The Best Of Pharrell: 30 Greatest Songs

Pharrell – beat maker, interdisciplinary creative, sci-fi sleuth, archivist and custodian of rap/RnB lore – is one of contemporary music’s most prolific hitmakers.

Born in Virginia, Pharrell Williams met his production partner Chad Hugo at a summer camp for fledgling musicians. Sharing a love of A Tribe Called Quest and synthesizers, it was under the tutelage of new jack swing architect Teddy Riley that they got their break as The Neptunes. Together, they had a clarity of vision about the sound they wanted to manufacture, co-piloting a kind of engineered minimalism that galvanized artists across the RnB, hip-hop and pop continuum to flex in pockets of space, implanting hooks that made their songs crossover.

It was reported in a 2004 survey that The Neptunes had produced over one third of the songs on mainstream radio at the time. That same year, Pharrell and Hugo took home Producer of The Year at the Grammy Awards, an accolade they’d secure on two more occasions. Their omnipresence was rewarded by Billboard who named them Producer of the Decade for the 2000s.  

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There’s general consensus that Pharrell’s true mastery of the artform came through in his productions for other artists. In his 2018 CLASH cover interview, Pharrell spoke about his love of working with artists who challenged his worldview. “Collaboration is like a crash course most of the time, when I’m learning something new. It’s like a crash course into whatever item, object or artistic discipline that we’re working on at that time. It just allows me to learn. I prefer to work with masters because then I’m actually learning. All of my biggest songs were songs that I did with or for other people. Collaboration has always been part of my DNA. And, to be clear and to be honest, songs that I ended up putting out by myself were always songs that I wrote for other people.”

To commemorate almost three decades of production mastery – which is memorialised in a biographical Lego animation film, Piece by Piece – the CLASH team have compiled thirty of Pharrell’s best compositions. The list honours The Neptunes’ peak from the early to late aughts, when Pharrell and Hugo were at their synergetic best (R.I.P. to The Neptunes, 1992-2024. Hugo and Pharrell no longer follow each other on IG). For brevity’s sake, this list mostly omits Pharrell’s solo material, N.E.R.D productions and tracks where The Neptunes weren’t the sole (co-)producers. The retrospective list includes some favourite deep cuts while also acknowledging Pharrell’s breakaway compositions in the 2010s.

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Noreaga – Superthug

‘Superthug’ by East Coast rapper Noreaga was a full-throttle grimy number that put Pharrell on the map as a conductor of a kind of orchestrated cacophony. At this stage of their careers, The Neptunes were relative neophytes – producers-for-hire testing their raw creations with established acts. Did you know Janet Jackson originally recorded a demo to the ‘Superthug’ beat? Well now you do. The finished product was a catalyst to The Neptunes becoming one of the most sought after production duos in music thereafter. Shahzaib Hussain

Ol Dirty Bastard, Kelis – Got Your Money 

The prophetic ODB was characteristically kooky on this pre-millennia, sci-fi-tinged beatscape that would fast become The Neptunes’ signature. The sole single from the Brooklyn rapper’s second studio album featured first time vocals from Kelis, who assumed the role of a sex worker to ODB’s Blaxploitation pimp. On ‘Got Your Money’, ODB lays bare his creaky machismo, enticing and ensnaring women with his free-associative lyrical demands. A filthy rap hit for the ages. Shahzaib Hussain

Kelis – Caught Out There 

October 1999. A 19-year-old Kelis arrived on the scene with a primal roar and technicolour afro, castigating a cheating lover and the age-old indignities inflicted by men on abiding women. ‘Caught Out There’ is a shining example of how the Pharrell-Kelis partnership pushed RnB into thrilling new terrains. Have we heard anything as odd as those groan tube percolations swinging like a pendulum ear to ear? Almost thirty years on, ‘Caught Out There’s’ righteous anger has an added layer of poignancy: Kelis has since claimed that she was deceived into signing contracts that favoured Pharrell and Chad Hugo. I hate you so much right now, indeed. Shahzaib Hussain 

Britney Spears – I’m A Slave 4 U 

The lead single from Britney Spears’ self-titled album, ‘I’m a Slave 4 U’ remains her most assertive track to date. Determined to break away from her bubblegum pop roots, Britney took on The Neptunes for this artistic leap, and they entrusted her with a juggernaut originally intended for Janet Jackson. ‘I’m a Slave 4 U’ would catapult Spears in a similar direction as Jackson, shedding her girl-next-door persona for that of a sultry popstar. Pharrell and Chad pulled together an immersive soundscape that tapped into middle eastern space funk, a stripped-back sound bed for Britney’s breathy vocals. An unbridled declaration of feminine power if there ever was one. Sabrina Soormally

Kelis – Young, Fresh N’ New

So much of today’s prog-R&B world owes its credibility to Kelis’s ‘Wanderland’. In 2001, I experienced a record that would become a defining soundtrack to my pre-teen years. As an introvert, the cascading punk spirit of ‘Young, Fresh ‘N’ New’ gave me both refuge and release. The Neptunes’ sci-fi synaesthesia was never more compelling than on ‘Wanderland’ and Kelis used it as her base to role play; switching up from a purveyor of sexual fantasies (‘Flashback’), to a conductor through the cosmos (‘Star Wars’), to the renegade we all wanted to rally behind (‘I Don’t Care Anymore’). ‘Young, Fresh N New’, particularly, was too ahead of its time and too trenchant for the masses. Shahzaib Hussain 

Usher – U Don’t Have To Call

Produced by The Neptunes, this party anthem was originally offered to Michael Jackson for his ‘Invincible’ album, before Usher made it his own. ‘U Don’t Have To Call’ set loose an emancipated Usher from the trope of a jilted lover. The Neptunes production is characteristically off-the-wall, synthesized to provide Usher the room to vocally flex (do you hear those runs at the climax?) his way into the vast expanse of a limitless night. Shahzaib Hussain

*NSYNC – Girlfriend

Released in the summer of 2001, *NSYNC’s ‘Celebrity’ has aged remarkably well. Following the twee pop juggernaut that was ‘No Strings Attached’, the band embarked on a more experimental project that invited a slew of R&B producers and cross-genre influences. The band’s final single, ‘Girlfriend’ stands tall as their best. Written and produced by The Neptunes, both the single and music video pushed Justin Timberlake to the forefront vocally but rather than usher in an evolutionary shift for the band, the track would signal the demise of *NSYNC, laying the groundwork for Timberlake’s solo career through ‘Justified’. Sabrina Soormally

Clipse – Grindin’ 

Pharrell phoned up Pusha T at the top of the aughts armed with the unorthodox beat to inform him that Clipse had ten minutes to get to the studio, or The Neptunes were giving it to Jay-Z. Pusha and No Malice made it in six. Clipse was fiercely territorial about The Neptunes and ‘Grindin’ for a few key reasons. First, Pusha had a tight bond with The Neptunes. Second, and more importantly, the beat for ‘Grindin’ blew their minds, so Pusha made it known no other rapper was coming near it. 

‘Grindin’ reshaped the sonic aesthetic of hip-hop with one of the nastiest drum beats in history, crafted entirely by Pharrell on a Korg Triton keyboard. The Neptunes’ beat became immortalised on high school lunch tables. Meanwhile, aspiring rappers like Kendrick Lamar freestyled to it, pounding out the beat on desks and the backseats of buses, bleachers, and basketball courts in unison. Artist exec L.A. Reid clocked the cult fanbase and reportedly threatened to fire staff if they couldn’t make ‘Grindin’ a hit. Within weeks, Clipse cracked the Top 30 and reached #10 by the summer of 2002. Fresh off being dropped by their record label, Clipse had something to prove. ‘Grindin’ became the defining single of their career and one of the greatest East Coast rap/Neptunes inventions of all time. Tracy Kawalik

Clipse – Gangsta Lean

Plucked from Clipse’s major label debut, ‘Gangsta Lean’ locks into the core production elements of The Neptunes. Kicking off with a brisk, strumming reprise, the song launches into off-kilter drum patterns and garish string sections. A playful approach to time signatures the instrumentation is all DIY swagger, contrasting with Pusha-T and No Malice’s venomous rhymes. Often vocalising on Neptunes’ productions, Pharrell delivered a stellar earworm hook, injecting levity into a hard-as-nails anthem. Ana Lamond

Nelly – Hot In Herre 

A certified hit in the Pharrell/Neptunes catalog, ‘Hot In Herre’ made Nelly the inaugural winner of the Best Male Rap Solo Performance Grammy Award and was the rapper’s first Billboard Hot 100 chart topper. Inveterate archivists of funk, Pharrell and Chad reconfigured ‘Bustin’ Loose’ by the Godfather Go-Go, Chuck Brown, mirroring the call and response of the original whilst amplifying a syncopated rhythm that courses like currents through bathed-in-sweat bodies in perpetual motion. Shahzaib Hussain 

Snoop Doog – Beautiful 

Snoop Dogg’s ‘Beautiful’ is arguably one of The Neptunes most significant contributions to their catalog, earning them the Grammy for Producer of the Year in 2004. Featuring vocals from Charlie Wilson, the song reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the Rap Songs chart, charioting the ability to marry samba with hip-hop. ‘Beautiful’ is an effortlessly feel-good and infectiously bouncy love song. The track has become synonymous with its Brazil-based visual, as Snoop and Pharrell famously rap upon Rio’s iconic Lapa Steps. Jazmin Kylene

Pharrell, Jay-Z – Frontin’

‘Frontin’ was a delicate primer for Pharrell the solo artist. Released three years before his seminal album ‘In My Mind’, the track was originally written for Prince and even after its release, Pharrell was still insistent he’d remain behind the scenes as a producer. With all the elements of a classic Neptunes production, Pharrell’s soulful vocals are laid over a lo-fi drum beat with smooth bass and a brief interlude from Jay Z. The instrumental is characteristically pared-back, allowing Pharrell to flex as a leading man. Sabrina Soormally

Justin Timberlake – Like I Love You 

Arguably the greatest solo debut of any ex-boyband-member, ‘Like I Love You’ catapulted Justin Timberlake to one of the decade’s brightest stars. The first of many ‘Justified’ tracks co-written and produced by Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, ‘Like I Love You’ was the quintessential The Neptunes: soulful lyrics and a soft harmony laboured over a funk-like-rhythm with acoustic guitars, live drums and rock-inspired beats. Sexy and slick with a darker lyrical and vocal edge, the track picked up immediately where ‘Girlfriend’ left off, further cementing Timberlake not only as a cross-genre superstar, but as one of The Neptunes’ biggest successes. Sabrina Soormally

Justin Timberlake – Last Night

Released over two decades ago, there’s a timeless charm that exudes throughout Timberlake’s debut solo effort ‘Justified’. Among its hit parade tracklist, ‘Last Night’ struts into the spotlight with an effortless cool – a pining deep cut that speaks to limbo-state romances. A fusion of Spanish guitar plucks and atmospheric synth work, Pharrell illuminates JT’s aching delivery with twinkling production flourishes. The result is a slick, addictive listen, a testament to The Neptunes’ crossover impact on modern R&B. Ana Lamond

Kelis – Milkshake

Described by MTV News as “sexy, euphemistic playground rap”, ‘Milkshake’ is an undeniable Neptunes classic. A sexy, low-slung track with dance and funk idiosyncrasies, at its core ‘Milkshake’ is still remarkably austere. Forgoing a classic drum machine, Pharrell and Chad Hugo opted for a single darbuka playing a heavy 808 beat reminiscent of a belly dancing rhythm throughout. The risqué lead single from Kelis’ third studio album ‘Tasty’ paved the way for an era of minimalist, hybrid hip-hop tracks. Sabrina Soormally

Gwen Stefani – Hollaback Girl

2024 is the year we remembered Gwen Stefani was really that girl. From the return of No Doubt at this year’s edition of Coachella, to a no-notes interpolation of ‘What You Waiting For’ from Megan Thee Stallion, the pop star has celebrated twenty years of her seminal album ‘Love.Angel.Music.Baby’ in style. Perhaps her biggest solo creation, ‘Hollaback Girl’ was a tongue-in-cheek riposte to Courtney Love, who likened the singer to a cheerleader. Chad and Pharrell mirrored the icon’s chaotic, clap-back energy with a full-force marching band. Easily one of their most ambitious productions to date. Ana Lamond

Snoop Dogg, Pharrell Williams – Drop It Like It’s Hot

Exactly two decades ago, The King of aloof rap Snoop Dogg and Pharrell tongue clicked and glided over the sparest of spare, static-like beats. A first time Billboard Hot 100 number one for both Snoop and Pharrell, and as much a runway hit internationally as it was in the states, ‘Drop It Like It’s Hot’ birthed a generation of nascent beatmakers, bewitched by a placid groove seemingly conjured from thin air. Shahzaib Hussain

Snoop Dogg, Pharrell Williams – Let’s Get Blown

Infectiously groovy, there’s a heat that churns in the body anytime Snoop Dogg’s ‘Let’s Get Blown’ comes on. Featuring uncredited vocals from Keyshia Cole and sampling Slave’s ‘Watching You’, The Neptunes were nominated for the Producer of the Year 2005 Grammy for composing this record. While Williams and Hugo are known for bringing the best out of their frequent collaborators, their partnership with Snoop stands as one of their most fruitful. Jazmin Kylene

Mariah Carey, Snoop Dogg – Say Somethin‘

A sensual departure from ballads, ‘The Emancipation of Mimi’ proved Mariah Carey’s ability to master the RnB and pop realm alike. Opening with their signature four count, ‘Say Somethin’ saw Hugo and Williams take majority of writing credits over an intergalactic Neptunes’ production. The song mined diamonds out of Carey’s discomfort trying on a new sound. In an interview with Newsweek, Carey noted, “It is a totally different approach for me musically. When I heard it at first I thought it was a cool and interesting track, but I didn’t know if it was very me.” She outed lines like ”Something like volcanic / You and me seems organic / Just like stars and planets” as “nonsense,” but claimed, in the end, she “loved it.” Jazmin Kylene

Beyoncé – Kitty Kat

Writing her ultimate break-up mantra, The Neptunes join Beyoncé for an expensive, feel-good gem taken from 2006’s ‘B’Day’. Queen Bey’s syrupy tone comes to life here as she berates a despondent lover, shifting gears between tag-team harmonies, breathy hooks and a rap-sung crescendo. A treasured deep cut for the Bey loyalists, there’s beauty in the subtlety of ‘Kitty Kat’ – a low-key production that gently swells and sways. Ana Lamond

Solange – I Decided, Part 1

Beyoncé isn’t the only Knowles who has cultivated palpable musical chemistry with Pharrell. Solange brought him on board for her 2008 studio album ‘Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams’, co-writing and producing the project’s lead single, ‘I Decided’. Sampling ’60s classics by The Supremes and Martha and the Vandellas, the groove-infused track is timeless. It was also a commercial success, landing number one on several US Billboard Hot Singles charts. Though the two would go on to make a mosaic of music together during the ascension of Solange’s career, ‘I Decided’ marks a very nostalgic beginning. Jazmin Kylene

Sade – By Your Side (Neptunes Remix)

The lead single from the group’s fifth album ‘Lovers Rock’ is the chamber pop meets soft rock synthesis that continues to endure as the eternal love song. Yarns of dewy-eyed devotion might have been too direct or lachrymose when spun by lesser musicians, but Sade were no ordinary band. Initially a mild hit, years on ‘By Your Side’ has revivalist appeal: it’s a wedding-song staple, and has been covered and reinterpreted by Bon Iver, Kanye West and The 1975. But its The Neptunes and their turn-of-the-millennia remix – which would later be remastered and included on the double-disc standard ‘The Ultimate Collection’ – that took the original to hypnagogic heights with its counterpoised harmonics, airy chord progressions, hums of flute and of course, those spacey synths. Quotidian love made mythic. Shahzaib Hussain

Mac Miller – Objects In The Mirror

Pharrell produced a significant amount of the late Mac Miller’s ‘Watching Movies With The Sound Off’, though ‘Objects In The Mirror’ is a work of art beyond all measure. It’s one of Miller’s most raw pieces, as Pharrell provides a euphoric landscape for Miller to shed his demons. “I wish you caught me on a different day, when it was happier to be happy” centres Miller’s suffering while floating on Pharrell’s immersive soul-jazz chords. “Can you please just play me some nice jazz bro,” Miller recalled saying to Pharrell, who apparently created the instrumental in one sitting. “He sat down and made that beat in like 20 minutes and went home,” said Mac, “and I stayed there all night and made the record.” Jazmin Kylene

Earl Sweatshirt, Vince Staples – Burgundy

Stepping out of their core group of collaborators, ‘Burgundy’ proved an off-piste venture between two generations of rap mavericks. Through its clownish horns, crashing drum sections and abrupt vocal snippets, the track proved a defining moment on Earl Sweatshirt’s debut album ‘Doris’, illustrating the slump of keeping up a rap career amidst personal struggles. Joined by a zippy Vince Staples, ‘Burgundy’ was released when Odd Future were at their anarchic prime. Ana Lamond 

Beyoncé – Blow

While Beyoncé’s self-titled album singlehandedly changed the shape of the industry at large, many are unaware of the fact that ‘Blow’ was supposed to be the album’s second lead single after ‘Drunk in Love’, getting scrapped for ‘XO’. However, for true fans of the project, there’s consensus that ‘Blow’ is the project’s most sonically ambitious track. Written and co-produced alongside Justin Timberlake, Timbaland, and James Fauntleroy, ‘Blow’ showcases one of Pharrell’s most slept-on party tricks: creating two distinct songs in one that somehow both compete and complete one another. While part one of ‘Blow’ is a hypnotizing disco-influenced allure, part two, affectionately known as ‘Cherry’, leans more into funk and R&B. It’s raunchy yet classy, a flirty electro-funk ode to the pleasures of Cunnilingus. Jazmin Kylene

Kendrick Lamar – Alright 

It’s the summer of 2015. Amid surging police brutality and systemic injustice across America, Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Alright’ emerged as an anthem of resistance – a battle cry chanted by thousands during the Black Lives Matter movement. The track opens with a nod to Alice Walker’s The Color Purple and the iconic line, “Alls my life, I had to fight.” Pharrell’s disembodied vocals create the hypnotic “dah, dah, dahs” that pulse through the veins of the marching beat, building to the unifying hook: “We gon’ be alright.”

Kendrick sat on Pharrell’s beat for six months before he worked out his soul-stirring bars. Eventually, he was inspired to write the lyrics after witnessing the hardships in South Africa. Speaking to NPR in 2015, Kendrick proclaimed: “Four hundred years ago, as slaves, we prayed and sang joyful songs to keep our heads level-headed with what was going on. Four hundred years later, we still need that music to heal. And I think that ‘Alright’ is definitely one of those records that makes you feel good no matter what the times are.” Tracy Kawalik

Migos – Stir Fry

Lifted from Migos’ quintessential project series ‘Culture II’, ‘Stir Fry’ was a victory lap for Atlanta rap and the creative peak for the trio. Originally produced for T.I. in 2008, each element jigs and shuffles under the spotlight, a quirky ensemble of ticking snares, swirling synths and practice-hour whistle samples. Working in total synergy with each verse and hook, ‘Stir Fry’ evolves into an infectious, somewhat unconventional, club banger. It’s no wonder it stands as one of their most streamed works to date. Ana Lamond

Ariana Grande – R.E.M

Pharrell’s production informed most of Ariana Grande’s 2018 album ‘Sweetener’, though ‘R.E.M’ most notably stands out as a pop triumph. An endless loop of lust and daze, while the entire album was an experimental playground for Grande, she was seemingly most at home here. The track’s original demo, sung by Beyoncé, has cultivated a fandom of its own, though Grande’s rendition arguably offers a unique spark. So much so that the singer named her beauty care line after the single. Jazmin Kylene

Solange – Almeda 

An undisputed highlight from Solange’s ever-expanding catalogue, ‘Almeda’ sees the non-conformist combine with Pharrell once more, this time with a Playboi Carti assist. Beyond the affirmational power of Solange’s words, it’s the drum programming that is noteworthy here: the snares and percussion jolts and stutters, a lofty foundation for Solange’s slo-mo Southern rap cadence to incandescently communicate a love for her Houstonian roots. Ana Lamond

Rosalía – Motomami

Pharrell took the lead in producing several songs on Rosalía’s third studio album ‘Motomami’, a project that showcased the depth of her ability to appeal to audiences beyond her Catalan origins. Shedding through rebirth as she battled sudden fame and homesickness, Pharrell aided Rosalía in declaring her new iteration of self through a brash sonic landscape. While ‘Hentai’ offered up a more focused display of Rosalía’s malleable vocals, ‘Motomami’ is a Japanese-influenced minefield. A brute yet feminine anthem of sovereignty, the title track is named after her mother, Pilar Tobella, who used to ride Rosalía around town on a motorcycle. Jazmin Kylene

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Photography: Yann Faucher