Nathaniel Johnson, also known as Fam-Lay (born May 28, 1974)^{[citation needed]} is an American rapper from Norfolk, Virginia. Signed to The Neptunes' Star Trak imprint, he first gained notoriety through several guest appearances he made on various Neptunes-related projects, including the Clipse's debut album Lord Willin' in 2002. He also later appeared on The Neptunes' compilation The Neptunes Present... Clones in 2003, which featured his song "Rock 'N Roll". Then in 2004 he had the single and video "Rock N Roll (Remix)" featuring Lil Flip. It gained heavy rotation on MTV Jams.

He planned to release his debut album, titled Traintogo, in March 2004, through a joint venture between Star Trak and Def Jam Recordings. Unlike most Neptunes-helmed projects, where Pharrell and Chad Hugo handle almost all of the production duties, Traintogo was unique in that it was to feature production from outside producers, including Lil' Jon and David Banner. After suffering several delays, Traintogo failed to meet its scheduled release date. To further complicate matters, Fam-Lay's deal with Def Jam fell through, and he was dropped from the label in July 2004. Traintogo still has yet to be released.

The Neptunes are a record production duo consisting of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, who are credited with contributing the sound for many successful hip hop, R&B and pop artists in the late-1990s and 2000s. The Neptunes' sound is a distinctive brand of off-kilter, stripped-down electronic funk with sounds from Middle Eastern and Asian music including percussion and woodwind. Pharrell sings and (later) raps on records and appears in videos, unlike his production partner Chad, and sometimes vocal partner Shay Haley, who tends to stay behind the scenes.

The Neptunes are estimated to have a net worth of $155 million and are considered one of the most successful producers in music history, noted by twenty-four Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hits during the late 1990's and 2000's. In 2009 Billboard ranked The Neptunes No. 1 on their list of Top 10 producers of the decade. Readers of Vibe Magazine named The Neptunes as the 3rd greatest hip-hop producers of all time behind Dr. Dre and DJ Premier.

Pharrell and Chad met at a summer camp from the school of The Gifted and Talented in Virginia Beach, where Williams was a drummer and Hugo played tenor saxophone. They were also both members of a marching band; Pharrell played kettle drum and Chad was a student conductor. In 1990 Chad and Pharrell formed a 4-piece "R&B type" group along with friends Shay and Mike Etheridge, which they named The Neptunes. Upon entering a local talent contest, they were discovered by Teddy Riley, whose studio was close to Pharrell's school. After graduating from high school, they signed with Riley as a group.

Torrence Hatch (born November 14, 1982), better known by his stage name Lil Boosie, is an American rapper from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Hatch was bestowed the nickname Boosie by his family, and he was raised in southside Baton Rouge. He is currently serving time in the Louisiana State Penitentiary (Angola); Hatch was sentenced to eight years after pleading guilty to drug charges.

Hatch grew up in a poor neighborhood of Baton Rouge, and his father was absent from his childhood. He played basketball while attending high school but was expelled for drugs, so Hatch decided to become a rapper. He worked with rapper C-Loc and his group Concentration Camp and made his debut on C-Loc's fifth album, It's a Gamble in 2000 as his old alias Boosie. Shortly afterwards, Hatch joined growing record label Trill Entertainment which was backed by its CEO the late Pimp C of UGK. Soon after, Trill independently released his debut album For My Thugz as his new alias Lil Boosie in 2003. Later, Boosie teamed with label mate Webbie, on their collaboration albums Ghetto Stories and Gangsta Musik.