Pharrell Williams is facing a second legal dispute, in as many years, brought by longtime business and creative partner Chad Hugo.
Hugo had filed a notice of opposition in 2024 with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, disputing Williams’ trademark registration filing for The Neptunes musical production duo they founded. The move at the time, according to his representative, “surprised” Williams, whose goal was to prevent a third party from getting the trademark.
But the stakes appear to have risen. Hugo is now accusing Williams of withholding profits and financial records in a federal lawsuit filed Friday. Hugo, in the complaint, claims a “systemic denial” of his contractual and ownership rights in various holdings and companies related to The Neptunes and the N.E.R.D. music group, byproducts of the two musicians’ decades-long, collaborative partnership.
A representative for Williams said a standard accounting review is already underway.
“The lawsuit filed is premature as there may not even be a dispute between the parties,” according to a statement provided by Williams’ representative on Tuesday. “If the accounting review determines that money is owed, the appropriate party will pay it. Pharrell has consistently acted in good faith. He has great respect for Chad and looks forward to resolving this in a way that honors their shared history.”
Hugo’s listed attorneys didn’t answer an email by Tuesday afternoon.
Hugo and Williams met sometime in the late 1980s as teenagers in Virginia Beach. According to the complaint filed Friday, Williams’ vocals, performative abilities and songwriting paired with Hugo’s contributions of instrumental compositions and production work, and, in the early 1990s, they began operating as a professional group, The Neptunes.
Hugo served as the “principal composer, arranger, multi-instrumentalist, and producer responsible for programming, instrumentation, and overall sound design” while Williams “more frequently appeared as the public-facing member of the duo,” the complaint says. As The Neptunes, Hugo and Williams have written and made recordings for international hip-hop and pop stars, including Jay-Z and Britney Spears, and produced hit songs such as Snoop Dogg’s “Drop it Like it’s Hot” and Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl.”
In the 1990s, Hugo and Williams added a third member to their ranks, Sheldon Haley, to found N.E.R.D, which went on to record multiple studio albums and find its own commercial success.
The company N.E.R.D. Music LLC was formed around 2014, and an operating agreement stipulated that all members would be provided with routine statements on the company’s finances with Williams, Hugo and Haley each entitled to varying percentages of touring, merchandise and trademark, and other income.
Hugo says in the complaint:
- Williams entered a “series of deals” involving N.E.R.D without consulting Hugo.
- Williams, on behalf of N.E.R.D. Music LLC, partnered with multiple clothing brands, including Adidas, but “no contracts or revenues have been disclosed” to Hugo.
- Hugo is owed “at least $325,000-$575,000,” with potential damages exceeding $750,000, for his contributions to the 2017 N.E.R.D. album “No One Ever Really Dies.”
Hugo says in the complaint he has been deprived of transparency into N.E.R.D.’s finances and so is “unable to verify the correctness of royalties and distributions received and reasonably believes that substantial additional sums are owing but undisclosed.”
Hugo also asserted he has a 50% ownership interest in entities related to The Neptunes. “Upon review of the incomplete financial records produced by Defendant Williams,” the complaint says, “it appears that little revenue has been allocated to Plaintiff from The Neptunes Entities’ profits, which is inconsistent with The Neptunes’ evident commercial success.”
Hugo is seeking a jury trial and unspecified damages. The trademark registration dispute is also scheduled to proceed this year.
Colin Warren-Hicks, 919-818-8139, [email protected]