the U.S. with Nelly's single, "Hot in Herre". In August of the same year, The Neptunes were named "Producers of the Year" at both The Source Awards and the Billboard Music Awards.
In 2003, they released a self-credited album called The Neptunes Present… Clones, featuring songs and remixes from various Star Trak artists. This album topped the US Billboard 200 Albums Chart.
The Neptunes won two Grammy Awards in 2004, one for "Producer of the Year, Non-Classical", and another for "Best Pop Vocal Album" for their work on Justin Timberlake's No.2 Billboard hit Justified. They also gained their first UK #1, again with Nelly, and Flap Your Wings.
A survey in August 2003 found the Neptunes produced almost 20% of songs played on British radio. A similar survey in the US had them at 43%. This level of radio domination is unprecedented in recent years, and highlights the effect they have had on music and production development in this era.
Their 'sound' is mostly synthesizer riffs, Sampling Keyboard and modules. The Neptunes sound was first heard on Noreaga's 1998 track Superthug, although not their first production, the song made it officially known as "The Neptunes Sound".
The alternative group NER*D is composed of Pharrell, Chad and Shay Haley. It is an acronym of No one Ever Really Dies. Their group hits include "Lapdance", "Rock Star (Poser)" and "She Wants To Move". The first two singles came from their debut album In Search Of… released in 2001, while the latter came from their eagerly anticipated follow-up Fly Or Die in 2004. The band recently released a third album, Seeing Sounds, on June 10 2008.
In recent years, Pharrell and Hugo have written many beats separately on different projects, despite production still being credited to The Neptunes in all cases except Pharrell's solo debut In My Mind and Hugo's work on Kenna's New Sacred Cow. The most recent project to receive substantial writing input from both Pharrell and Hugo was Common's Universal Mind Control in December 2008 and for 2009 a list of songs to look forward to.
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 four awards from 16 nominations.
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