Pharrell Releases Album Directly to Fans, Only Available for Purchase Online

Pharrell’s last album, GIRL, came in 2014 but he has shared several loose tracks over the years, including “Joy (Unspeakable),” “Cash In Cash Out,” and “Entrepreneur.” The new project comes amid the legal battle between Pharrell and Chad Hugo over name rights to The Neptunes. 

Billboard had reported that Hugo accused Pharrell of trying to “fraudulently” claim ownership over the name rights. Hugo’s legal team has stated that Pharrell violated an agreement between them over equally splitting ownership and royalties.

“Throughout their over thirty year history, [Hugo] and Williams agreed to, and in fact, have divided all assets,” said Hugo’s attorney Kenneth D. Freundlich. “By ignoring and excluding [Hugo] from the any and all applications filed by applicant for the mark ‘The Neptunes,’ applicant has committed fraud in securing the trademarks and acted in bad faith.”

A representative for Pharrell said in response, “We have reached out on multiple occasions to share in the ownership and administration of the trademark and will continue to make that offer. The goal here was to make sure a third party doesn’t get a hold of the trademark and to guarantee Chad and Pharrell share in ownership and administration.”