Alchemizing Pop

Everyone is someone at Beverly Hills's Four Seasons Hotel. But here comes this tall, thin, gawky guy who looks like a computer techie, and none of these Hollywood types are giving him a second look. Pharrell Williams walks with the self-conscious slouch of a high-school geek braving a quad of sneering cool kids. In fact, he's a producer with the golden touch, and hip-hop's newest celebrity entrepreneur, complete with record label and clothing line. His two-man production team The Neptunes--whose other half is Williams's hometown buddy Chad Hugo tied Jay-Z and Beyonce for the most 2004 Grammy nominations (they all got six). Talk about the revenge of the nerds.

The Neptunes were the brains behind Britney Spears's "I'm a Slave 4 U," Nelly's "Hot in Herre," "Frontin" with Jay-Z and Justin Timberlake's "Like I Love You." They're alchemists who specialize in reinventing pop stars. Take Britney. "I didn't want people to feel like a pedophile for looking at her," says Williams, 30. "There was no reason she should still live in the shadows of the Mickey Mouse Club." But it was their own last album, "The Neptunes Present... Clones," that ratcheted up Williams's profile to celebrity level. "There's no better feeling than walking into a club and hearing your song," says Williams, stretching out on a couch in a quiet corner of the hotel bar. "You'd think we'd get used to it, but I don't think I ever will. It still gives me the chills."

Williams may need a parka for his 2004 club crawls. The Neptunes have produced a new Britney single and Gwen Stefani's upcoming solo debut, and are said to be negotiating J. Lo's next CD. And as if the shy Williams and the shyer Hugo--who prefers to stay at home and work in their Virginia Beach studio--didn't have enough on their hands, N.E.R.D, their rock/sci-fi side project, has a second album due in March. "We try to make each thing we do entirely different from the last," says Williams. " 'Frontin' doesn't sound like 'Grindin,' and 'Grindin' doesn't sound like 'Hella Good.' And 'Slave 4 U' isn't 'Rock Your Body'." He stops to catch his breath. "Damn. We did all that?" And a new year is just around the corner.