Chad Hugo Fires Back At Pharrell Over Nearly 50 Neptunes Sessions

Chad Hugo fired back at Pharrell Williams’ bid to toss his copyright case, citing nearly 50 studio sessions from 2019 through 2021.

According to Rolling Stone, Hugo said Pharrell and music firms held records he needed to name released songs. He said he sought books and royalty statements from 2021 through 2024 but got almost nothing.

“Defendants ask the court to write Chad Hugo out of The Neptunes on the pleadings, before a single document has been produced,” the filing said, Rolling Stone reported.

Hugo cited EarthGang’s “U Gotta.” He claimed his name was dropped from its credits even though the artists said he helped make it.

Pharrell moved on October 6 to throw out claims he argued left the songs and rights unclear. His lawyer, Edwin F. McPherson, said Hugo should name the works he claimed to have helped make.

“They are asking that he simply identify what ‘works’ he claims to have co-authored. This is exclusively within his own knowledge,” McPherson argued in the earlier filing.

In an earlier version of the suit, Hugo named eight works and left room for other music. Pharrell’s lawyers argued that the open-ended claims left them unable to tell which songs or recordings he meant.

Pharrell’s role was central to how the track was pitched to the public. EarthGang’s PR firm, twnty three, called “U Gotta” a Pharrell-produced record in its October 30, 2024 release for “Perfect Fantasy.” It also named him as the featured guest.

The U.S. Copyright Office explains that a song’s music and lyrics are protected separately from its recording, and those rights can have different owners and licensing deals. Pharrell’s demand for clarity therefore reached two questions: which works Hugo claimed, and which rights he said he owned in each.

Hugo also sought the books for The Neptunes and N.E.R.D. to learn what he was owed. He claimed he had not been fully paid for the band’s 2017 album “No One Ever Really Dies.” Hugo alleged that his missing pay for that album could reach $1 million.

Pharrell’s lawyers did not immediately respond to Rolling Stone’s request for comment.