According to Pitchfork.com, Chad Hugo, co-founder of the Neptunes, has released his debut single, “Jumpupw!nya,” an upbeat track featuring rappers Tierra Whack and Leikeli47. “For those that don’t know, I’m from Brooklyn by way of Virginia; so when Chad called, I leapt at the opportunity to collaborate,” Leikeli said in a statement. “Love to the amazing Tierra Whack. I’m just happy to play my part.” The song comes with futuristic visuals replete with spaceship control panels, hazmat suits, and apocalyptic collapse.
According to a press release, the track marks Hugo’s first major solo release in years and “signals the beginning of a new creative era.” Sonically, Hugo hasn’t lost a step, as “Jumpupw!nya” is as thrumming and chaotic as it is genuinely beautiful in some areas. The production takes different forms throughout the song, soaring and halting unexpectedly, with Leikeli47 attacking the beat first: “Gangsters and the bourgeois, I make ’em all dance/ Hypnotize minds, got ’em all in a trance.”
In other news, Hugo is currently in the midst of a legal battle with his former partner Pharrell Williams. Hugo’s lawyers allege Williams owes their client up to $1 million from work their final album as N.E.R.D., 2017’s No One Ever Really Dies. In 2024, Hugo was engaged in a separate lawsuit with Williams over the ownership of the Neptunes trademark. While Hugo has not put out solo music before “Jumpupw!nya,” in recent years, he has produced songs for Ye, Ty Dolla $ign, Brockhampton and Brent Faiyaz.
Leave a Comment