Pharrell Williams has surprised-dropped a new project in a unique way.
The album, which appears to be named Virginia: Black Yacht Rock Vol. 1 — City of Limitless Access (though it’s unclear if part of that title could be an artist name) is available to stream or download solely on the website blackyachtrock.com.
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That website, according to GoDaddy.com’s WhoIs database, was only created late last month and was most recently updated on Wednesday (April 3).
The 10-track project includes the songs “Richard Mille,” “Just For Fun,” “Caged Bird Free,” and “Cheryl.” No credit or feature information was immediately available.
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The website also contains a solicitation to join a mailing list. Once an address is submitted, a message reading, “Stay tuned…” pops up. So far, Pharrell has not mentioned the album on social media.
The project is the hitmaker’s first solo release in a decade since 2014’s Girl.
I didn’t have Pharrell releasing a free Steely Dan / Michael McDonald type of album and release / distribute it independently for free on my bingo card but here we are, and I love ithttps://t.co/7xWen8JQ3F
— Nait Jones (@NaithanJones) April 5, 2024
Black Yacht Rock Vol. 1 comes right as Pharrell and his Neptunes partner Chad Hugo are battling over the rights to their production duo’s name.
According to legal documents obtained by HipHopDX, Hugo and his team have made a filing with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, accusing Williams of committing fraud by attempting to register trademarks for the Neptunes name without his name on it.
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“Throughout their over thirty-year history, [Hugo] and Williams agreed to, and in fact, have divided all assets,” the documents read. “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 made a statement to Billboard on Monday (April 1), saying: “Pharrell is surprised by this. 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.”
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Hugo’s lawyer, on the other hand, felt that was a lie.
“If Pharell’s intent was to include Chad in the filing, he should have registered it in the name of their jointly owned company Neptunes, LLC and not in his own name,” he said. “This was a land grab in a long simmering dispute that has yet to be resolved.”
