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Pharrell trying to 'erase' Chad Hugo from Neptunes, Hugo claims

Story by Nancy Dillon

Pharrell Trying to 'Erase' Chad Hugo from Neptunes, Hugo Claims

The Neptunes' Chad Hugo is pushing back against an effort by his estranged production partner, Pharrell Williams, to dismiss his copyright infringement lawsuit, accusing Williams of trying to erase his contributions to one of hip-hop's most influential duos.

In a new court filing, Hugo and his lawyer, Brent Lehman, dispute Williams' contention that the lawsuit identifies only one song at issue. Instead, Hugo says the case encompasses a much broader body of work stemming from compositions the two created during nearly 50 studio sessions between 2019 and 2021. He argues that Williams and his affiliated companies, record labels, and publishers control the records needed to identify how those compositions were ultimately released.