Frontin'

For the 2005 song by Chamillionaire, see The Sound of Revenge.

"Frontin"
Single by Pharrell featuring Jay-Z
from the album Clones
Released	June 3, 2003 (U.S.) August 4, 2003 (UK)
Format	CD single, 7"
Recorded	2003
Genre	Alternative Hip-Hop, R&B, hip hop
Length	4:01
Label	Arista Star Trak
Writer(s)	Pharrell Williams, Chad Hugo, Shawn Carter
Producer	The Neptunes
Pharrell singles chronology
"Belly Dancer" (2002) "Frontin'" (2003) "Light Yo Ass on Fire" (2003)

"Frontin'", is a 2003 song by producer Pharrell. 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, he has since released his own solo album, In My Mind.

"Frontin'" was a big summer hit (the 34th biggest selling single of 2003 in the U.S. according to Billboard magazine), and was featured on the album The Neptunes Present... Clones, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 in August 2003.

"Frontin'" was a #5 hit in the U.S. upon its 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. It is Pharrell's biggest hit worldwide as a solo artist (his biggest hit as a collaboration being Drop It Like It's Hot with Snoop Dogg).

The lead girls in the video are Lanisha Cole and Lauren London.

Personnel

• Written by Pharrell, Chad Hugo, and Jay-Z
• Produced by The Neptunes
• All instruments by Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo

Covers

The track was covered by UK neo-Jazz artist Jamie Cullum, whose version, recorded on February 11, 2004 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. The cover also appeared on Cullum's US release of Twentysomething as a bonus track. Cullum's version was released as a single and reached #12 in the UK.

It was also covered live by Maroon 5, featuring Chad Hugo 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.

New Orleans native Trombone Shorty and his band and Orleans Avenue cover the song on their 2005 debut album, Orleans & Claiborne.

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)

Charts

Country	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	5
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs	1
Canadian Singles Chart	15
UK Singles Chart	6

References

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

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

Succeeded by "Baby Boy" by Beyoncé featuring Sean Paul