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 estimated to have a net worth of $160 million and 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. 2History Pharrell and Chad met at a summer camp for the school of The Gifted and Talented in Virginia Beach, where Williams was a drummer and Hugo played tenor saxophone. They were also both members of a marching band; Pharrell played snare 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 Neptune