Frontin' (song)

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"Frontin'"
Single by Pharrell
from the album The Neptunes Present... Clones
Released	U.S. - June 3, 2003 UK - August 4, 2003
Format	CD single Vinyl
Recorded	2003
Genre	R&B
Length	4:01
Label	Arista Records Star Trak
Writer(s)	Pharrell Williams Chad Hugo Shawn Carter
Producer(s)	The Neptunes
Chart positions
#5 (U.S.) #6 (U.K.)
Pharrell singles chronology
	"Frontin'" (2003)	"Can I Have It Like That" (2005)

Frontin', is a 2003 song by producer Pharrell Williams. The title refers to putting up a facade (or false 'front'), typically to impress peers. The song features rapper Jay-Z, is written by Pharrell and produced by The Neptunes. At the time he insisted the single was a one-off, and that he was purely a producer and not a rapper/singer in his own right, however has since released his own solo album, In My Mind.

"Frontin'" was a big summer hit (the 34th biggest single of 2003 (US) according to Billboard Magazine), and was featured on the album The Neptunes Present... Clones, which debuted at number one in August 2003.

"Frontin'" was a top 5 hit in the U.S. upon it's June 2003 release and remains his biggest hit there to date. It also peaked at #1 in the U.S. R&B/Hip Hop and U.S. Rap charts. In the UK the single also charted inside the top 10, peaking at #6 in the UK official singles chart and spending 10 weeks within the top 75.

The lead girl in the video is Lanisha Cole.

Contents 1 Credits 2 Covers 3 Track listing 4 Charts 4.1 Worldwide chart positions

[edit] Credits

• Written by Pharrell Williams, Chad Hugo, and Shawn Carter
• Produced by The Neptunes
• All instruments by Pharrell Williams, and Chad Hugo

[edit] Covers

The track was covered by UK neo-Jazz artist Jamie Cullum, whose version recorded for BBC Radio 1 DJ Jo Whiley's Live Lounge was played to Pharrell (who was clearly very impressed by the cover) on a visit to the show, which lead to Cullum's eventual signing to Star Trak.

It was also covered live by Maroon 5, featuring Chad and rapper Mos Def, who replaced Jay-Z's verse with impromptu rapping from A Tribe Called Quest's Bonita Applebum, in an apparent reference to similarities between parts of the tracks.

[edit] Track listing

UK CD

1. "Frontin’" (Featuring Jay-Z) (Radio Edit)
2. "Hot Damn" (Featuring Ab Liva)
3. "Popular Thug" (Kelis Featuring Nas)
4. "Frontin’" (Video)

[edit] Charts

[edit] Worldwide chart positions

Country	Peak position
U.S.	5
U.S. R&B/Hip Hop	1
U.S. Rap	1
UK	6

Preceded by "Crazy in Love" by Beyoncé featuring Jay-Z

Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs number one single August 16, 2003- September 20, 2003

Succeeded by "Baby Boy" by Beyoncé featuring Sean Paul