This came out in 2003 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo — better known as spaced-out superstar producers The Neptunes — have spent the past few years working their peculiar, distincitve brand of studio magic for everyone from Britney (I’m a Slave 4 U) to Nelly (Hot in Herre). Here, they finally do a little sumthin’ sumthin’ for themselves.
The eclectic and electric Clones is partly a showcase for their production skills, partly a compilation sampler for their new Star Trak label, and very much a showcase of the pair’s continuing production prowess and creative genius. Working their extensive Rolodex and calling in a few favours, Pharrell and Hugo enlist a VIP lounge of hip-hop golden throats — including Ludacris, Nelly and Snoop Dogg — to serve as guest vocalists on these 18 cuts. But the real stars of the show remain The Neptunes themselves, whose lurching funky grooves, ingeniously skewed arrangements, cartoonish sound effects, and knob-twiddling production never fail to steal the spotlight — even from a cackling Busta Rhymes on a track called Light Your Ass on Fire. With Clones, The Neptunes let you know once again they are in a class by themselves.
