} THENERDM ENTALITY THHY6 AVffiJ AY-XA B*UNCT, LENITT hIglRF UhIKT S'N SYh*CA NM HUSTLTPB HATSF &R T'{H KING OF POP.I T WAS *h,l-Y A MATTERO F TIM€ gHF{3RgT I{K \IIRGII''I[AM E,4CHP R$SLJCTIONT EAM CALI-EDT F{€I \FPTU'XE$P tJTTi{ENRC LIg'\d?SO N'HI OLP Ah{& LKTTF{€IRO WTdg ?RANGgS *UNSS LSOSHS hNT'..IfC; I.,IART"BSY ETHAN BROWN IHARRELL wTLLIAMs HAs rHE EvENING MAppED our "lIsrrN," have been shockingly consistent hitmakers, racking up ahalf- "tonight |!|h" explains, we're gonna hang out with punks, dozen Top ro hits (and loads of Top 4os) in an arenawhererna' I skatersa nd brothers from the hood." He glances down jor players like Sean "Puffy" Combs and legendary hit men such at the freshly painted morel parking lot and climbs into his as Clive Davis often strike out. Moreover. the Neptunes have oversize Lincoln Navigator. "I can t hang with just one group of proved they can savea rtists from themseives,s pinning stalwart people." The z8-year-old producer-musician is the mirror im- stars in new directions. They transformed JayZ'shrstler-by- age of his inclusive social sphere-call it a ghetto-glam-bumpkin numbers "I Just Wanna Love U (Give It z Me)" inro a soulful look faded thrift-store jeans, tattered Rolling Stones baseball sing-along, remixed and rescued the Backstreet Boys' uninspiring cap, VersaceT -shirt and white Prada sneakers.A nd though he u.rth.- "The Call' and converted Mystlfal's clicired boory "rl'i wears a chunky diamond earring in one ear and a cartoonishly "Shake Ya Ass" into a brassv. funkw hit. iced-out Rolex on his wrist, he carries himself with alaid-back swagger and wears the sleepy-eyed expression of a stoned PRODUCERS ARE THE NEW STARS OF MUSIC, HIGHLY PAID MAESTROS southern rocker. hired to craft instant hits for increasingly disposable, telegenic Williams's stubborn refusal to identify with atTyone palticuiar pop stars, to lend fledgling hip-hoppers the necessaryl egiti- subculture has served him well. As the nroduction duo lcrown macy and to infuse well-worn rock stars with a bit of needed as the Neptunes-and as the eclecric side project called currency. Surely, Destiny's Child, Britney Spears and Aaliyah N.E.R.D.-he and his panner, Chad H,rgo, zT,have been equal- owe much of their ofFcamera apoeal to the innovative sounds opportuniry innovators, puuing their sonic sramp on rap, rock createdb y producdon ,,u., ,.r"h u, Rodney Jerkins, Max Mar- and R&B and reshaping the pop landscape in their own musi- tin and Timbaland. Even Madonna, for all her feminist self- cally miscegenatedi mage. Ever since they catapulted Noreagas reliance , attributes much of her recent successt o her men riotous'"Superthug" into the mainstream in 1998,t he Neptunes behind the mixing boards, William Orbit and Mirwais. As a PHOTOGRAPHS BY II4ICHAELE DWARDS AUGUST 2OO1 GO A7 result, there's been a predicrable stampede ro work with the been afrad to drive since his truck was struck by a car and "did most current studio masters. The common refrain in the mu- two 36os in the air.") And although Williams manhandles srrip- sic business these days is not."Can you make me a number pers in the video for N.E.R.D.'s "Lap Dance," tonight the only one record?" It's "Can you make my record sound like that?" female in sight is Williams's quiet, platonic pal Keisha. And right now, the sound they're rhinking of when they say Williams's idiosyncrasies are holding courr in the backseat; that is that of the Neptunes. without any prompting, he alnounces the names and sexes of "This 'gimme the homests ound'shit," Wlliams saysa ngrily, his four future children, his seven favorite movies and his fa- "that's what's killing this business. People goua rhink for rhem- vorite song by which ro receive fellatio (Stereolab's "The selves,b ring their own shit to the table. We ain't gonna create Flower Called Nowhere"). But berween his bizarre outbursrs something from nothing." But in trurh, the Neptunes often and sexual bravado, selidoubt creeps in. "Youre not supposed come close. Their productions burst with falsetto choruses to talk about hurt feelings in interviews," Williams says (usually sung by Williams), beat-box rhythms and twangy gui- solemnly as the Navigator crawls through traffic on Virginia tars-all underlined by a sly outsider's irreverence. They crafted Beachs Atlantic Avenue strip, but an early, negative review of a hilarious blaxploitation send-up for InSenchOf... has surfaced in the small but Ol' Dirry Bastard on "Got Your Money'' influential hip-hop magazine XXL. "My and infused Kelis's woman-wronged feelings have been hurt," he says sadly. anthem "Caught Out There" with an- "I didnt do this album for my pockets. gry, boombastic beats without under- I did it for my heart. That's why XXL mining its party-starting power. "If hurts." Williams rolls up his window youre in a club and you hear a song by and turns down the music, fearing the the Neptunes," explains Keith Wood, Virginia Beach police will ticket him executive vice president of A&R at Vir- (again) for violating noise ordinances. gin Records, "theres an instant reacfion, "I look at ir rhis way," he says of his a mad rush to the dance floor." critics. "It's sort of like givinga driver's That mad rush should increasec on- license and aFercari to an infant. He's siderably in the coming months as rhe got a license and a great car, but you Neptunes' most recent collaborations can be damn sure that he's not gonna find their way into clubs. Though know what to do with it." Williams and Hugo usually make And so what if he doesn't know tracks in their Virginia Beach studio, what to do with it? N.E.R.D. is nor a they recently spent a few months side project in search of approval. It working with clients in Los Angeles. seemsu nlikely that the album's con- "We had four studios rented out si- spiratorial rants (even one disguised as multaneousln" Hugo says. "One for alap-dance fantasy) and off-kilter love Kelis, one for Mary J. Blige, one for songs will find much of a mainsfteam Busta Rhymes and one for No Doubt." audience. Neither Williams nor Hugo They were also among the producers can pinpoint a potential fan base, but, asked to work on Michael Jackson's strangely, lnSearchO f .. is winning over Iong-delayed comeback, though the taste-making dance DJs such as Pete Neptunes couldnt schedule him in. Tong and Giles Peterson. "I dont do R&B heartthrob Usher says rhe tracks drugs," says Williams, "and I rhink ir's the Neptunes crafted for his new sad that it takes mind-altering drugs record were so hot, the King of Pop at- for people to get into music, but peo- tempted to snatch them away. "But ple who do ecstasy,L SD, mushrooms? he's not gonna get 'eml" Usher Eunts 'lhey getN .E.R.D." playfully. And this monrh, like Timbaland before them, the Just about everybody in the music business getsthe Neptunes. Neptunes will test the power of their brand by releasing an aI- "Do you wanna hear this hor new track I just did with bum of their own, called InSearchof..., for which they (along Brandy?" Williams asks, pulling a CD from a leather-bound with high school pal Shay) dubbed themselvesN .E.R.D., an case and sliding it into the multidisc player. fie song has the otherworldly acronym for No One Ever Really Dies. The hopelessly sappy title "Save the Babies" and seems like rypically name is a reference to Williams's belief that "humans are iusr sentimental R&B smff, unril Williams's squawky {llseno gives it matter in space-always recirculating in the atmosph".", .r..r., abizarre, jarring break. He puts arother CD in the player, con- d)org " It also reinforces rheir geek image. taining two quirky, spitfire tracks the Neptunes just finished for Busta Rhymes. Then Williams p4oduces yer anorher demo, this o THOUGH PHARRELL WILLIAMS HAS RECENTLY BECOME A REGULAR one for Perry Farrell. A wave of guitars roars from the speakers, : {ixture on BET and MT{ making flashy cameos in videos for and as Farrell howls Gloooooorrrry!Williams raises his hands tri- o Neptunes-produced singles by Babyhce, Mystikal and RayJ, in- umphantly and sings along. It's as thrillingly ecsraric as early side his Navigator there's little evidence that he's attempring to Janes Addiction classicsl ike "Mountain Song," and Williams ! ; raise his profile. Brazlliair' lounge singer Sergio Mendes coos krrows it (though the song didrit make the cur on Farrell's July Beatles covers on the stereo, and an affable, silver-haired south- CD), "See?"Williams asks, grinning rt'id.ly. "I can do anything. ; erner named Bob sits dutifullv behind the wheel. (Williams has I'm a universalist, man! I'm here to change the world!" 88 GO AUGUST 2OO'I CHAD HUGO, THE SON OF A NAVAL OFFICER ..I AND A MEDICAL TECHNI- to bypass authority." This isnt an idle boast. stole all the cian, met Pharrell Williams, the son of a painter, teacher and a equipment I needed to start my first studio," he says impas- in band practice at Kemps Landing Middle School in Virginia sively. When he wasn't lifting equipmenr, Hugo was raving Beach.