The 25 Best Pharrell Hooks

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Pharrell has been one of popular music's premier producers for the past decade, and in the latest act of his career, he's only become a bigger and bigger star as he's fine-tuned his unique, classicist brand of hitmaking. For a long time, Pharrell was the go-to producer in hip-hop if you need someone to pull double duty and give you a hook, too. Now his palette's expanded—he's the guy you go to for hooks, no matter who you are. From Jay Z to Daft Punk to himself, we tallied up best choruses ahead of his appearance at ComplexCon next month.

29.Twista f/ Pharrell "Give It Up" (2007)

 

This song was premiered on a Season 3 episode of Entourage during Vinny Chase's yachtastic birthday celebration. Which makes sense, given its sound. The record didn't bring Twista more Kamikaze-like success, P's breakdown for the hook is more than enough to command attention.

28.The Alkaholiks f/ Pharrell Williams "Best U Can"

 

The Neptunes helped the Liks carry their '90s relevance into the '00s for a brief moment, due mostly to Pharrell's hook here. This record was a perfect marriage of the duo's signature blinged-out beats and club-ready hooks, and serves as a real time capsule of how P helped change rap's sound in the 21st century.

27.N.E.R.D "Provider"

 

You get a lot of range from Pharrell on this hook alone. A lot of P's choruses put you in the mood for the next party, but this one sounds like he's sitting on a stool in a tavern singing tales of cocaine and violence from the Old West. It's nice to hear that sometimes. It's a perfect setup for the rest of the song's narrative, too.

26.T.I. f/ Pharrell Williams "Freak Though"

 

Pharrell dons the falsetto, croons like an old soul, and engages in a little back-and-forth with T.I.P. on this chorus. They've made a lot of tracks together with dope hooks, but this Urban Legend jam takes the cake.

25.Jay-Z f/ Pharrell Williams "So Ambitious"

 

If you need an explanation for why that's awesome, then you have no goals in life.

24.Busta Rhymes f/ Pharrell Williams "Light Yo Ass On Fire"

 

Busta and Pharrell stayed killing it during this era. This The Neptunes Present... Clones single had a super-illy video, and a slightly provocative chorus set to one of the Neptunes' best beats at the time. Fire, indeed.

23.Jay-Z f/ Pharrell Williams "Change Clothes"

 

It always seemed like P spent all his time surrounded by model chicks, so who better to sing about getting undressed? Impossibly chill and easy to sing along with, it's no wonder this single became a Top 10 hit.

22.Calvin Harris f/ Pharrell Williams, Katy Perry, Big Sean "Feels"

Calvin Harris proved this year that he knows his way around a collaboration. Which means that he and Pharrell—one of the greatest collaborators in modern music—should have got along well. If their collabs on Funk Wav Bounces, Vol. 1 are any indication, they worked extremely well together, and Pharrell's hook on "Feels" is so catchy it's almost annoying.

21.N.O.R.E. f/ Pharrell Williams "Nothin'"

 

Once the Neptunes became super-producers, artists and A&Rs were speed-dialing them to produce singles with crossover potential. Never one to forget his roots (just ask Clipse), Pharrell linked up with N.O.R.E. for “Nothin'” in 2002 after teaming up with him in 1998 for “Superthug.” P got on the hook and the pair scored another hit.

20.Jay-Z f/ Pharrell Williams "I Know"

 

Pharrell and Jay-Z added another dope track to their long history of collaborations with the dreamy “I Know.” We’re not sure, but P may have been channelling Bill Wither’s classic “Ain’t No Sunshine”—a song where Withers memorably chanted “I know” over 20 times. What we do know is we liked it. Hell, we loved it.

19.Clipse "When The Last Time"

 

Pusha-T might hate “When the Last Time,” but we still love it. It’s one of Clipse’s biggest chart hits and a lot of that has to do with the intergalactic beat and the club-ready chorus from Pharrell. Most of the hooks on this list have P singing, but on here he’s doing something closer to rapping and doing a deft job of it.

18.N.E.R.D "She Wants To Move"

 

Pharrell, ever the enlightened gentleman, was early and often trying to help guys understand the benefits of letting girls be free and dance. The hook here so smooth it was a convincing argument, but with guys like Pharrell out there, it simultaneously reminded countless listeners there was at least one person out there who could definitely, without a doubt, steal your girl.

17.Pharrell f/ Snoop Dogg "That Girl"

 

Even with Pharrell spitting some of the best rhymes of his career, and a great feature from Snoop, the highlight of this single off In My Mind is still the chorus. Was his solo opus underrated? Seems that way.

16.Daft Punk f/ Pharrell Williams "Lose Yourself To Dance"

The lesser of the two breakout collabs Pharrell made with Daft Punk for Random Access Memories that finds Pharrell in full crooning mode, "Lose Yourself To Dance" is still a towering a achievement. Pharrell's simple, insistent chorus is the model of a convincing argument. Deceptively to the point and close to lacking a melody, it almost feels like it isn't a hook at all, until you realize you've been humming it for days after hearing it just once.

15.Jadakiss f/ Pharrell "Knock Yourself Out"

 

For the lead single to Jadakiss’ debut solo album, Kiss of Death, he went way more commercial than we expected (especially for a guy who fought to get off Bad Boy). The result was the Neptunes’ produced “Knock Yourself Out,” a song so steamy it had a chick moaning on the beat. P handled the hook and asked the ladies what they wanted to do—then granted permission in a seductive whisper.

14.Jay-Z f/ Pharrell "Excuse Me Miss"

 

Sampling Luther Vandross’ “Take You Out” (and borrowing some of its lyrics)—Hov and P set out to make a record considerably smoother than some of their previous efforts. Pharrell crooned in a high falsetto while Jigga dropped ad-libs about Scooby Doos. The record became a Top 10 hit as Jay and that boy Pharrell continued to make beautiful music.

13.N.E.R.D. "Rock Star"

 

On this single from In Search Of…, P turns the chorus into a rebellious anthem: "You can't be me, I'm a rock star/ I'm rhyming on the top of a cop car." If you can't handle the hook's intensity, then you're one of the "fuckin' posers" Pharrell was talking about.

12.Jay-Z f/ Pharrell "I Just Wanna Love You (Give It 2 Me)"

 

If you're the right age, chances are you remember where you were the first time you heard this song. Which means you remember the first time you heard Pharrell's exuberant "I'm a hustler, babyyyy." Try not to sing the entire chorus in your head after reading that. Exactly. It'd be wrong to argue that anything's better.

11.Busta Rhymes f/ Diddy & Pharrell "Pass the Couvoiseur Pt. 2"

 

It may be called “Pass The Courvoisier Pt. 2,” but it had little to with its predecessor. The original version that appeared on Busta’s Genesis also featured Diddy and the phrase “Pass The Courvoisier,” but it was produced by Nottz and was way too clunky for the clubs. Pharrell had just the remedy—understated verses, Busta’s high energy bridge, and of course, a catchy hook. That combination made the sequel a smash.

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9.Clipse f/ Ab-Liva & Rosco P. Coldchain "Cot Damn"

 

Pusha T told us that “Cot Damn” was originally titled “God Damn” but changed due to anticipated issues in the Bible belt. Apparently, P also had reservations about the title because he didn't want to offend his highly religious grandmother. When the song was finally released as a single, the verses were remixed at the insentience of L.A. Reid. However, they didn’t touch this epic hook which had P screaming “Cot damn!” like he was fresh out of prison and ready for a new day.

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7."Happy"

24 hours. They made a 24-hour music video for this song. It's a silly idea, a stunt that no sane person could ever sit through and watch, an exercise in a stunt devised to drum up some virality for a song that needed no drumming up on its own behalf. I've never seen the video, I never will—however, if there's a song you must listen to for 24 hours, "Happy" might be the pick. That hook has been rattling around our heads for something like four years and counting, after all.

6.Frontin'

 

Skateboard P's first solo single peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. From the "Tear your ass up" quip to Hov's eight-bar cameo, "Frontin'" is a classic on multiple levels, but the hook binds all of the record's appeal into one succinct moment.

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4.Mystikal f/ Pharrell Williams "Shake Ya Ass"

 

Mystikal has always been like hip-hop’s James Brown—wailing obscene phrases with a ferocious energy hard to contain. Enter Pharrell’s smooth singing. Here, he bodies the chorus and balances out a song that opened with the lyrics, “I came here with my dick in my hand!” After this, the Neptunes were officially on, and everybody wanted a hook from Pharrell.

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2.Daft Punk f/ Pharrell Williams "Get Lucky"

When Daft Punk tapped Pharrell for their comeback effort back in 2013, the results hit like a bolt of lightning. The French dance duo were boasting a new, vintage sound—more bass grooves than sampled vocals—and Pharrell was their unlikely funk lothario. The man famous for making beats that sounded like nothing else joined forces with two DJs that dress like robots to make something that sounded like a song we'd grown up listening to. Since then, Pharrell's hit new heights mining a unique approach to throwback jams, but this is his best and, maybe, most iconic hook to date.

1.Snoop Dogg f/ Pharrell Williams "Beautiful"

Get those images of Brazilian supermodels out of your head for a second and think about why this hook is good. No gimmicks, just Falsetto P singing his heart out to a beautiful girl in between awkwardly infectious "Oh yeah, there's something about you" whispers. It's unorthodox, off-kilter, and the one that stands the test of time. It's simply timeless.