Pharrell Williams And Chad Hugo Are In A Legal Battle Over ‘The Neptunes’ Name, And That’s Sad For Hip-Hop

Source: Patrick McMullan / Getty

I n the early ’90s, legendary music producers Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo began their legacy by forming The Neptunes, which would go on to dominate the Hip Hop hit-making world from the late ’90s through the late 2000s. It’s arguable that the duo defined that era of rap music as well as other popular genres. Jay-Z, N.O.R.E., Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake and Snoop Dogg are only a few of the mega-stars The Neptunes produced chart-topping hits for.

But now, Williams and Hugo are fighting over their iconic group’s name, and as fans, we should hate to see it.

SMDH.

According to TMZ , court documents show Hugo is opposing a trademark filing by William’s company PW IP Holdings aimed at securing the rights to “The Neptunes” name for music videos and other downloadable entertainment. Hugo’s attorney Kenneth D. Freundlich accused Pharrell of committing fraud by leaving his former partner’s name off the filing without Chad having any say in it.

“Throughout their over thirty year history, [Hugo] and Williams agreed to, and in fact, have divided all assets,” Freundlich wrote in the filing. “By ignoring and excluding [Hugo] from the any and all applications filed by applicant for the mark ‘The Neptunes,’ applicant has committed fraud in securing the trademarks and acted in bad faith.”

But Pharrell’s legal team recently told Billboard that their client is only trying to ensure no one who never had anything to do with The Neptunes got to profit off of the duo’s name, and that they reached out to Hugo “multiple” times in order to involve him, but to no avail.

“Pharrell is surprised by this,” a rep for Williams said. “We have reached out on multiple occasions to share in the ownership and administration of the trademark and will continue to make that offer. The goal here was to make sure a third party doesn’t get a hold of the trademark and to guarantee Chad and Pharrell share in ownership and administration.”

So, if Pharrell’s lawyers are saying they want Hugo to have ownership over The Neptunes’ name as well as their client, then what’s really going on here? Is this a matter of miscommunication, is it a case of bad blood blocking blessings, or is somebody lying?

What is clear is that two artists who arguably redefined multiple musical genres together are currently at odds and they appear to be fighting over their legacy.

Again, we should really hate to see it.

See how social media’s reacting to the musical beef below.