By mkscholar
Tue Aug 26, 2003 8:12 pm
Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo are expected to steal the number one spot on this week's Billboard charts after the release of their second album, The Neptunes present: The Clones. But it's another type of theft that has one Canadian producer -- and now a Texas producer -- feeling robbed. Last week, SOHH.com revealed shocking allegations that Pharrell Williams and Star Trak President Rob Walker stole production from 18-year old Canadian producer Joseph Zakoni. Now, new allegations have surfaced about another theft by Pharrell and The Neptunes - this time from a Texas man who says "the clones" copied his stuff too.
Numbers from leading music chains have sales executives estimating a first-week total of at least 220,000 copies for Clones, which features some of the biggest and brightest stars in hip-hop including Nelly, Ludacris and Snoop Dogg, Jay Z and The Clipse. The lead single, William's own "Frontin'" featuring Jay-Z, has remained two straight weeks at No. 1 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks.
But questions of fraudulent sampling by the Neptunes have raised doubts about the production duo's credibility. Last week, SOHH.com published an exclusive interview with Joseph Zakoni who made shocking allegations that The Neptunes illegally copied several tracks he submitted to them and refused to give him credit or payment. Now, a 29-year old Texas producer who contacted SOHH.com anonymously under the alias "Jaime Sucio," alleges that he had an encounter with Williams and Star Trak that was very similar to that described by Joseph Zakoni.
"I met Pharrell and his body guard Ben in early March at SXSW music festival in Austin, Texas, while they were there to support [their band] Spymob," said Sucio who is originally from Virginia, home of The Neptunes. "We talked for a half hour or so, and I gave Ben two CDs, one with about 12 [instrumentals] tracks on it, [and] one with some remixes. They said they would holla at me if they liked the stuff."
As with Zakoni, Sucio never heard from Williams or his bodyguard again, but received a rejection letter from Star Trak. By the summer, Sucio said he was surprised to hear the Jay Z "Excuse Me Miss" remix, which had a distorted riff that was particularly identical to one of the songs on the CD he gave to Pharrell's bodyguard.
"I think that's just biting, not stealing," said Sucio who also alleges that on Nas' "Flyest Angel," (one of the same tracks that Zakoni accuses Pharrell of stealing) there is a vocal melody similar to another one of his songs.
Fantom of the Beat, the production duo of Fantom and Boo Who?, who produced the smash hit single "Majic Stick," featuring 50 Cent and Lil Kim, says that this type of track theft or illegal sampling is part of the nature of the music industry. "It's almost a catch-22," says Fantom, who was part of the early '90s rap group, UMCs, under the name Hass G. "You need the big label producers to put you on so you have to send them your material. But at the same time they can use your sh!t."
Fantom says he's seen this type of behavior before, but is surprised at the allegations against Williams and Star Trak. "I've witnessed beats, songs, versus ... you name it, stolen," said Fantom. "But The Neptunes is a surprise to me. Their sound has been the sound for years now. I always assumed that the music was their own."
Meanwhile, Zakoni has been contacted by attorneys who've offered to represent him in a suit against The Neptunes and has even appeared on radio and television since the SOHH.com story broke last week. SOHH.com has continued to make attempts to contact Star Trak and its President Rob Walker for their response to these allegations but all calls were unreturned.
Numbers from leading music chains have sales executives estimating a first-week total of at least 220,000 copies for Clones, which features some of the biggest and brightest stars in hip-hop including Nelly, Ludacris and Snoop Dogg, Jay Z and The Clipse. The lead single, William's own "Frontin'" featuring Jay-Z, has remained two straight weeks at No. 1 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks.
But questions of fraudulent sampling by the Neptunes have raised doubts about the production duo's credibility. Last week, SOHH.com published an exclusive interview with Joseph Zakoni who made shocking allegations that The Neptunes illegally copied several tracks he submitted to them and refused to give him credit or payment. Now, a 29-year old Texas producer who contacted SOHH.com anonymously under the alias "Jaime Sucio," alleges that he had an encounter with Williams and Star Trak that was very similar to that described by Joseph Zakoni.
"I met Pharrell and his body guard Ben in early March at SXSW music festival in Austin, Texas, while they were there to support [their band] Spymob," said Sucio who is originally from Virginia, home of The Neptunes. "We talked for a half hour or so, and I gave Ben two CDs, one with about 12 [instrumentals] tracks on it, [and] one with some remixes. They said they would holla at me if they liked the stuff."
As with Zakoni, Sucio never heard from Williams or his bodyguard again, but received a rejection letter from Star Trak. By the summer, Sucio said he was surprised to hear the Jay Z "Excuse Me Miss" remix, which had a distorted riff that was particularly identical to one of the songs on the CD he gave to Pharrell's bodyguard.
"I think that's just biting, not stealing," said Sucio who also alleges that on Nas' "Flyest Angel," (one of the same tracks that Zakoni accuses Pharrell of stealing) there is a vocal melody similar to another one of his songs.
Fantom of the Beat, the production duo of Fantom and Boo Who?, who produced the smash hit single "Majic Stick," featuring 50 Cent and Lil Kim, says that this type of track theft or illegal sampling is part of the nature of the music industry. "It's almost a catch-22," says Fantom, who was part of the early '90s rap group, UMCs, under the name Hass G. "You need the big label producers to put you on so you have to send them your material. But at the same time they can use your sh!t."
Fantom says he's seen this type of behavior before, but is surprised at the allegations against Williams and Star Trak. "I've witnessed beats, songs, versus ... you name it, stolen," said Fantom. "But The Neptunes is a surprise to me. Their sound has been the sound for years now. I always assumed that the music was their own."
Meanwhile, Zakoni has been contacted by attorneys who've offered to represent him in a suit against The Neptunes and has even appeared on radio and television since the SOHH.com story broke last week. SOHH.com has continued to make attempts to contact Star Trak and its President Rob Walker for their response to these allegations but all calls were unreturned.
