"Frontin'" is the debut single by American musician Pharrell Williams featuring American rapper Jay-Z. It was written by the artists alongside Chad Hugo, who produced it with Williams as the Neptunes. At the time of its release, Williams insisted the single was a one-off, and that he was purely a producer and not an artist in his own right. However, he released his own solo studio album, In My Mind, in 2006.
"Frontin'" is the debut single by American musician Pharrell Williams featuring American rapper Jay-Z. It was written by the artists alongside Chad Hugo, who produced it with Williams as the Neptunes. At the time of its release, Williams insisted the single was a one-off, and that he was purely a producer and not an artist in his own right. However, he released his own solo studio album, In My Mind, in 2006.
The song's title refers to putting up a facade (or false front), typically to impress peers. The drum beat was heavily influenced by the Beatles' 1965 track "In My Life", and the bass during the bridge by Stevie Wonder. Pharrell had initially written the song for Prince. It was the 34th best-selling song of 2003 in the U.S., according to Billboard magazine. It was also featured on the Neptunes' 2003 compilation album The Neptunes Present... Clones, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 in August 2003. In 2024, the song appeared on Williams' soundtrack album Piece by Piece (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack).
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