Chad Hugo is suing his Neptunes’ producing companion Pharrell Williams over unpaid royalties, Billboard studies. In a lawsuit filed on Friday, January 23, Hugo claims Williams has refused at hand over essential monetary paperwork and owes him as much as $1 million for work on the 2017 N.E.R.D. album, No One Ever Actually Dies Alone.
“Williams engaged in self-dealing, hid materials info, and, upon info and perception, diverted revenues owed to Plaintiff,” Hugo’s legal professional, Brent J. Lehman, claims in a submitting obtained by Pitchfork. “Such willful, fraudulent, and malicious conduct warrants the imposition of punitive damages.”
Lehman declined to remark additional on the swimsuit. Pitchfork has additionally reached out to Williams’ representatives for remark.
In 2024, Hugo accused Williams of searching for sole possession of the Neptunes’ trademark. Williams’ attorneys mentioned they tried to supply Hugo joint possession, however Hugo’s reps claimed these enterprise phrases would have restricted their consumer’s compensation.
Because the Neptunes, Hugo and Williams’ work dominated the late ‘90s and early 2000s pop, rap, and R&B scenes. Between 1998 and 2006, the duo produced greater than a dozen songs that charted on the Sizzling 100’s prime 10, together with No. 1 singles “Drop It Like It’s Sizzling” by Snoop Dogg, “Hollaback Woman” by Gwen Stefani, and “Cash Maker” by Ludacris. In 2020, the Neptunes have been inducted into the Songwriters Corridor of Fame. The duo are additionally credited as producers in Hugo and Williams’ rap-rock hybrid group with Shay Haley, N.E.R.D.
