N*E*R*D

N*E*R*D is an alternative rock, funk and rap group from Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States, formed in 2001. The name stands for “No-one Ever Really Dies”. The group centres on Pharrell Williams, Chad Hugo and Shay Haley: Williams sings and plays keys and guitar, Hugo plays guitar and bass, and Haley plays drums. Williams and Hugo are also known as the Grammy-winning production duo The Neptunes.

Sound and early releases

The band’s music combines rock, hip-hop and R&B, and its early recordings use production methods associated with Neptunes releases. For the debut album, In Search Of..., Williams and Hugo first record a version for European release in 2001, then re-record it with the power pop band Spymob for worldwide release in 2002 so the group has a sound distinct from The Neptunes. In Search Of... reaches number 59 on the Billboard 200 in the United States. Its singles include “Lapdance”, which reaches the rap top 40 and also enters the top 40 in the Netherlands, and “Rock Star”, which reaches the top 40 on the US modern rock chart.

Critical recognition and Fly or Die

In Search Of... receives a Shortlist Music Prize, which recognises the best album that has sold fewer than 500,000 copies at the time of nomination. The band performs at the ceremony after the album has already reached gold status. N*E*R*D records its second album, Fly or Die, during 2003, and the group learns to play the material live rather than relying on outside musicians. Chad Hugo says the band members play the instruments themselves on this record. The album includes guest appearances from Lenny Kravitz on “Maybe” and Joel Madden and Benji Madden of Good Charlotte on “Jump”. Several songs deal with teenage concerns, including bullying on “Thrasher”, rebellion on “Drill Sergeant”, and first love on “Backseat Love”. Fly or Die is released in 2004 and enters the US top 10. Its lead single, “She Wants to Move”, reaches the top 5 in the UK and also charts in Norway, Ireland, Denmark, Australia, the United States and the Netherlands. The band leaves Virgin Records in 2005.

Star Trak and later albums

After leaving Virgin, Williams and Hugo establish Star Trak Entertainment as a subsidiary of Interscope Records. The third album, Seeing Sounds, is built around synesthesia, the crossing of the senses, and is intended to capture the hyperactive atmosphere the band associates with its live audience. It debuts at number seven on the Billboard 200. The singles include “Everyone Nose (All the Girls Standing in the Line for the Bathroom)”, which has a video featuring fans alongside Lindsay Lohan and Kanye West, “Spaz”, which is used in a Microsoft Zune commercial, and “Sooner or Later”, which has a video focused on America’s economic crisis.

The fourth album, Nothing, appears after delays and is shaped as a kind of time capsule about divisions in the United States. Pharrell describes it as reflecting peace and war, economic strain and beauty, and the band says it keeps pushing the record until it feels right. The album is influenced by late-1960s and early-1970s psychedelic pop, with vintage sounds and references to Crosby, Stills & Nash and the Moody Blues. Its singles include “Hot-n-Fun” with Nelly Furtado and “Hypnotize U”, produced by Daft Punk. Nothing debuts at number 21 in the US.

NO_ONE EVER REALLY DIES

In 2014, N*E*R*D releases “Squeeze Me”, “Patrick Star” and “Sandy Squirrel” for The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water. The fifth album, NO_ONE EVER REALLY DIES, follows in 2017 through I Am Other and Columbia Records. It features guest appearances from Rihanna, André 3000, Kendrick Lamar, M.I.A., Gucci Mane, Wale, Future and Ed Sheeran, among others. The pre-release singles are “Lemon” with Rihanna, “1000” with Future and “Don’t Don’t Do It!” with Kendrick Lamar. The album draws heavily on 1980s new wave and post-punk, moving away from the sound of Nothing. It receives positive reviews.