Pharrell Williams has been hit with a fresh lawsuit by his former Neptunes collaborator Chad Hugo, and the allegations center on serious claims of financial misconduct.
According to a complaint, Hugo filed the lawsuit in federal court in California on Friday (Jan. 23). In the filing, Hugo describes himself as the Neptunes’ “principal composer, arranger, multi-instrumentalist, and producer responsible for programming, instrumentation, and overall sound design.” He alleges that Williams withheld money owed to him and failed to provide accurate accounting of the company’s finances.
Hugo and Williams first crossed paths in Virginia Beach in the late 1980s and, according to the lawsuit, officially began working together as the Neptunes in the early 1990s. The duo went on to produce a long list of hits and later formed the group N.E.R.D. alongside third member Sheldon “Shay” Haley.
At the center of Hugo’s dispute with Pharrell is N.E.R.D. Music, LLC, a company they established in 2014. The lawsuit claims Williams was solely responsible for handling and sharing details related to income, expenses, royalties, and other financial matters, but failed to meet those obligations. Under the company’s agreement, Williams receives 50 percent of revenue from “touring and other income,” while Hugo and Haley each receive 25 percent. Income from “merchandising and trademark” deals is split evenly among all three.
Hugo says he has been requesting access to the company’s financial records since 2021, with little to no cooperation from Williams. He claims that he “has not received his appropriate share of royalties in connection with The Neptunes and N.E.R.D.’s album sales and released music, as well as distributions from touring income, and various merchandising deals.” He also alleges that “a significant number of songs are missing from [Hugo’s] label portals and SoundExchange portals indicating that Plaintiff has not received the royalties he is entitled to.”
As a specific example, Hugo estimates he is owed at least $325,000—and possibly more than $1,000,000—from N.E.R.D.’s 2017 album No One Ever Really Dies alone.
This lawsuit follows a previous legal dispute between the former partners. In 2024, Hugo accused Williams of trying to “fraudulently” claim sole ownership of the rights to the Neptunes name.
