Image: Gary Gershoff
Chad Hugo is seeking missing earnings and validation of his song rights in a lawsuit against Pharrell Williams, which has escalated into a contentious dispute over credit and payments from their collaborative work.
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Pharrell’s team has filed a request to dismiss key claims from Hugo’s lawsuit, arguing that he has failed to clearly identify which songs he contributed to, with claims that he “has no idea” about the works in question.
Hugo’s lawsuit seeks two primary outcomes: reimbursement for his share of income from their music projects (The Neptunes and N.E.R.D.) and a judicial ruling on the ownership of various song rights, which includes eight named tracks and other unnamed works.
Hugo asserts that his unpaid earnings from N.E.R.D.’s 2017 album, “No One Ever Really Dies,” could amount to $1 million, claiming he has not received an accounting of the profits from their collaborative work since his request in 2021.
Pharrell’s lawyer, Edwin F. McPherson, insists that Hugo must specify his contributions to each song and clarify his claims regarding rights ownership, emphasizing that this information should be within Hugo’s own knowledge.
The dispute over financial transparency has been ongoing since January, following Hugo’s assertion that Pharrell had withheld payments and failed to provide necessary financial documentation related to their music.
The partnership between Chad Hugo and Pharrell Williams dates back to their childhood, evolving into a successful career with significant hits that defined the sound of both rap and pop music.
The Neptunes, the duo comprising Hugo and Pharrell, received the Grammy Award for Producer of the Year in 2004 and were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2022, reflecting their impactful contributions to the music industry.
