JOY FEELINGS MAGAZINE January 2016 issue | Page 15

At this point the Neptunes were gaining a wide fanbase and
audience. In 2001, the Neptunes produced Britney Spears' single,
"I'm a Slave 4 U" gaining their first worldwide number one. The
same year, N*E*R*D, consisting of Williams, Hugo and Haley,
released their first album, In Search of..., in Europe, where the first
Kelis album was better received. The album sounded very much like
their previous production work; the group decided that they should
make their work as N*E*R*Dsound different, and re-recorded the
album with the rock band Spymob.
Then in 2002 their re-produced album was released worldwide, and
the Neptunes reached number one in the U.S. with Nelly's single,
"Hot in Herre". In August of the same year, the Neptunes were
named "Producers of the Year" at both the Source Awards and
the Billboard Music Awards. Clipse released their commercial debut
album Lord Willin' in August 2002. The album started at number
one on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and number
four on the Billboard 200, fueled by its first two singles, "Grindin'"
and "When the Last Time", which peaked at number 34 and
number 19 respectively on theBillboard Hot 100.
The Neptunes released a self-credited album called The Neptunes
Present... Clones in 2003, with songs and remixes from various
artists. This topped the U.S. Billboard 200 Albums Chart. The
Neptunes and Williams specifically were also kept in public eye
largely due to ties with Jay Z, producing several hit singles for him
and two tracks on his The Black Album. The track "Frontin'" was a
big hit (the 34th biggest of 2003 according to Billboard). A survey in
August 2003 found the Neptunes produced almost 20 percent of
songs played on British radio at the time, a survey in the US had
them at 43 percent. The same year, the Neptunes remixed the Daft
Punk song "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" for the duo's poorly
received remix album Daft Club. The track also had a brief rap
section performed by Williams.
N*E*R*D's second funk rock-oriented album, Fly or Die, released in
March 2004. Williams's rock credentials were further bolstered b