The Neptunes | Platinum Soundsets

Pharrell Of The Neptunes

Pharrell Williams was a versatile personality who was born on April 5, 1973. He is an American singer, producer, rapper, entrepreneur, songwriter and a skateboarder. He was is now made famous by his infectious ability to make beats that would rock the listeners. He is one of the producers among the duo that comprise The Neptunes. The other partner of Pharrell is Chad Hugo along with whom; Pharrell produces hip-hop, pop and R&B music. Pharrell is also the lead singer and the main drummer of the funk-rock band N*E*R*D. His first debut single was in the year 2003 with the song "Frontin". Later he followed it up with a debut album, "In My Mind" in the year 2006. Pharrell was famous for his skills of singing in a falsetto voice and his ability to play both the drums and the keyboard. Pharrell's work in Neptunes won him three Grammy awards. Pharrell wrote verse for the hit "Rump Shaker" in 1992 and in 1994, Hugo and Pharrell co-produced the "Tonight's the Night" under the Neptune banner. In the year 2001, The Neptunes produced Britney Spears' single song "I'm a slave 4 U". This led them to their first worldwide recognition. In the same year Hugo, Pharrell and Haley released their debut album as N*E*R*D. However, they rerecorded their previous productions with the "Spymob" band, which is a funk-rock band. In the year 2002, the Neptunes' reproduced album was released worldwide with Neptunes getting the recognition as the "Producers of the year" at the Billboard Music award and The Source Award.

Pharrell recently composed the "Why Should I Be Sad" based on Britney Spears latest album "Blackout". In the year 2008, he collaborated with Teriyaki Boyz for a nouvel single by the name "ZOCK ON!" that features Busta Rhymes.

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Why Do You Need New Sound Samples?

Have you ever noticed if you use the same sound samples that after a while your beats start to sound very similar. This is a very common problem with producers. Keeping a fresh source of sound samples is a must for anyone who makes beats - no matter what type of music you produce.

If you listen closely, you'll hear the super producers changing their sound samples every once and a while. For example, many of the beats the neptunes were doing started to really sound the same. Check out the drum sounds used in the following songs:

Ray Jay - "Formal invite"

Usher - "You don't have to call"

Kelis - "Get along with you"

Jadakiss - "Knock yourself out"

These are just a few examples of songs with really similar drum kit sound samples. But you'll notice that the sounds have changed considerably in more recent songs like:

Nelly - "Hot in herr"

Snoop Dogg - "Drop it like it's hot"

Neptunes aren't the only producers to do this, you can find the same trend in any major producer. Check out some of Timbaland's earlier work and you'll here the same prominent snare used over and over. But you don't hear it that often in tracks like Omarion - "Ice box".

I believe this is what really defines a super producer. We all fall in love with certain sounds that go together. This is a natural occurrence as a producer. But super producers will keep coming out with new sound samples and redevelop their signature sound over and over.

Look at what's happening to Lil Jon. His signature synthesizer and club claps and kicks were used in at least a dozen songs, but now you don't really hear anything from him. I don't want to classify Lil Jon as a super producer or not, but I guarantee that if Lil Jon doesn't come out with new sounds to define his beats that he'll be a nobody in no time.