{"id":6068,"date":"2014-01-10T17:28:16","date_gmt":"2014-01-10T22:28:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/?p=6068"},"modified":"2018-08-09T17:15:36","modified_gmt":"2018-08-09T21:15:36","slug":"flashback-friday-the-neptunes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/flashback-friday-the-neptunes\/","title":{"rendered":"FLASHBACK FRIDAY: The Neptunes"},"content":{"rendered":"

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In hopes that the rumored Clipse reunion<\/a> circulating the blogosphere this week is for real, we\u2019re going through the best moments in The Neptunes\u2019 career, which now spans two decades if we consider Blackstreet\u2019s \u201cTonight\u2019s the Night\u201d their first official gig as a production team. Chad Hugo and Pharrell Williams have come quite a long way since 1994, hitting the top ten in Billboard\u2019s Hot 100 with 24 of their produced tracks throughout the \u201890s and \u201800s and collecting Billboard and Grammy awards left and right along the way. Here\u2019s a rundown of a few of their more memorable successes:<\/p>\n

N*E*R*D<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Neptunes\u2019 side project with Shay Haley is now sort of a cult favorite, though most would recognize their early \u201800s hit songs \u201cLapdance\u201d and \u201cShe Wants to Move.\u201d The trio deftly mixed rap with funk and rock, exuding swag long before the word was a trend. N*E*R*D gave Williams and Hugo the space to do everything their own way and show off the former high school band geeks\u2019 instrumental abilities.<\/p>\n

Britney Spears\u2019 \u201cI\u2019m a Slave 4 U\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Brit knew she wanted a turning point in her already well-established pop career, and she chose the right guys to make it happen. \u201cI\u2019m a Slave 4 U\u201d was not only produced but also written by the Neptunes, who had originally intended it for Janet Jackson; but let\u2019s be honest: in Jackson\u2019s hands, the song would\u2019ve come off as more of the same. In the hands of a 19-year-old, virginal Britney Spears, though, it was explosive. And\u2014especially when paired with an albino python at the 2001 VMA stage\u2014it was perhaps the peak of this megastar\u2019s career.<\/p>\n

Gwen Stefani\u2019s \u201cHollaback Girl\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

After working with No Doubt on \u201cHella Good,\u201d The Neptunes continued collaborating with Gwen on her breakout solo album, co-writing and producing the hottest hit off of Love Angel Music Baby<\/i>. It seems like this is what the Neptunes do best: turning pop musicians into pop superstars.<\/p>\n

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Work with Kelis<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Neptunes\u2019 very first full album production gig came with Kelis\u2019 debut record, 1999\u2019s Kaleidoscope. <\/i>In fact, they didn\u2019t just produce that entire album, they also wrote, arranged, and provided instrumentation and vocals for the majority of it. Kaleidoscope <\/i>didn\u2019t do so well commercially but critics gave it high praise and Kelis continued to work extensively with the Neptunes for her sophomore record, Wanderland, <\/i>and of course for her third record, Tasty, <\/i>which featured the Neptunes-penned track we all know: \u201cMilkshake.\u201d<\/p>\n

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