Pharrell and Snoop Dogg (file)
Photo: Capitol

If Snoop Dogg were a baseball player, he'd have a genuine dilemma on his hands trying to decide which hat to wear into the hall of fame. After launching his career with Dr. Dre and Death Row Records, Snoop has barnstormed from one home to another, crafting his own inimitable legend along the way.

Now Snoop has a new place to hang his hat for his upcoming solo album: the Neptunes' label, Star Trak. Snoop has signed a deal with the hitmaking producers' imprint, according to the team's Chad Hugo. "We're trying to bring him back to Chronic-era Snoop," Hugo said, referring to the 1992 Dr. Dre album on which Snoop made his debut.

In the recent record-business reshuffling, Star Trak left its original home, Arista, for industry powerhouse Interscope/Geffen/A&M Records, which already houses artists like Eminem, Dr. Dre and 50 Cent (see "House That Pharrell Williams, Chad Hugo Built To Undergo Big Overhaul"). Snoop’s new deal is a joint venture between Geffen, Star Trak and Snoop’s own Doggystyle imprint.

Snoop's yet-untitled next album is due by the end of the year. It will be one of the first two albums the Neptunes release through their new Star Trak partnership. The other is the major-label debut from Houston rapper Slim Thug.

Snoop left Death Row Records in 1997, at the end of a turbulent run for the label that saw the defection of co-founder Dr. Dre, the death of Tupac and the indictment of owner Suge Knight on federal racketeering charges. In 1998, Snoop latched onto Master P's No Limit Records for his next two albums. Two years later he inked directly with Priority Records, the onetime home of gangsta-rap progenitors N.W.A — the group with which Dre made his name. While on Priority, Snoop scored a hit with his most recent Neptunes collaboration, "Beautiful," which offers a softer and less contrived image for the hip-hop icon.

Confused? Here's a brief history of Snoop's tour of duty:

Era: G-Funk
Label: Death Row
Albums: Doggystyle (1993), Tha Doggfather (1996)
Snoop as: Young, gifted and laid-back. Snoop liked girls, homies and house parties.

Era: No Limit Soldier
Label: No Limit
Albums: Da Game Is to Be Sold, Not to Be Told (1998), No Limit Top Dogg (1999)
Snoop as: Gangsta. Tried out the role of smooth-talkin' hustler while getting down with Master P's camp.

Era: Da Pimp
Label: Priority
Album: Tha Last Meal (2000), Paid Tha Cost to Be Da Bo$$ (2002)
Snoop as: Ballerific pimp who loved his women and his power.

• Snoop Dogg
• The Neptunes (Hip-Hop)

Pharrell Williams (file)
Photo: MTV News

Just as fans have come to accept Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo as producers under the guise of the Neptunes, and as a part of a freestyle rock band called N.E.R.D., they may have to get used to an entirely new identity for the songwriting tandem.

Pharrell recently implied that the moniker they've made famous with innumerable hits for the likes of Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z and Britney Spears might be changing.

"We can't really talk about it because you're going into a land of, um, yet-to-be-determined information," he said in typically evasive fashion.

Pharrell was asked about the two songs he and Chad recently produced for Gwen Stefani's upcoming solo debut (see "Gwen Stefani Warns, 'Watch Out' For Solo LP, Summer Single"). "Yes, we did work with her, but no, it wasn't the Neptunes," he tried to explain. "Yes, it was Pharrell and Chad. There were no other producers there, but it wasn't the Neptunes."

When pressed further, Pharrell stressed, "It's not the name, it's the music [that matters]. You appreciate the respect you get from the name and the connotation behind the name, but where did the connotation come from? The music. And that's what's most important to us. That's why the Neptunes didn't work with Gwen Stefani. Pharrell and Chad did. But under some other pretenses? I don't know. It was definitely all about the exploration of sound, though. The exploration of sound. The exploration of sound."

In a more tangible way, Pharrell, Chad and their old friend, Shay, certainly alter their sound on N.E.R.D.'s Fly or Die album. Due March 23, the group's second effort takes on the distinctive feel of 1970s-style pop-rock in the vein of Steely Dan, E.L.O. and Hall & Oates — with punk attitude, hip-hop bravado and a touch of schmaltzy ballads.

"It's like a playground for us," Chad said. "We're not really trying to be anything. We're not really rock or hip-hop. We don't want to be labeled. Just making music we feel. Hip-hop and classic rock. Everything from every musical genre interpreted our own way."

Added Pharrell, "We don't expect to sell tons of records with this. We mainly just made this record for us and all the people we run with — the underdogs."

Many of the songs on Fly or Die deal with issues that face adolescents — rebellion, parental pressure, life decisions. Pharrell agreed it was an undercurrent of the album.

"It's important to just express yourself and not necessarily point the finger and preach," he said. "That's the problem with the relationships between kids and parents. Sometimes a kid just wants to be shown and not preached to and parents have to understand that. There's a lot of outlets for kids that weren't there for you when you were children. These days, kids don't have to turn to drugs when they don't want to listen to their parents — there's so many things, and we're just trying to make the parents and the kids all at once aware that life is precious."

One song, "Chariot of Fire," is about a teenage fan named Mildred, who Pharrell said is the group's most ardent supporter. She was diagnosed with cancer, and Pharrell wrote the song for her as a tribute. He promised her he wouldn't say her name but slips between calling her "Mildred" and "Music" within the song's lyrics. Since they wrote the song, her cancer has been in remission, Pharrell said.

Meanwhile, N.E.R.D. are leaning toward the song "Breakout" as the next single.

Track list for Fly or Die, according to a Virgin spokesperson:

• "Don't Worry 'Bout It"
• "Fly or Die"
• "Jump"
• "Backseat Love"
• "She Wants to Move"
• "Breakout"
• "A Wonderful Place"
• "I Was Waiting for You"
• "Drill Sergeant"
• "Thrasher"
• "Maybe"
• "The Way She Dances"
• "Chariot of Fire"

• The Neptunes (Hip-Hop)

Jadakiss (file)
Photo: Interscope

To twist Ice Cube's words, "It must be a another single with Nate Dogg singing on it." Jadakiss is leaning toward releasing "Time Up's," featuring Nate, as the first single from his upcoming Kiss of Death, according to an Interscope spokesperson.

On the track, producer Scott Storch pours the bass on as heavily as Boss Hogg did the barbecue sauce on a bucket of pig's feet. Over the rough soundscape, the stoic vocalist levies harmonious warnings. "The time to talk is up, so bring the heat/ Your time is over," he sings. Meanwhile, Jada weighs in with his own set of threats and droll punch lines like when he raps about being "in the 'hood like a bootleg movie" while others run their mouths like a "bootleg Uzi." "All you shootin' is the breeze," he charges.

Although the guest list is considerably shorter for Kiss of Death than it was for Jada's last LP, 2001's Kiss Tha Game Goodbye, the LOX's stocky master of slick talk isn't hurting for impactful cameos.

"Hot Sauce" is another bass-infested stomper, with an instrumental devised by the Neptunes. Pharrell Williams brings back more brazen booty talk, telling a honey that she could probably "stink up the room with that big ol' ass." Jada gets in on the crooning for a short stint, singing an excerpt from Roger Troutman's "I Wanna Be Your Man" to start the record off. Kiss later raps, "Honey looks hotter than hot sauce," and he then tells her to "lock me up, hold onto the key."

In reality, Kiss of Death doesn't find Jada constrained to his much beloved rhyme MO of guns, drugs, shaking off snitches and dealing with 'hood rats and models. Kiss shows evolution, reflecting on life, trying to give hope and leaving the listener with a message.

The simply titled "Why," featuring Anthony Hamilton on the hook, may be his most poignant and honest record to date. Jada candidly questions societal and historical downfalls, misfortunes and shockers. "Mr. Raspy" sounds like he could be talking to God or one his homies in his Yonkers stomping ground.

He broaches such topics as California letting "the Terminator win the election," Aaliyah's plane crash, Denzel Washington not winning a best actor Academy Award until he played a crooked cop, the debilitating effect on the community and his own lack of record sales. "Still Feel Me" gives insight to Jadakiss' alter ego, Jason Phillips, and he speaks with candor about family problems and being robbed of $100,000.

There's no problems with Jada's musically bonded brothers. Fellow LOX members Styles and Sheek both appear on the LP. Styles graces the deadly Red Spyda-produced title track, and he and Jada exchange their in-and-out flow of lyrics on "Written in the Stars," while Sheek enters the opus via "Real Hip-Hop."

Kanye West and Swizz Beatz are among the other contributors already aboard the project, and there's a chance Jada may lure vocals from Beyoncé or City High's Claudette Ortiz before he wraps production for good. Kiss of Death is due June 1.

• Jadakiss
• Nate Dogg
• The Neptunes (Hip-Hop)
• Kanye West

Neptunes' Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo (file)
Photo: MTV News

The Neptunes formed Star Trak Records three years ago in order to unify their artist discoveries under one sensational roof. But the house Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo built will undergo a significant overhaul.

Sources close to the Neptunes confirm that the hit-making production tandem are negotiating Star Trak's split with Arista Records, its parent company since Star Trak's 2001 inception. The Clipse, Kelis, Rosco P. Coldchain and other artists were signed to Arista through Star Trak. With the split, however, the Neptunes will have to divide their roster and leave some of them behind (see "Need A Neptunes Beat? You Might Have To Wait Awhile").

The division's terms are still being negotiated, but sources said Kelis will likely stay with Arista; rap duo Clipse will move to Arista sibling label Jive Records; and Rosco P. Coldchain, rock band the High Speed Scene and singer Vanessa Marquez will follow the Neptunes to their new home within the Universal Records family. Virginia rapper Fam-Lay is already being released by Star Trak through Universal label Def Jam.

The Neptunes discovered Kelis in 1998. In recent interviews, though, she has criticized the producers' ability to balance their music and business. The Clipse, another act nurtured by Pharrell and Chad, will soon release their Neptunes-produced sophomore album, Hell Hath No Fury (see "Clipse Take R. Kelly Out Of His Element And Into Hell") in the spring.

While the Neptunes will still have a hand in producing their artists, even those on other labels, they probably won't have as much say over their marketing and presentation as they would have previously.

• The Neptunes (Hip-Hop)
• Pharrell Williams

A thousand pairs of Pharrell Williams-designed Nike shoes sold out of select stores in New York and Los Angeles over the weekend. The limited-edition kicks are part of a series of Nike commissions from artists in different creative media. The Neptune reworked the classic black Nike "Dunk Hi" shoes, fitting them with black leather and a N.E.R.D. brain logo on the side. At New York's Niketown, people began lining up on Friday at 7 a.m. to purchase the sneakers, 26 hours before they went on sale. All proceeds from Pharrell's shoe go to Goodwill's Good Books program, which provides free books to kids. Graffiti artist ESPO and actress Halle Berry also designed shoes that went on sale over the weekend. ...

Kinks singer Ray Davies was shot in the right thigh Sunday in New Orleans while chasing two men who allegedly stole his female companion's purse at gunpoint. Davies was admitted to the Medical Center of Louisiana, but his injuries were not considered serious, according to wire-service reports. One arrest has been made. ... Ten days after allegedly assaulting a Phoenix post-office security guard, who then shot him, former Meat Puppets bassist Cris Kirkwood remains in custody. Federal judge Virginia Mathis denied him bail, ruling that the 43-year-old rocker, who's been charged with one count of assault with a dangerous weapon at a federal facility and faces 10 years in prison, is a flight risk and a danger to others. The post-office incident stemmed from an argument Kirkwood had with a woman over a parking spot. ...

Courtney Love takes on her public image in the surrealistic video for her new single, "Mono." According to the treatment for the clip, which is being helmed by director Chris Milk (Chemical Brothers' "Golden Path"), Love appears as a Sleeping Beauty-like character awakened by fairies and flashbulbs, only to then be immediately on the run, chased by a mob of zombie-like paparazzi, pepper-spraying rent-a-cops, police officers and bodyguards. Not that some of this isn't without cause — Love wreaks havoc in her wake, demolishing a Christmas-tree lot, a phone booth, a Wal-Mart store and suburban homes in the pursuit. During the chase, Love is aided by a half dozen heavily armed pre-teen beauty queens, which helps blur the line between victims and villains. ... Ozzy Osbourne claims he died twice after an ATV accident last month broke eight of his ribs, his collarbone and a neck vertebra, and twice caused him to stop breathing. The 55-year-old rocker credits his new lease on life to his bodyguard Sam Ruston, who returned him from the brink of death with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. The crash occurred December 8 at Ozzy's estate in Buckinghamshire, England, when the four-wheeled vehicle he was riding flipped over on him. He spent the next eight days in a coma. ...

The world's largest music conglomerate, the Universal Music Group, and the entrepreneurs behind the Vivid Video porn empire are attempting to launch their own music-minded cable network, according to the Los Angeles Times. Called 1 AM, an abbreviation for "First Amendment," the channel promises to air uncut videos and uncensored content. The Endeavor talent agency and Eminem's Shady Records reportedly also have a small stake in the venture, which may begin broadcasting in July. ... Industrial metal pioneers Ministry have entered a Texas studio to record their next album, Houses of the Molé. The title of the album, scheduled to drop in spring, is a play on the name of Led Zeppelin's 1973 LP, Houses of the Holy. ...

Taking Back Sunday, a mainstage act on this summer's Warped Tour, are in a Long Island, New York, studio working on their follow-up to 2002's Tell All Your Friends. The emocore quintet's second album will be the first to feature new bassist Matt Rubano and guitarist Fred Mascherino. The latter is scheduled to make a guest appearance with his former band Breaking Pangaea on Friday at Philadelphia's First Unitarian Church. ... Wu-Tang Clan affiliate Killah Priest should be busy behind his pulpit in the new year. Besides working on his fifth solo LP, which he hopes to begin recording next month, the rapper plans to work on full-length albums with his groups Black Market, which features Tragedy Khadafi, and the Four Horsemen, with Kurupt, Ras Kass and Canibus. On Friday, he plans to join the Wu-Tang's RZA at a show in Chicago. ...

Rick Van Santen, one of the cofounders of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and an influential Southern California concert promoter, died December 28 of flu-related complications. As co-president of Goldenvoice, Van Santen was best known for bringing punk shows to respectable venues. He was 41. ... RAM Squad rapper John "Tommy Hill" Wilson, who was arrested on December 23 on cocaine charges, was denied a lower bail by a Philadelphia Municipal Court Judge on Wednesday. Prosecutors showed that Wilson had maintained several different aliases and addresses and the judge agreed Wilson posed a flight risk. Bail was kept at $145,000. ...

12.31.03

After being arrested for felony assault with a deadly weapon with intent to do bodily harm Tuesday morning, Meat Puppets bassist Cris Kirkwood remains in FBI custody. He appeared in court on Tuesday in a wheelchair, wearing a hospital gown. On Friday, Kirkwood allegedly assaulted a security guard who intervened in an argument he was having with a woman outside a post office in Phoenix. At his detention hearing, the prosecution is expected to ask that he remain behind bars until his trial. ...

A new version of the video for Limp Bizkit's "Behind Blue Eyes" is expected to replace the original, Halle Berry-featured clip. The performance-based video was shot by frontman Fred Durst's brother Cory during the Back 2 Basics Tour in November. On the band's Web site, Durst said the video was "dedicated to everyone who's supported us through the good times, the rough times and all the real times." ... For its seventh annual Christmas present, the Nirvana fan club (www.nirvanaclub.com) has posted audio recordings of the band's first show, which took place at a house party in March 1987 in Raymond, Washington. Among the nine songs are "Spank Thru," "Aero Zeppelin" and a cover of Led Zeppelin's "Heartbreaker." ...

Pop singer Natalie Imbruglia and Silverchair frontman Daniel Johns were married Wednesday (December 31) in a private ceremony in a secluded tropical location in Australia. The couple were engaged earlier this year. ... A 22-year-old man was arrested Tuesday in connection with the death of New Orleans rapper Soulja Slim, who was shot multiple times in November. Police charged Garelle Smith with first-degree murder. ...

David Banner is launching a line of jerseys emblazoned with the number 55 to honor Emmett Till, a Mississippi teen who was murdered in 1955 by two white men (who were later acquitted by an all-white jury) for whistling at a white woman. The line is due in the summer. ... Missy Elliott, Mary J. Blige and Anthony Hamilton are among the first artists confirmed for the 10th annual Essence Music Festival at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans. Gladys Knight, the O'Jays, Maze featuring Frankie Beverly, Kenny Lattimore, Chanté Moore, the Ohio Players, Freddie Jackson and Sinbad will also perform at the event, scheduled for July 2-4. ...

Puddle of Mudd, who will perform on FOX's New Year's Eve special in Las Vegas, have been using their holiday vacation as recovery time. Singer Wes Scantlin came down with bronchitis earlier in December and guitarist Paul Philips broke his right index finger. "For some reason, I thought I could jump off stage and fly," he wrote on the band's Web site. "Well, I couldn't." ... Papa Roach are about to begin mixing their fourth full-length studio album, which will be called either Dancing in the Ashes or Getting Away With Murder, according to a posting on the group's Web site. Meanwhile, frontman Jacoby Shaddix is also gearing up to record Seven Deadly Songs (set for release on Papa Roach's El Tonal imprint) with his side project Fight the Sky, which the singer described as "just straight metal hardcore, all screamy and sh--." ...

Russell Simmons and his older brother Danny Simmons have teamed with the nonprofit job-placement organization Strive to create the Simmons Brothers Art Scholarship for prisoners incarcerated under the Rockefeller Drug Laws to attend City College of New York. Danny served time under the controversial laws, which mandate prison terms for people caught with a relatively small amount of drugs. ... Damien Rice has scheduled his most ambitious North American tour yet in support of his Shortlist Music Prize-winning album, O. The outing begins March 23 in Boulder, Colorado, and ends April 29 in St. Louis. ...

• The Neptunes (Hip-Hop)
• The Kinks
• Ray Davies
• Courtney Love
• Eminem

Pharrell Williams
Photo: MTV News

BEVERLY HILLS, California — The Neptunes like to keep a superstar or two on their agenda, so who's next for the ubiquitous production duo?

"Hi, J. Lo," Pharrell Williams said Thursday, smiling for an MTV News camera. "That's all I can say."

Good enough.

Fortunately, the hitmaker had a lot more to say about his six Grammy nominations (see "Jay-Z, Beyonce, Outkast, Pharrell Nab Most Grammy Nominations") — six more than he had last year (see "The Only Thing The Neptunes Can't Produce Is A Grammy").

"It's crazy, it's crazy," said Williams. "Who doesn't remember Michael Jackson at the Grammys? Who doesn't remember Lauryn Hill on the Grammys? Who doesn't remember Norah Jones? ... Those were incredible moments, and you never forget that as a kid 'cause you get to see your favorite artists, and nowadays [artists] come onstage and just do something that's very different from performing. You get to see their personalities, what they are really thankful for. ... It's great."

Williams, who also had a hand in producing several Grammy-nominated songs and albums by the likes of Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z, is especially happy to see hip-hop and R&B so strongly recognized, although he doesn't expect it to last.

"Everything happens in cycles," he said. "I mean, rock and roll will definitely come back and tower over hip-hop. And then hip-hop will come back and tower over that. You'll see country music rise in a few years — if not sooner, 'cause I've got a [country] artist named Christie Carter who is incredible. It happens and it's always happened since the history of the Grammys. It just rotates. Something becomes hot, and something else cools down."

Williams' forecast of a rock and roll renaissance may explain the Neptunes' latest project, Gwen Stefani's solo album (see "Gwen Stefani Turns To Bandmate For Aid After Freak-Out").

"Gwen is a monster; she's beautiful to look at, but in here she is a monster," Williams said, pointing to his heart. "We like to go in different directions, me and [Neptunes production partner] Chad [Hugo], and Gwen is totally with that."

Before Stefani's record is released, the Neptunes will put out a little rock music of their own, with N.E.R.D.'s second album, Fly or Die, due in March (see "Need A Neptunes Beat? You Might Have To Wait Awhile").

"I named it after one of our biggest fans," Williams said. "Her name is Mildred and she has cancer, and the only choice that she has with her spirit is to keep on pushing, to fly or die. And the only thing we [can do] is to find a cure for it."

• Pharrell Williams
• The Neptunes (Hip-Hop)
• Jennifer Lopez

Jay-Z and Beyoncé
Photo: Newscom

Will Jay-Z continue his boycott of the Grammys, now that he and the Bonnie to his Clyde are among the top nominees?

After years of undervaluing hip-hop and R&B at the Grammy Awards — the reason Jay stayed away from the proceedings — the Recording Academy has pulled an about-face. The majority of acts up for the top two categories this year — Record of the Year and Song of the Year — hail from the hip-hop and R&B communities, as do all of the artists with the most nominations. Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Outkast and Pharrell Williams lead the pack with six nominations each, the Recording Academy revealed Thursday (December 4).

Following close behind the leaders are Eminem, 50 Cent, Missy Elliott, Evanescence, Chad Hugo, Justin Timberlake, Luther Vandross, Ricky Skaggs and Warren Zevon, who each garnered five nominations. With so many artists earning multiple nods, there'll be no clear favorite heading into the 46th annual Grammy Awards, which will be held February 8 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

	46th Annual Grammy Awards Nominees List

The artists up for Record of the Year are Beyoncé with Jay-Z for "Crazy in Love," Black Eyed Peas with Justin Timberlake for "Where Is the Love," Coldplay for "Clocks," Eminem for "Lose Yourself" and Outkast for "Hey Ya!" The award for Song of the Year, which is given to the songwriter as opposed to the performer, will go to either Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful," Luther Vandross' "Dance With My Father," Avril Lavigne's "I'm With You," Eminem's "Lose Yourself" or Warren Zevon's "Keep Me in Your Heart." Zevon died this year after a battle with cancer.

Album of the Year nominees are Justin Timberlake for Justified, Missy Elliott for Under Construction, Evanescence for Fallen, Outkast for Speakerboxxx/ The Love Below and the White Stripes for Elephant.

"I'm in shock," Beyoncé said of her multiple nods. "What a great honor. These Grammy nominations came just a few days after my performance at the 46664 concert for AIDS awareness in South Africa (see "Beyonce, Bono, Others Perform At AIDS Benefit Show In Cape Town"). This has been one crazy, special year. I feel humbled and blessed."

"You never know what the Grammys are going to do," Evanescence singer Amy Lee said. "They sometimes totally shock you, and I am shocked, totally shocked."

"You know what, man," Pharrell said, "I'm just happy to be recognized. Me and my partner Chad [Hugo], we never expected for it to happen. It's a great feeling."

Of course, the 2003 nominations aren't all completely sensible — that would defy convention. The first head-scratcher of this year surfaces in the Best New Artist category with the nomination of Fountains of Wayne. The band formed in 1996 and its latest offering, Welcome Interstate Managers, is its third album. The other nominees in the category are the somewhat newer Evanescence, 50 Cent, Heather Headley and Sean Paul.

Another peculiarity is Blu Cantrell's nomination for Best R&B Album for Bittersweet, which received a lukewarm reception by critics and fans. Cantrell will be up against Erykah Badu, Aretha Franklin, the Isley Brothers featuring Ronald Isley a.k.a Mr. Biggs, and Luther Vandross in that category.

In addition to being up for Album of the Year and Best New Artist, Evanescence have been nominated for three awards in the rock categories, including Best Rock Album, and Best Hard Rock Performance and Best Rock Song for "Bring Me to Life."

"Best New Artist is the coveted thing — I think that would be the end-all," Lee said. "But any of them. To win a single one of these is going to make my dad so happy. It's a really big deal."

While heavy music goliaths like Metallica, Marilyn Manson and Korn and break-out act Stone Sour are no surprise in the Best Metal Performance category, Spineshank's spot in that field is sure to turn some heads. It's a somewhat more eclectic mix in the Best Alternative Music Album category, where Flaming Lips, Radiohead, Sigur Rós, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and the White Stripes will compete.

Nominees were announced Thursday by Pharrell, Amy Lee, Moby, Jason Mraz, Stacie Orrico, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Sarah McLachlan, Steve Vai, MC Lyte and Brad Paisley at the Beverly Hilton Hotel Grand Ballroom in Beverly Hills, California.

For a complete list of nominees, visit Grammy.com.

For more Grammy news, check out the MTV News Grammy Archive.

[This story was updated at 4:54 p.m. ET on 12.4.03]

• Jay-Z
• Beyoncé
• OutKast
• The Neptunes (Hip-Hop)
• Pharrell Williams

Neptunes' Pharrell Williams
Photo: MTV News

NEW YORK — Attention rappers, R&B singers and adventurous rockers: If you're looking for new beats from the Neptunes, they're busy taking care of business in their own house and might not be available to provide you with their services. Well, that's not exactly true, but Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo have been spending much of their time lately finishing up projects on their Star Trak record label, as well as with their side-band, N.E.R.D.

"We're just concentrating on our label right now," Chad said from the Hit Factory studios on Tuesday, where he and Pharrell were mixing the last song for Jay-Z's The Black Album. "We've got the Clipse, Kelis and Fam-Lay."

The Clipse have most of their new album, Hell Hath No Fury, recorded for an expected spring release (see "Clipse Take R. Kelly Out Of His Element And Into Hell"). "There's a lot of songs on there in that really raw, stripped down [kind of] way — kind of in the vein of 'Grindin'," Chad said.

Meanwhile, Kelis is still putting the finishing touches on her album, Tasty, due out on December 9 (see "Kelis Turning Heads Again With Her Tasty 'Milkshake' "). Though the Neptunes, who discovered the singer, are not producing the entire album this time around, they still have to keep an eye on how it's shaping up since it's being released through Star Trak. "I wish we could have gotten some more songs on there, but she's her own artist and is entitled to use whoever she wants to," Chad explained. "She's eclectic. She knows more of what she wants. She's been around to know she's making her own lane now."

As for Fam-Lay, the laid-back, old-school-sounding rapper the Neptunes featured on their Clones album, Chad said that album is coming together nicely. "He's got that Virginia drawl," he said, "which is fun to play with."

There are other projects floating around the Neptunes camp right now, including rapper Free (from BET's 106 & Park), and their own rock band, N.E.R.D., who are about three songs away from turning in their next album, Fly or Die. But Chad acknowledged that he may not know everything that's on the list. "Sometimes I find myself in the studio doing a song and I don't know who it's for," he said.

While Pharrell keeps busy in the spotlight, Chad said he likes working on music in the studio. He's producing two songs on his own for a singer named Sierra Swan, whom he describes as "an Annie Lennox type of chick," and will start working on ideas for a new album by his old friend, Kenna.

• The Neptunes (Hip-Hop)
• N.E.R.D.

Neptunes
Photo: Virgin

After helping so many other artists reach the summit, it's only fair that the Neptunes take a turn at the top of the Billboard albums chart.

Super-producers Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo's The Neptunes Present ... Clones will sit at #1 on next week's chart by selling more than 249,000 copies, according to SoundScan. Working with the likes of Jay-Z, Britney Spears and Nelly established that the Neptunes had the Midas touch, and this LP finds the beat-making duo striking gold repeatedly over the course of its 18 tracks.

The pair's last LP, recorded along with vocalist Shay under the acronym N.E.R.D., In Search Of ..., premiered at #61 with more than 20,000 in first-week sales last year.

New hip-hop albums will have a strong showing in the top 10. Free of the "Lil' " prefix, Bow Wow will claim the #3 spot with his third LP, Unleashed. The follow-up to 2001's Doggy Bag sold more than 120,000 copies last week.

Southern rapper T.I.'s second album, Trap Muzik, will follow right behind Bow Wow at #4 by moving more than 108,000 copies. Diplomats member Juelz Santana distinguishes himself from the rest of the "Dip Set" this week to secure a #8 debut. From Me to U sold more than 73,000 copies to assume the position.

Newlywed Jessica Simpson's decidedly sexed-up third album, In This Skin, will slide into the #10 position. The follow-up to 2001's Irresistible sold more than 64,000 copies, partially as a result of "Sweetest Sin," the ode to booty knocking that serves as the LP's first single.

The remainder of the top 10 will find the previous #1 album, Alan Jackson's Greatest Hits Volume II, receding to #2 (158,000); the soundtrack to "Bad Boys II" falling a deuce to #5 (93,000); the "Chicago" soundtrack making a huge 93-spot and 64,000-copy leap to #6 (75,0000) thanks to the home-video release of the Oscar-winning film; Evanescence's Fallen moving three places down to #7; and Beyoncé's Dangerously in Love slipping four spots to #9.

Following their headlining spot on the Vans Warped Tour, Rancid will wave their punk flag proudly at #15 with Indestructible, an apt title considering their sixth album, and first in three years, has their most successful first-week showing. The LP sold more than 51,000 last week. When it debuted in 2000, the band's last album, Rancid, sold only 23,000 copies; while Life Won't Wait sold 39,000 copies after it premiered two years prior.

Chris Carrabba may have even more to sigh about. Dashboard Confessional's third album, A Mark, a Mission, a Brand, a Scar, has the distinction of being the album to fall the furthest in the top 20. The former #2 LP will plummet 14 spots, while its weekly sales were cut by about 60 percent.

It's hard to imagine him doing much doe-eyed sighing, but 50 Cent will spend his second consecutive week outside the velvet ropes of the top 10. Get Rich or Die Tryin' will slip three spots further, to #14.

Alien Ant Farm's second album, truANT, will make surprisingly soft impact at #42, just barely ahead of Adema's Unstable. Only 11 copies separate the two albums, according to SoundScan figures.

Other notable debuts on next week's chart include Neil Young's concept album Greendale at #22; the posthumous package The Best of Barry White at #100; Youth & Young Manhood, by Kings of Leon, Southern rock's answer to the to Strokes, at #113; Chi-town rappers Do or Die's pronouncement Pimpin' Ain't Dead at #115; the Dandy Warhols' fourth album, Welcome to the Monkey House, at #118; the 11-track label showcase Drive-Thru Invasion Tour Compilation, with contributions from the Movielife, New Found Glory and Something Corporate, at #187; The Big Zane Theory by formerly Lil' rapper Zane at #191; and indie rock record-making machines Guided by Voices' Earthquake Glue at #193.

• The Neptunes (Hip-Hop)

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• Jay-Z
• Pharrell Williams
• The Neptunes (Hip-Hop)
• N.E.R.D.
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Jay-Z And Pharrell Shoot Black Album's 'Change Clothes' Video

• Jay-Z
• Pharrell Williams
• The Neptunes (Hip-Hop)
• N.E.R.D.

Nelly, Kim, LL, Sean Paul, More On Source Awards Red Carpet

• Nelly
• Lil' Kim
• LL Cool J
• Sean Paul
• Clipse

Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, Nas, Busta, Others Get Hot In Puerto Rico

• Jay-Z
• Busta Rhymes
• Alicia Keys
• Nas
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