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.
Hugo says he singled out EarthGang’s “U Gotta” as one example because he was allegedly removed from the track’s credits despite the recording artists themselves acknowledging his contributions.
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Best guide to hip hop, soul, reggae concerts & events in San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles & New York City + music, videos, radio and more
ScHoolboy Q
Friday, Oct 16 @ Fox Theater, Oakland
Hugel
Saturday, Nov 7 @ Greek Theatre, Berkeley
Bonobo
Saturday, Nov 14 @ Fox Theater, Oakland
Pretty Lights
Thursday-Sunday, Nov 19-21 @ Fox Theater, Oakland
Ozomatli
Saturday, Nov. 21 @ UC Theatre, Berkeley
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