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Pharrell Says He & Former Neptunes Partner Chad Hugo Are No Longer on Speaking Terms

The former production team is in court over business dealings under their Neptunes moniker.

Chad Hugo and Pharrell Williams of The Neptunes

Chad Hugo and Pharrell Williams of The Neptunes

L. Cohen/WireImage for The Recording Academy

The Neptunes are no more.

During a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter for their September cover story, Pharrell admitted that he and his former friend Chad Hugo are no longer talking to each other. “But I love him, and I always wish him the absolute best, and I’m very grateful for our time together,” he told THR. However, he told the outlet that Chad is still voicing himself in Pharrell’s upcoming Lego biopic Piece by Piece.


Earlier this year, Hugo took Williams to court, accusing the latter of trying to monopolize the naming rights to The Neptunes. Chad took issue with Pharrell attempting to to register trademarks under their production moniker and in turn violating their agreement to split everything equally. Apparently, Pharrell tried to file three separate trademark applications for The Neptunes under his company PW IP Holdings LLC: one for streaming music, another for music videos, and another for live performances.

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In other news, Pharrell was asked about working with Beyoncé over the years and the upcoming presidential election. When asked about how her career has evolved, he said he was “grateful to be a part of her story and her journey and her trajectory,” while alluding to either having something in the works with the superstar, or at the very least being aware of what’s coming next from her. “Just get ready,” he said without elaborating further.

In terms of U.S. politics, he took an even more neutral approach. “I am much more of a federal employee. I believe in merited civil service,” he said when asked about his feelings about the upcoming election. He then compared himself to federal employees that aren’t selected by the respective party in power. “This is what they do, come rain or shine, whether it’s a Democrat or a Republican in office, you show up to work every day, you serve your country.” He also admitted to being “annoyed” by celebrity political endorsements. “I don’t do politics. In fact, I get annoyed sometimes when I see celebrities trying to tell you [who to vote for],” he said. “There are celebrities that I respect that have an opinion, but not all of them. I’m one of them people [who says], “What the heck? Shut up. Nobody asked you.’”

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Piece by Piece is set to hit theaters on Oct. 11.

This article was originally published by Billboard U.S.

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Carole Pope and Kevan Staples of Rough Trade
Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame

Carole Pope and Kevan Staples of Rough Trade

FYI

Obituaries: Rough Trade Co-Founder Kevan Staples, Country Hall of Famer Dick Damron

This week we also acknowledge the passing of hit Memphis record producer/engineer Terry Manning and Canadian country singer Harry Rusk.

Kevan Staples, a Toronto songwriter, film and TV composer and multi-instrumentalist best known as co-founder of the adventurous Juno-winning rock band Rough Trade, died on March 23, of cancer, at the age of 75.

His creative partnership with charismatic and provocative vocalist and songwriter Carole Pope was at the heart of Rough Trade, a group that made a colourful mark on the Canadian rock scene in the late '70s and early '80s.

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