8/13/2023 0 Comments Neptunes clones download![]() ![]() Having tasted the Top Ten for the first time with Mase's "Lookin' at Me" (1998), the duo repeatedly hit the upper tier of the Hot 100 in the ensuing years with Nelly's "Hot in Herre" (2002), Justin Timberlake's "Rock Your Body" (2003), Kelis' "Milkshake" (2003), and Snoop Dogg's "Drop It Like It's Hot" (2004) only scratching the surface of their early output. Candy-coated, animatedly funky, and often powered by beats that can be replicated with fists pounding a cafeteria table, their work is instantly identifiable, and further distinguished by Williams' voice, a frequent secondary element that has often blurred the distinction between duettist and hype man with bumptious rhymes and falsetto hooks. Heirs to pioneers of bare-knuckled rap and pop-flavored electronic R&B, from Larry Smith and Rick Rubin to Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and peers of fellow Virginians Timbaland and Missy Elliott, Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo have set themselves apart with an ever-evolving sound that has appealed to the streets, the charts, and multiple generations of listeners. Or you could just take the whole disc as is, as a strong if patchy reminder of the Neptunes' pop prowess.Whether measured by sales, radio airplay, critical reception, awards, influence, or endurance, the Neptunes are one of the all-time most successful production teams. Doing this would hopefully eradicate the middle patch of innocuous rock - Spymob's "Half-Steering," the High Speed Scene's "F**k n' Spend" - while retaining the aforementioned highlights, along with saving space for Vanessa Marquez' "Good Girl," which has to be the best ripoff of late-'80s Jam & Lewis-style production. Besides, you can whittle this disc down to your favorite dozen and have one of the year's best albums. At 18 tracks, there's a little too much to digest, and not everything is top rate - but knocking the disc for the fact that a few cuts aren't Top Ten material would only further illustrate how spoiled listeners have become, and how remarkable the Neps' run has been. (It also must be said that no one but Williams could make a chorus like "Pop sh*t, n*gg*, what's up?" so effective.) "Popular Thug," originally a track on Kelis' import-only Wanderland, gets a deserved new look, with Pusha T's role bumped in favor of Nas, who proceeds to take the track over and knock Kelis into the supporting role. ![]() Amidst whirling sirens, Dirt McGirt's turn, "Pop Shit," boasts a comical Looney Tunes-worthy arrangement. (It also must be said that no one else could make the line "And I was gon' tear your ass up" seem so charming.) The spare cattle-prod funk of "Light Your Ass on Fire" pings and jolts with sharp zaps, accompanying Busta Rhymes' more sexually aggressive and explicit come-ons. Williams steps out with some help from Jay-Z on "Frontin'," one of the biggest Neptunes-related singles yet the light, simple arrangement is ideally suited to Williams' lighthearted falsetto. If anything, Clones puts an end to any thought that the duo randomly selects a track from their beat bank when collaborating, since it ably demonstrates how their skills can adapt to any conceivable personality. For The Neptunes Present.Clones, the tables are somewhat turned the producers aren't in need of any more hits, but they do the enlisting here, and they snare an all-star cast of featured players who are willing to join up and/or return the favor, all the while reaping the cachet that comes with being in such venerated company. When Chad Hugo and Pharrell Williams are behind the boards, hit singles are expected, and hit singles are usually granted.
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