The Neptunes #1 fan site, all about Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo

theneptunes.org, all about Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo
The Neptunes #1 fan site, all about Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo

Archives for "December 2008" :

Go Buy UMC Now

Posted by Mika on Dec 10, 2008 • (1 comment)


Common – Universal Mind Control (2008)
01 – Intro feat. Joëlle Ndiaye
02 – Universal Mind Control feat. Pharrell (Neptunes)
03 – Punch Drunk Love feat. Pharrell & Kanye West (Neptunes)
04 – Make My Day feat. Cee-Lo (Mr. DJ)
05 – Sex 4 Suga (Neptunes)
06 – Announcement feat. Pharrell (Neptunes)
07 – Gladiator feat. Pharrell (Neptunes)
08 – Changes feat. Muhsinah & Omoye Assata Lynn (Mr. DJ)
09 – Inhale (Neptunes)
10 – What A World feat. Chester French (Neptunes)
11 – Everywhere feat. Martina Topley-Bird (Mr. DJ)
12 – Punch Drunk Love feat. Pharrell (Remix) (UK Bonus)

Go & Get It Now !
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk

 
 

Common Gets 3.5 Out Of 5 Stars Off Allmusic

Posted by Mika on Dec 10, 2008 • (No comment)

The eighth Common album was originally titled “Invincible Summer,” but delays slid its release back to December. Though Mortal Winter might’ve been more apt, Universal Mind Control does correctly point toward a lighter, less cerebral set relative to the MC’s discography from The Resurrection onward. The glinting “Change” is a track filled with hope and optimism about younger generations and the rise of Obama, and “Inhale,” another standout, carries a surplus of uplift and urgency. Otherwise, Common’s here to have a good time, no strings attached, with uneven results. Occasionally adopting a casual old-school flow, best heard on the neo-Bambaataa electro throwback title track, he spends most of his time boasting about his prowess, whether he’s referring to being on the mike or in the bedroom. At the album’s lowest, he sounds uncomfortably out of character, as on “Announcement“; its stern beat, one of the seven provided by The Neptunes, resembles a Clipse cast-off, pushing Common into ill-suited thuggishness. The sluggish, mindless “Punch Drunk Love” (”My ungh is in your body/My ungh is in your mind”) and “Sex 4 Suga” (”Girl, ooh, you look ungh”) are nearly as dire, likewise sacrificing cleverness for bluntness. The album’s last two tracks, production-wise, depart from hip-hop and will hopefully send some listeners back to the flawed greatness of Electric Circus. “What A World” features some of Common’s most enjoyable, if simplistic, old-school rhymes, but the song is impaired by its dance-rock/Rapture-knockoff backdrop; and even with some of Common’s most energized lines appearing as late as midway through the much more effective “Everywhere,” the Dungeon Family’s Mr. DJ (who produced two other tracks) drops some low-slung sci-fi synth-funk for Martina Topley-Bird’s spaced vocal feature. 

*allmusic.com

 
 

Pharrell Williams Joins Green Textile Company

Posted by Mika on Dec 9, 2008 • (1 comment)

The Grammy-winning musician has entered into a partnership with Bionic Yarn, a two-year-old textile firm based in New York dedicated to developing environmentally sustainable fabrics. In this new role, Williams is both an owner and investor in the company, as well as an ambassador and spokesman for the brand. Williams has been on an acquisition spree lately: last week, he was at Art Basel Miami, where he snapped up a work by Takashi Murakami. Bionic Yarn engineers, markets and manufactures premium yarns and fabrics using fibers comprised of recycled plastic bottles.


*wwd.com
*nymag.com

 
 

Alchemist Influenced By The Neptunes

Posted by Mika on Dec 9, 2008 • (No comment)

“when you use samples, I guess, I’m luckier. I guess if I was using the same keyboard all the time, I would be struggling to find new sounds and stuff. But I guess by using samples and chopping the sounds, it’s like every record was recorded at a different studio at a different time, and things were micced up and mixed and mastered different. They all have they’re unique sound, especially when they hit that vinyl. It’s hard to describe that difference, but there’s a texture to samples that’s hard to recreate. It’s like sometimes you chop a sample, it’s like one little bam and in that little bam, there are about fifteen instruments. It just caught the record at that one point and it’s hard to recreate that. I guess by using sample,s sometimes I get away with it.”

“Anytime I would hear Neptunes and a Pharrell beat, I would always understand them. I don’t know any other way to describe it, but I would always get it. Whenever I would hear his keyboard beats, I would be like “Ah I get that program, I get why he put the keys like that.” And I never understood why and I spoke to his manager a long time ago and he was like “When we first started managing Pharrell, all his beats sounded like yours.” He had the samples they were looped up and we kind of had to lean on him and convince him that he could create that kind of stuff without the sample, but he always thinks from the standpoint of samples. It’s real simple and sample style, I don’t now how to explain it. To be able to speak to his manager, it made me feel good, like it made me feel confident to make a beat like that. Like I could step to the keyboard, I just close my eyes and let my hands go. I don’t know how to play, but I let them do what they’re gonna do and then I just sit back and listen to it, like I’m listening to a soundtrack or a record. I kind of just keep my mindset on samples and keep it raw and simple.”

*ballerstatus.com

 
 

Britney Relying On Pharrell To Make Her Tour A Success

Posted by Mika on Dec 9, 2008 • (No comment)


It has been reported that Britney Spears has called on ex Justin Timberlake to join her on her 2009 ‘Circus’ tour. The singer – who has recently made her comeback – has recieved a mixed reception from fans and the media, and it is said that Spears is relying on others to help make the tour a success. Other acts that have apparently been roped in are Madonna, Elton John and Pharrell Williams.

*411mania

 
 

Clipse – Still Got It 4 Cheap feat. Pharrell

Posted by Mika on Dec 9, 2008 • (No comment)

Off Clinton’s Upcoming Mixtape Produced By Clinton Sparks

Clipse – Still Got It 4 Cheap feat. Pharrell (Clinton Sparks)
[audio=http://theneptunes.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/clipse-still-got-it-4-cheap-feat-pharrell-clinton-sparks-08.mp3]

 
 

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