Pharrell Williams sued by former Neptunes partner Chad Hugo over alleged lost earnings

The producers who helped define the sound of pop music in the 90s and 00s are in dispute over earnings from their final album as NERD

Chad Hugo is suing Pharrell Williams, his production partner in the Neptunes, over claims that Williams owes Hugo up to $1m from their final album as NERD, 2017’s No One Ever Really Dies.

The Neptunes defined the sound of pop music in the late 90s and early 00s, producing for artists including Kelis, Britney Spears, Beyoncé, Clipse and Justin Timberlake. As NERD, they released five albums.

Lawyers for Hugo allege that Williams, in his own right a producer for artists including Kendrick Lamar, Ed Sheeran and the Weeknd, has withheld royalties and shares from touring income and merchandising, and that he refused to share documents that would clarify Hugo’s earnings despite repeat demands for financial disclosure. Hugo’s lawyers say the demands were ignored or met only with “limited” and “incomplete” documentation in “a breach of the operating agreement”.

They estimate that the earnings due to Hugo from No One Ever Really Dies could exceed “$750k-$1m”