The idea behind six degrees of separation is a wild one. At any given point, you could chain yourself to someone with no more than five people. It’s scary, and you might think it’s inaccurate. But situations like what led Pharrell to Britney Spears might just change your mind.
In a 2014 interview with VIBE Magazine, Skateboard P talked about everything that led to the Neptunes-produced pop classic “I’m a Slave 4 U”. It all starts with Jay-Z. Somehow, he was hip to the boy bands of the moment like Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC. One night at a club, Justin Timberlake was there with his band. Hov ended up insisting that they work together.
Pharrell and his chill demeanor seemed down for anything. Consequently, he teamed up with Chad Hugo to craft “Girlfriend for *NSYNC. Ironically, making that song made sense because Timberlake was dating Britney Spears at the time. Essentially, the same thing happened. JT insisted that The Neptunes make something for the love in his life at the time. Once again, P was down.
However, initially, people around the production duo insisted they not venture off into pop music. But they wouldn’t be dissuaded and refused to be put in a box.
Pharrell Recalls The Roundabout Way He Ended Up Working With Britney Spears
“So he set it up, and we did like two songs. You know, we thought it was interesting, but I remember people going, ‘Oh, you shouldn’t do that. You shouldn’t work with people in pop.’ And I was like, ‘Man, we have to have way more vision than that, and we have to be open to … other types of creativity and what that may bring,’” Pharrell recalls. “If you’re just closed-minded and you think categorical all the time, then you’re going to be a categorical producer, and I didn’t want to do that.”
Initially, the song rubbed new listeners the wrong way because they were used to the more innocent perception they had of her. In the US, it peaked at number 27 on Billboard’s Hot 100. Years removed, though, the love is a lot stronger. In 2021, Billboard named it the third greatest song of 2001.
“But looking back, it’s clear that not only is ‘I’m a Slave 4 U’ one of Britney Spears’ greatest singles,” staff writer Stephen Daw wrote. “It also blazed a new path for pop stars of the future, letting the world know that how an artist chooses to express themselves is entirely up to them, whether or not you ‘like that.’”
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