The Neptunes

The Neptunes are an American production duo, composed of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo. The Neptunes' sound is a distinctive brand of off-kilter, stripped-down electronic funk with sounds from Middle Eastern and Asian music including percussion and woodwind. Pharrell often provides additional vocals and (later) raps on records as well as appears in music videos, unlike Hugo, who tends to stay behind the scenes. Before gaining success and forming The Neptunes, Williams and Hugo along with local producer Timbaland and rapper Magoo formed a group "Surrounded by Idiots" in the early '90s, but disbanded before recording together. Later, Timbaland & Magoo emerged as a hip hop duo, occasionally collaborating with The Neptunes. The Neptunes are considered one of the most successful producers in music history, noted by twenty-four Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hits during the late 1990s and 2000s. In 2009, Billboard ranked The Neptunes number one on their list of the top 10 producers of the decade. In 2019, The Neptunes were nominated to the Songwriters Hall of Fame as a part of the 2020 class.