Songs We Forget to Thank Pharrell For

Performing Artist: Ma$e

Pharrell's Role: The Neptunes co-wrote and co-produced

Chart Peak: #8

If you listen closely, the guitar riffs used on this song actually sound kind of similar to the ones that The Neptunes used on "Hella Good," they're just far quieter in the mix. "Lookin' at Me" song is referenced—not even obliquely—in his song "Cold" off Cruel Summer, just an example of how influential this track was. Written by Ma$e, The Neptunes, and Diddy (who is also featured) this is one of the songs, along with "Superthug," that put The Neptunes on as a desirable production duo and helped jumpstart  their own climb to fame. Ma$e's third consecutive top ten hit, this song peaked at No. 8 and also reached gold status.

Performing Artist:Justin Timberlake

Pharrell's Role:The Neptunes co-wrote and co-produced
Chart Peak: #5

Oddly enough, JT and The Neptunes wrote this song originally for Michael Jackson's album Invincible but he rejected it. The disco, soul and funk grooves in it are complemented by heavy drums and a prancing synthesizer line that is practically synonymous with Pharrell at this point. Interesting to note: even at this point in his career, Justin was opting for songs that essentially existed in two distinct parts.

Performing Artist: Ol' Dirty Bastard

Pharrell's Role: Produced by The Neptunes
Chart Peak: #26

Old Dirty Bastard and Kelis teamed up for "Got Your Money"—the only single off ODB's second full-length album Nigga Please, a song that managed to reference the blaxploitation film "Dolemite" and allude to the relationship between a hooker and a pimp all in one fell swoop. The video for the song has a mash-up style between ODB and Kelis performing the track and clips from "Dolemite" that's alternately comical and compelling. Of course, that backbeat and chilly synth were orchestrated by The Neptunes. Fun fact: Hype Williams helped direct this video.

Performing Artist: Philly's Most Wanted

Pharrell's Role: The Neptunes produced
Chart Peak: #98

"Cross the Border" is the first single off Philly's Most Wanted first of only two albums, Get Down or Lay Down. The track is very obviously about drugs, but the Spanish-infused catchy guitar/synth riff that takes front and center, along with bouncy bongo drums easily distract from the more explicit, disrespectful parts, like their tip to recruit "girls with accents." PMW was composed of Al "Boo-Bonic" Holly and Joel "Mr. Man" Witherspoon, who only really broke into the industry as affiliates of The Neptunes, and this song became their most successful single, reaching No. 98 on the Hot 100 and went as high as No. 3 on the Rap charts.

Performing Artist: Beenie Man

Pharrell's Role: The Neptunes co-wrote and co-produced

Chart Peak: #54

This song was conceptualized based on the '90s reggae track "Who Am I (Sim Simma)" by Pharrell, Chad Hugo, and Anthony Moses Davis. It proved to be the perfect crossover track and features guest vocals from Mýa on the hook. The Neptunes added the sound of real DJ scratching, along with the skipping, jittery backbeat, and brought in Mýa to help make the track a success not just in the U.S. but internationally—it even peaked at No. 13 in the UK.

Performing Artist: Wreckx-N-Effect

Pharrell's Role: Pharrell wrote Teddy Riley's verse, whether he helped produce or not is still debatable

Chart Peak: #9

The video for this song begins with a girl in a bikini playing the saxophone riff repeated in the song while standing in the receding waters of the surf on a local beach—if the song ended there it'd still be incredible—but no, there's more. Apparently, back in the day, the women in bikinis in this video sparked some controversy, now, the seductive saxophone playing looks pretty tame. Of course, the refrain is actually a sample from Lafayette Afro Rock Band's "Darkest Light." Although it's been rumored that Pharrell conrtibuted additional production to the track, he's only officially credited as a writer for Teddy Riley's featured verse. A favorite selection from that verse: "Beats bound to get you up, cold flowin like a faucet."

Performing Artist: *NSYNC

Pharrell's Role: The Neptunes co-wrote and co-produced
Chart Peak: #5

When it came time for NSYNC to release the third single from Celebrity, they decided last minute to re-record it as a Neptunes remix. The reworking did wonders for what was an otherwise fairly lackluster track, and the fact that Pharrell is able to work with artists as diverse as Britney, NSYNC, Snoop, Jay-Z, and Gwen Stefani just further proves his impressive ability to adapt based on his collaborators.

Performing Artist: Tha Liks (Tha Alkaholiks)

Pharrell's Role: Production credits

Chart Peak: N/A

The L.A.-based trio known as Tha Liks and Tha Alkaholiks may have never achieved much mainstream success, but on the west coast they developed a fairly large fanbase. Listening to this single, it's easy to see why, plus, that signature skittering backbeat and solitary synth line marks the production on this song as distinctly the work of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo. The song never charted on the Billboard Hot 100, but it did make it to No. 14 on the Rap singles chart.

"Neptunes make it bounce around the world and back/Make you do the damn thing when the club is packed."

Performing Artist: Nelly

Pharrell's Role: The Neptunes co-wrote & co-produced
Chart Peak:#1

Definitely the highest charting song to ever spell "here" with two R's, this track once again cements the commercial and widespread appeal of the sound that The Neptunes perfected. Instead of fading back into the woodwork as another rap song that hit No. 1 and then rescinded, the snippet, "It's getting hot in here/So take off all your clothes" persists in mainstream culture with an odd ubiquity. The song was Nelly's first No. 1 hit and was written by him, The Neptunes and Dani Stevenson, who also does the background vocals on the chorus.

Performing Artist: Britney Spears

Pharrell's Role: The Neptunes co-wrote and co-produced

Chart Peak: #27

Pharrell is well-known for writing and producing for pop stars, but not many of Britney's fans know that he and Chad Hugo penned what might have been the singer's most mature song yet. Listening closely to the rolling back beat, hand claps and warped, low-pitched midi synths, it seems obvious that Pharrell also produced the track. Perhaps Pharrell gave Britney the idea to use the snake too?

Performing Artist: Noreagea/N.O.R.E

Pharrell's Role: The Neptunes produced
Chart Peak: #36

For a few years, Noreaga had his highest charting single with "Superthug," a song that not only featured The Neptunes but their frequent collaborator Kelis on the hook. Although its spot at No. 36 was later eclipsed by N.O.R.E.'s "Nothin'" that hit No. 10. This track helped put The Neptunes on the map as far as a production duo, and is now regarded as one of their first high-profile singles.

Performing Artist: Teriyaki Boyz

Pharrell's Role: The Neptunes co-wrote and co-produced
Chart Peak: N/A

This is one of the two tracks that the Japanese hip-hop group had featured on the soundtrack for "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift." The other, "Cho L A R G E," had an entire guest verse from Pharrell. "Tokyo Drift (Fast and Furious)," is produced by The Neptunes. Although the Teriyaki Boyz don't seem like the usual collaborators, the incessant bells and fluctuating drums hallmark this song as a Neptunes affair. Decidedly Eastern at its core, this obscure soundtrack cut is further proof that the duo of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo can salvage practically any tune and turn it danceable.

Teriyaki Boys Tokyo Drift by LoVe_HunTer

Performing Artist: Jay-Z

Pharrell's Role: The Neptunes co-wrote and co-produced, Pharrell is featured on vocals

Chart Peak: #11

Young Jay-Z almost always has this sheepish look about him, and it has never been more apparent than when he's two-timing girls all over a now cheesy looking wood-paneled mansion. Another of the tracks that really set The Neptunes' career on fire, this song was the lead single from Jay's fifth studio album The Dynasty: Roc La Familia—an album that ended up becoming the 20th highest selling R&B/Hip-Hop Album of the 2000-2010, and has sold more than 2 million copies to date. This track alone peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard charts, one of his highest charting singles at that time.

Performing Artist: Fam-Lay

Pharrell's Role: The Neptunes produced, Pharrell featured

Chart Peak: N/A

Fam-Lay was signed to The Neptunes' own label, Star Trak, and appears on projects they worked on including Clipse's Lord Willin' and a Neptunes compilation album entitled The Neptunes Present... Clones. The idea behind this track—getting in contact with someone via beeper—has not aged well. However, the repetitive organ riff is so distinctly The Neptunes that even if we didn't know Fam-Lay was a Neptunes affiliate, the song would give away the connection.

Performing Artist: Gwen Stefani

Pharrell's Role: The Neptunes co-wrote and co-produced

Chart Peak: #1

After their collaboration on "Hella Good" Gwen Stefani was clearly sold on the commercial and critical appeal that her work with The Neptunes yielded. Their second time working together produced a song of similar appeal to the first effort, and despite a lack of critical acclaim, it joined the ranks of those pop anthems we dub "ear worms." The track hit No. 1 on the charts in both Australia and the United States, became the first song ever to sell one million copies digitally, and was nominated for two Grammys. Truly, the collision of Stefani's infectious attitude and The Neptunes' sonic palette is a winning combination.

Performing Artist: Kelis

Pharrell's Role: The Neptunes wrote and produced
Chart Peak: #3

A far cry from her previous foray into radio-hit territory "Caught Out Here," Kelis' "Milkshake" became a quintessential track, reaching No. 3 on the Billboard charts. This is the kind of song that requires an offhand quip of the first lines and immediately everyone in the general vicinity will start quoting the song too—that's pretty powerful. Regardless of the metaphorical tensions that her "milkshake" represents, the staccato drums and periodic "ting!" complementing the deep, swirling latin rhythms are an integral part of what make this song so fucking catchy.

Performing Artist: Kelis

Pharrell's Role: The Neptunes wrote and produced
Chart Peak: #54

The video for Kelis' debut single was shot by Hype Williams and The Neptunes both penned and produced the track. Despite the help, it was the violent energy that Kelis projected that helped create one of the most compelling songs about cheating from a feminine perspective. The practically revolutionary robotic-blur that they used on her voice helped both dull and highlight the rage-filled chorus that consisted solely of the line "I hate you so much right now" and then Kelis screaming. Interestingly enough, the song went as high as No. 3 in the Netherlands and No. 4 in the UK—maybe the U.S. wasn't quite ready for such an emotionally vulnerable narrative. Since its release, the yell-scream of "I hate you so much right now" has been used in a myriad television shows and specials, a fact that further highlights its accessibility.

Performing Artist: No Doubt

Pharrell's Role: The Neptunes co-wrote and co-produced

Chart Peak: #13

Written by Gwen Stefani, Tony Kanal and The Neptunes, this 2005 single practically became a national anthem with Stefani's insistent vocals front and center, flanked by the heavy-riding guitar riffs and bleeping and flitting synths on the party rock chorus. No Doubt's ska roots are present too, an indication that though The Neptunes helped provide a backdrop for the track, the band's own sound still seeps through. Stefani dubbed her choice to work with The Neptunes as a "cultural collision" and this was an impact that resonated culturally—the song was nominated for a Grammy and is widely regarded as one of the most important songs in Stefani's discography.

Performing Artist: LL Cool J Pharrell's Role: The Neptunes co-wrote and co-produced Chart Peak: #4

LL Cool J is well-known for his "romantic" side, and "Luv U Better" fits into that category, although it is half apology and half love song. Only the careful poetics of his co-writers The Neptunes could salvage this 2002 track from cheesiness and buoy it to a No. 4 spot on the charts. It was a single off LL's ninth studio album, so he was already well-established, but that little organ riff that sounds so Neptunes-esque, along with wafting organ synths and a handclap beat that the Queens rapper flows over with ease.

Performing Artist: Snoop Dogg

Pharrell's Role: The Neptunes co-wrote and co-produced

Chart Peak: #85

The first single off Snoop's album Tha Blue Carpet attempted to bridge cultural tensions between African Americans and Chicanos in Los Angeles—the word "vato" means friend in Chicano slang. Who better to be ambassadors on this front than Snoop and Pharrell? Starting with with a spoken word intro, The Neptunes threw in stacked, syncopated production and almost ominous synths, making the song both radio friendly and a bridge between divergent groups.