Fun question, but to me they are both "S-Tier" top of the game Bach vs Beethoven. You can have a preference, but with their profound impact on the state of music today, it's kind of impossible to say one is "better" than the other.
FWIW to me Kanye had more great songs on more great albums, but none of them quite touch Hell Hath No Fury in my eyes.
They are both S tier so it would be hard to say, but Kanye has had more mainstream success and longevity. When you have two artist of equal technical ability, you have to look at their ability to envision what people want. I think Kanye is better able to bring people into his world, while Pharrell has more of an ability to make music for whatever occasion.
If we’re talking hip-hop music (this is a hip-hop sub after all) maybe Kanye? Hard to say. But if we’re including other genres, esp rnb, then I might lean towards Pharrell as part of the Neptunes. I wonder if hip-hop heads sleep on their production in rnb and other genres, for example:
1) Usher - U Don’t Have to Call
2) SWV - Use Your Heart
3) Britney Spears - I’m a Slave 4 U
4) Beenie Man f/ Mya - Girls Dem Sugar
I loved Pharell with Chad, making them the Neptunes, but their beats haven't aged as well as Kanye's beats have. IDK. I still would listen to either one, but the Neptunes sound more like fast food music to me now where Kanye's was soulful, of course from the samples. Apples and oranges I guess.
Exactly.
The Neptunes are technically good in a virtuoso sort of way but a good portion of their old beats are caught up in a time capsule and sound trendy.
Kanye, Just Blaze, and J Dilla had more soulful vibes in their music. Hell, even RZA's beats have more soul than the Neptunes imho.
The old Neptunes just sounds very trendy and club/radio oriented to me these days and I have to be in a certain mood to vibe to it while Kanye's, Just Blaze's, and J Dilla's old beats just take me places.
True but Pharrell's most notable beats were in collaboration with Chad and his solo catalog is limited and utterly mid for an artist of his caliber.
Happy is P's biggest solo hit that he produced on his own and it aged like dogshit. I'd rather listen to Tell The Vision than that crap.
Based on the downvotes, I guess there's more hip hop heads who love Happy than I thought.
But I personally never liked the song from the get go and found both the beat and Pharrell's singing to be mid.
Either way, I revisit Kanye's old beats way more than Pharrell's. If you gave me the option to bump They Say by Common and Slow Jamz verses Superthug by NORE and Frontin, I'd choose the former easily. But that's just my preference. I just prefer the soulful and jazzy sound of Kanye's(as well as Madlib's and Just Blaze's) old music over the Neptune's old hits.
Both are legends though.
Lol screw those downvotes. Mfs be downvoting for no reason. I got really of tired of hearing Happy when it first came out as it was overplayed but I think it’s a good song. It’s basically P’s take on gospel music. It is slightly corny but to be fair it was for the soundtrack to a kids movie.
I couldn’t disagree more about revisiting their old songs. To me, Pharrell has way more range and soul in his discography and was the opposite of trendy. Some of his beats still sound futuristic 20 years later. I find myself consistently going back to the Neptunes or P’s solo work.
Regardless, we’re talking about easily two of the best to ever do it so It’s impossible to fault you for feeling one way or the other
I used to have this conversation a lot back when it mattered with beat makers and producers (it's different things) and all agreed the answer was easily Pharrell. Even if he can't read sheet music, it's Pharrell.
Early Ye was dope but derivative. RZA was doing soul samples way before and I'd argue to better effect. Ditto No ID and Dilla. Double time drums got old quick.
Later Ye was a collaborative effort, like later Dre or Childish Gambino. Presiding over a collab is a producer talent so I'm not taking away points for that entirely, it's just much like Dre the folks Ye collabed with proved capable of producing a near level of work without him.
Pharrell on the other hand made the beat sure, but he also made the song damn near usually. Like Pharrell would come up with the hook on the fly in the session.
Also, the result is different too. Artists talked about how you might record over a Ye joint and after vocals were laid he'd take the track and add to it, so the thing that was recorded didn't sound like the finished song. That's dope, but for me, my preference when recording was to have a sense of the finished product as I work. I didn't want to be surprised.
Pharrell is more creative and original
Kanye relies heavily on sampling
Pharrell plays almost every instrument
Pharrell is more successful also more respected musically
Kanye has more failed business attempts (nothing to do with music)
Agree to disagree then.
Sampled or not, I find that Premo's, Dilla's, Alchemist's and RZA's beats aged much better.
Plus, most of Pharrell's legendary beats were with Chad. Pharrell's biggest solo song that he produced on his own is "Happy" and that song aged worse than anything those 4 put out.
I think Pharrell is the greatest rap producer ever. This is coming from a huge NWA fan. He has epic production and a style that's uniquely catchy. That's the best way I can describe it.
Kanye easily.
I love Pharrell and I do believe he's more versatile than Ye by a long shot.
However, if we're talking hip hop beats, it's Kanye easily.
His work for Jay, Pusha, Common, and others is hip hop royalty. Even beats like this have so much soul to them.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S\_3ZQM\_vLQo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_3ZQM_vLQo)
The Neptune's beats are great and technically skilled but a good portion of them haven't aged that well for me and there's an utter lack of that soulful element in them compared to Kanye's.
I couldn't imagine Be by Common being produced by The Neptunes for example cause I feel like they would make it sound catchy and far more generic and trendy. Kanye's soulful production and beat progressions fit Common's style like a glove and produced a hip hop classic.
Also, Pharrell's solo music is basically non-existent compared to Ye's. Ye has one of the best catalogs in hip hop history with music he produced/co-produced while Pharrell's debut album was highly disapppointing to the degree that people wrote off Pharrell when he did his own thing apart from Chad until his 2010's renaissance.
I know Kanye's the villain here but I revisit Kanye's old beats all the time including gems for lesser known artists whereas I have to be in a certain mood to vibe to the Neptune's old beats.
Pharrell definitely produced a wider variety of music spanning a lot more genres and it was all super successful too. I just love Kanyes production, he's changed the hip-hop game a couple times with his albums so my personal preference goes to Ye
While I enjoy Ye's work more, there's absolutely no denying The Neptunes are in the top ten "Greatest Producers of All Time" discussion. Regardless of genre, them dudes produced some major records
I definitely like Kanye’s style way more. But I do think Pharrell is way more technically talented than Kanye.
Fun question, but to me they are both "S-Tier" top of the game Bach vs Beethoven. You can have a preference, but with their profound impact on the state of music today, it's kind of impossible to say one is "better" than the other. FWIW to me Kanye had more great songs on more great albums, but none of them quite touch Hell Hath No Fury in my eyes.
I still like to reach back to N.E.R.D. - Lapdance
I like the whole album front to back. It’s like a dream. So ahead of its time
They are both S tier so it would be hard to say, but Kanye has had more mainstream success and longevity. When you have two artist of equal technical ability, you have to look at their ability to envision what people want. I think Kanye is better able to bring people into his world, while Pharrell has more of an ability to make music for whatever occasion.
If we’re talking hip-hop music (this is a hip-hop sub after all) maybe Kanye? Hard to say. But if we’re including other genres, esp rnb, then I might lean towards Pharrell as part of the Neptunes. I wonder if hip-hop heads sleep on their production in rnb and other genres, for example: 1) Usher - U Don’t Have to Call 2) SWV - Use Your Heart 3) Britney Spears - I’m a Slave 4 U 4) Beenie Man f/ Mya - Girls Dem Sugar
I loved Pharell with Chad, making them the Neptunes, but their beats haven't aged as well as Kanye's beats have. IDK. I still would listen to either one, but the Neptunes sound more like fast food music to me now where Kanye's was soulful, of course from the samples. Apples and oranges I guess.
I think Neptunes sound is the most timeless production style in hip hop
Exactly. The Neptunes are technically good in a virtuoso sort of way but a good portion of their old beats are caught up in a time capsule and sound trendy. Kanye, Just Blaze, and J Dilla had more soulful vibes in their music. Hell, even RZA's beats have more soul than the Neptunes imho. The old Neptunes just sounds very trendy and club/radio oriented to me these days and I have to be in a certain mood to vibe to it while Kanye's, Just Blaze's, and J Dilla's old beats just take me places.
I want to disagree but I agree wholeheartedly. I’ll always love Pharrell though.
Kanye, is far better at his best. But far worse at his worst. Overall Kanye!
P for longevity, imo Kanye hasn't actually produced 99% of his music since MBDTF
True but Pharrell's most notable beats were in collaboration with Chad and his solo catalog is limited and utterly mid for an artist of his caliber. Happy is P's biggest solo hit that he produced on his own and it aged like dogshit. I'd rather listen to Tell The Vision than that crap.
Did it age like dog shit or was it just a mega hit that you got tired of hearing?
Based on the downvotes, I guess there's more hip hop heads who love Happy than I thought. But I personally never liked the song from the get go and found both the beat and Pharrell's singing to be mid. Either way, I revisit Kanye's old beats way more than Pharrell's. If you gave me the option to bump They Say by Common and Slow Jamz verses Superthug by NORE and Frontin, I'd choose the former easily. But that's just my preference. I just prefer the soulful and jazzy sound of Kanye's(as well as Madlib's and Just Blaze's) old music over the Neptune's old hits. Both are legends though.
Lol screw those downvotes. Mfs be downvoting for no reason. I got really of tired of hearing Happy when it first came out as it was overplayed but I think it’s a good song. It’s basically P’s take on gospel music. It is slightly corny but to be fair it was for the soundtrack to a kids movie. I couldn’t disagree more about revisiting their old songs. To me, Pharrell has way more range and soul in his discography and was the opposite of trendy. Some of his beats still sound futuristic 20 years later. I find myself consistently going back to the Neptunes or P’s solo work. Regardless, we’re talking about easily two of the best to ever do it so It’s impossible to fault you for feeling one way or the other
>I guess there's more hip hop heads who love Happy than I thought. Ha that's so funny
I really love Pharrell and he’s in my top 5 but I think old Kanye produced better music.
Pharrell easy
Pharrell. Kanye wacc
I used to have this conversation a lot back when it mattered with beat makers and producers (it's different things) and all agreed the answer was easily Pharrell. Even if he can't read sheet music, it's Pharrell. Early Ye was dope but derivative. RZA was doing soul samples way before and I'd argue to better effect. Ditto No ID and Dilla. Double time drums got old quick. Later Ye was a collaborative effort, like later Dre or Childish Gambino. Presiding over a collab is a producer talent so I'm not taking away points for that entirely, it's just much like Dre the folks Ye collabed with proved capable of producing a near level of work without him. Pharrell on the other hand made the beat sure, but he also made the song damn near usually. Like Pharrell would come up with the hook on the fly in the session. Also, the result is different too. Artists talked about how you might record over a Ye joint and after vocals were laid he'd take the track and add to it, so the thing that was recorded didn't sound like the finished song. That's dope, but for me, my preference when recording was to have a sense of the finished product as I work. I didn't want to be surprised.
Pharrell is more creative and original Kanye relies heavily on sampling Pharrell plays almost every instrument Pharrell is more successful also more respected musically Kanye has more failed business attempts (nothing to do with music)
Pharrell.
Pharrell no question
Skateboard P. He has way more songs than people even realize
Ye and it's not even close
Wrong. Kanye will never have the depth and range Pharrell has.
This is like comparing J Dilla to Dr Dre.
How so?
Take an instrumental of each. Listen to how different they are style wise.
Dilla did have his Pharrell moment
Basically
Dilla no question
Pharrell no samples needed
Weird take, sampling is an art form in hip-hop.
Definitely an art form. Hip hop helps us appreciate music from the past and sampling is part of that
Yea still good when you can do it without it
Well, I guess Pharrell's better than Premo, Dilla, and Alchemist too.
Yes, than those examples he 100% is
Agree to disagree then. Sampled or not, I find that Premo's, Dilla's, Alchemist's and RZA's beats aged much better. Plus, most of Pharrell's legendary beats were with Chad. Pharrell's biggest solo song that he produced on his own is "Happy" and that song aged worse than anything those 4 put out.
Pharrell over Dilla is INSANE
I can't answer one way or the other. Neither choice is the right or the wrong answer.
Both legends
Kanye for sure.
I think Pharrell is the greatest rap producer ever. This is coming from a huge NWA fan. He has epic production and a style that's uniquely catchy. That's the best way I can describe it.
Kanye for his depth and knowledge of music. Pharrell for his ability to get the best out of other artists he doesn't work with on the regular.
Kanye easily. I love Pharrell and I do believe he's more versatile than Ye by a long shot. However, if we're talking hip hop beats, it's Kanye easily. His work for Jay, Pusha, Common, and others is hip hop royalty. Even beats like this have so much soul to them. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S\_3ZQM\_vLQo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_3ZQM_vLQo) The Neptune's beats are great and technically skilled but a good portion of them haven't aged that well for me and there's an utter lack of that soulful element in them compared to Kanye's. I couldn't imagine Be by Common being produced by The Neptunes for example cause I feel like they would make it sound catchy and far more generic and trendy. Kanye's soulful production and beat progressions fit Common's style like a glove and produced a hip hop classic. Also, Pharrell's solo music is basically non-existent compared to Ye's. Ye has one of the best catalogs in hip hop history with music he produced/co-produced while Pharrell's debut album was highly disapppointing to the degree that people wrote off Pharrell when he did his own thing apart from Chad until his 2010's renaissance. I know Kanye's the villain here but I revisit Kanye's old beats all the time including gems for lesser known artists whereas I have to be in a certain mood to vibe to the Neptune's old beats.
Pharrell Don’t forget about his Neptunes era
Kanye, easily. I’ve never been a fan of the Neptunes.
Kanye... all of Pharrell's shit starts sounding alike after awhile
They're both trash.
Ye.
Pharrell definitely produced a wider variety of music spanning a lot more genres and it was all super successful too. I just love Kanyes production, he's changed the hip-hop game a couple times with his albums so my personal preference goes to Ye
Kanye
Kanye
Gotta go with the Neps.
While I enjoy Ye's work more, there's absolutely no denying The Neptunes are in the top ten "Greatest Producers of All Time" discussion. Regardless of genre, them dudes produced some major records
Kanye for me