Williams and Hugo are also known as the Grammy-winning production duo The Neptunes.
N*E*R*D's sound is a blend of rock, hip-hop, and R&B. N*E*R*D stands for "No-one Ever Really Dies".
Williams and Hugo originally recorded the band's debut album, In Search Of..., for European release in 2001 using similar digital production techniques used on Neptunes-produced records. However, they decided that if N*E*R*D was to be different from The Neptunes, it should sound different. This led to them re-recording the album (still titled In Search Of...) with the power pop band Spymob for worldwide release in 2002.
In Search Of... achieved moderate success in the United States.: the album reached number 59 on the Billboard 200; its first single, Lapdance, reached the top 40 on the rap charts; and its second single, Rock Star, reached the top 40 of the modern rock charts in the US and is still incredibly popular today. "Lapdance" also went top 40 in the Netherlands and its music video received heavy airplay on American MTV2. The album was well-received by critics even though it was not as successful as many of the Neptunes' productions for other artists.
The album won the second annual Shortlist Music Prize, awarded (by a group of musicians, journalists, and other music professionals) for Best Album that had sold less than 500,000 copies at the time of nomination. The band performed at the show, bragging that the week prior to the ceremony, the album had, in fact, achieved gold status by selling over 500,000 units.
Fly or Die
The band recorded their second album Fly or Die during 2003. The band actually learned to play the tunes live, as Chad Hugo told MTV News on December 9, 2003: "We're the ones playing the instruments live this time. "I just started playing guitar last year so I'm learning as we go. Pharrell's playing drums. [Last time] we didn't have time to learn certain instruments so we got Spymob to help us out."
The band also recruited some assistance to record the album with Lenny Kravitz playing on the track Maybe (which has been featured in ads for XM Satellite Radio) and Joel Madden and Benji Madden of Good Charlotte playing on the track Jump. Several of the tracks discuss issues of particular concern to adolescents, for example Thrasher, which is about bullies; Drill Sergeant, about rebellion; and Backseat Love, which talks about first love.
Fly or Die went on sale on March 22, 2004. The album went top 10 in the USA, while the lead-off single, She Wants to Move, went top 5 in the UK, top 20 in Norway, Ireland, and Denmark, and top 30 in Australia and top 40 in the USA and the Netherlands. The music videos for "She Wants To Move" and its followup single, "Maybe", received strong support from music video stations globally.
In 2005, N.E.R.D ended their contract with Virgin Records. After becoming "hooked" on the energy from their fans, the band began recording their third studio album, spending their own money. Williams and Hugo later established Star Trak Entertainment, a subsidiary of Interscope Records.
Seeing Sounds
The third album from N*E*R*D is called Seeing Sounds. The album's title, as well as its content, revolves around the neurological phenomenon of synesthesia, the mixing of sensory modalities. After touring in promotion of their previous album, Fly or Die, N.E.R.D felt that album was too consistent. For their following album, they wanted to create the atmosphere of hyperactivity they knew their fans wanted.
The album debuted at number seven on the Billboard 200, selling 80,000 in its first week. It received mixed reviews, with critics lauding the production of the album. Some writers called the record N.E.R.D's best album to date, while others criticized Williams' singing and the album's content.
The album was released on June 10, 2008. The first single off the album, titled "Everyone Nose (All the Girls Standing in the Line for the Bathroom)" featured a video with fans as well as stars like Lindsay Lohan and Kanye West. In June 2008, the second single off the album, titled "Spaz", was used in a TV commercial for the Microsoft Zune. The third single "Sooner or Later" featured a video dedicated to America's economic crisis.
Nothing
In 2010, N.E.R.D announced the release of their fourth studio album entitled Nothing, which had a scheduled release date for September 7, 2010, but was pushed back to November 2, 2010. The first single from the album, "Hot-n-Fun" featuring Canadian recording artist Nelly Furtado, was released on May 18, 2010, on iTunes. It was released in the United Kingdom on August 30, 2010. On August 20, 2010, a track titled "Party People" leaked onto the internet. It was rumored to be the second single from the album. On September 28, 2010, they premiered another track from the album titled "Hypnotize U" on Late Show with David Letterman, produced by electronic music duo Daft Punk. On September 30, 2010, in an interview with Mark Hoppus on A Different Spin with Mark Hoppus, Pharrell explained the album cover as "a mix of so many things. The feathers represent the peace, and the helmet represents the war. It's like where we are right now. There's a lot of war, that people can't necessarily explain. The economy sucks, girls are still beautiful. We wanted to make music that reflected that. So people can look back twenty years from now, and say 'this is what was going on'". They then announced in the interview that the next two singles would be "I've Seen the Light" and "Hypnotize U". Pharrell described "Hypnotize U" as being "so different from the rest of the album", stating he was "very pleased because it serves a different purpose" in the album. On October 17, 2010, the standard edition and the deluxe edition of the album became available for pre-order on iTunes. Nothing debuted at number twenty one on the US Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 20,000 copies.
The albums concept was to create a time capsule about America's divisions, "so that ten years from now people remember that era." Sonically the album was inspired by the late 60's and early 70's psychedelic pop.
Pharrell explained: "I just wanted to make some good music that would affect people in a good way." Williams says it wasn't easy. N*E*R*D worked on "a previous body of work which was really good, but it wasn't timeless to me. I didn't feel like we were pushing ourselves as much as we could. We needed to perfect the sound, so we kept pushing the date back until it was right." The result includes "a lot of vintage sounds...The album is very '68-'72, '73, America meets Crosby, Stills & Nash meets Moody Blues."
Nothing received mixed to positive reviews from most music critics.
NO_ONE EVER REALLY DIES
In 2013, Pharrell confirmed a N.E.R.D album was in progress, but also mentioned that the album would not be released that year due to the projects he was working on with other artists. He has also said the album will be "nature-based". The group reunited on December 26, 2014, to release the songs "Squeeze Me," "Patrick Star," and "Sandy Squirrel" for the film The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water.
On February 6, 2017, during an interview with BBC Radio 1, Pharrell stated that "it's feeling really good, really special" about the group's return.
In October 2017, the album was teased after posters were popping up on the side of streets, and by concertgoers at the 2017 Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival.
It was preceded by three singles; "Lemon" with Rihanna, "1000" with Future, and "Don't Don't Do It!" with Kendrick Lamar.
The album was debuted with a live listening party during the first day at ComplexCon, thus revealing the tracklist. Pharrell revealed the album's cover art and release date via Instagram and Twitter on November 22, 2017.
NO_ONE EVER REALLY DIES was released on December 15, 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 album presented a radical change in sound compared to Nothing, heavily influenced by 80's New Wave and Post-Punk.
“Mr. Williams had been listening to the nervy jangle of post-punk and avant-punk: Gang of Four, Suicide, Devo, Talking Heads,” the Times reported in a December profile. “Once I identified all my pieces,” Williams said, “I was like, ‘Yo, I don’t want to make any more linear songs.’ ” N.E.R.D’s fifth album, “NO ONE EVER REALLY DIES,” released in December, delights in the aimless, anything-plays spirit of post-punk and New Wave—an era that Pharrell, Chad Hugo, and Shay Haley watched firsthand as students of nineteen-eighties MTV."
To make sense of “NO ONE EVER REALLY DIES,” it helps to spend time with the cartoonish yelps of Devo’s Mark Mothersbaugh on “Uncontrollable Urge” or David Byrne on “Life During Wartime.” Those front men both shout-sing somewhere higher than mid-range; Byrne has mentioned that, on “Once in a Lifetime,” he evoked the quivering timbre of a southern evangelical preacher whom he’d taped off of local radio. Fans are used to Pharrell’s many voices: the falsetto made famous on “Frontin’,” the breezy and conversational way that he rapped on “Mr. Me Too,” even the showman croon on “Happy.” But this latest voice, on such tracks as “Rollinem 7’s” and “ESP,” searches for a slightly goofball tone that offsets stone-serious messages, like “What possessed the slave to look in the river / Then he saw his true master, fuck is a ‘mister’?” and “Detach yourself, repack yourself / Be back yourself, and dream as yourself.” Many music fans winced at the sight of the new album’s credits, worried that its several guest slots meant a muddy, scattered N.E.R.D. project, but the most unexpected voice on it belongs to Pharrell, who finds new angles for his instrument almost fifteen years in.
This shape-shifting extends to the album’s production, an unrelenting tangle of stuttering rhythms, tempo changes, bridges, and every other misdirection the band can jam in. “Lemon,” the opening track, is the most generous to pop form, and “Deep Down Body Thurst” takes traditional N.E.R.D. piano chords and lays them under new, challenging shapes. You can hear shades of the song’s stomping guitar in the English Beat’s “Mirror in the Bathroom,” itself a mutation of the ska sound that took hold in the U.K. “Don’t Don’t Do It!” pushes through its hook in the same fashion: while the verses are smooth and bluesy, the chorus bursts open in three steamy riffs. (“Don’t, don’t do it!” “They’re gonna do it anyway!” “They. Are. Go-nna. Do. It anyway!”) “Kites” is just as sprawling, bobbing between a double-time punk stomp and trunk-melting trap as Kendrick Lamar and M.I.A. vent about flying over borders and walls on both ends of the beat.
NO_ONE EVER REALLY DIES received positive reviews from music critics.
Lapdance
N*E*R*D Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm a dirty dog (uh)
I'm a dirty dog
I'm a, I'm a dirty dog
Dirty dog
I'm a dirty dog
Dirty dog
Quick on the draw (quick on the draw)
Somethin' you've never seen before (you've never seen)
And I dare a motherfucker to come in my face
I got somethin' chrome (I got somethin' chrome)
And I got it from home (and I got it from home)
And it ain't a microphone (it ain't a mic)
And I dare a motherfucker to come in my face
It's so real (real)
How I feel (feel)
'Cause this society
That makes a nigga want to kill
I'm just straight ill
Ridin' my motorcycle down the streets
While politicians is soundin' like strippers to me
They sayin' but I don't wanna hear it
Ooh, baby, you want me?
Ooh, baby, you want me?
Ooh, baby, you want me?
Well, you can get this lap dance here for free
Well, you can get this lap dance here for free
Well, you can get this lap dance here for free
Ooh, baby, you want me?
Well, you can get this lap dance here for free
It's a raw night (it's a raw night)
Who wants to bar fight? (Who wants to bar fight?)
Well, come on alright (well, come on)
And I dare a motherfucker to come in my face
Baseball bats (baseball bats)
I got somethin' for that (I got somethin' for that)
It goes bla-ka-ka-kat (you know what that is)
So I dare a motherfucker to come in my face
It's so real (real)
How I feel (feel)
'Cause this society
That makes a nigga want to kill (kill)
I'm just straight ill
Ridin' my motorcycle down the streets
While the government is soundin' like strippers to me
They keep sayin' but I don't wanna hear it
Ooh, baby, you want me?
Ooh, baby, you want me?
Ooh, baby, you want me?
Well, you can get this lap dance here for free
Well, you can get this lap dance here for free
Well, you can get this lap dance here for free
Ooh, baby, you want me?
Well, you can get this lap dance (Lee Harvey) here for free
When you think of Harvey, think of a Harley
Blue denim, spiked wrists and 'Crombie
Slap screws and tattoos that's all me
Two blondes, both arms, feelin' like Fonzie
You can find me drunk, whippin' it might crash
Or find me chillin' with crackers who like Thrash
Find me in court smokin' that nice grass
Burnin' the flag, all in the name of white trash
It's Harvey, baby, Christ on the arm, I'm gnarly, baby
Fuck with me? Not hardly, baby
And you know the flow ungodly, baby
So let's party, baby
Chicks nickname me Pilot, they get high off my dick
I take 'em to my home, they call it the cockpit
Time for take-off, their panties they drop quick
Now that's first-class fuckin', ain't that some fly shit?
Ooh, baby, you want me?
Ooh, baby, you want me?
Ooh, baby, you want me?
Well, you can get this lap dance here for free
Well, you can get this lap dance here for free
Well, you can get this lap dance here for free
Ooh, baby, you want me?
Well, you can get this lap dance here for free
Well, you can get this lap dance here for free
Well, you can get this lap dance
They keep sayin' (here for free), but I don't wanna hear it
N*E*R*D's song Lapdance is a high-energy hip-hop track that can be interpreted in a variety of ways. One possible interpretation is that the song is a condemnation of society's mismanagement of its youth. The lyrics describe a sense of frustration with the rampant violence on the streets and the failure of political leaders to provide solutions. The singer of the song reveals himself to be a "dirty dog" and an "outlaw" who is quick on the draw and dares people to come at him. He feels a sense of alienation from society and argues that it is making him want to kill. He is riding his motorcycle down the streets while politicians talk like strippers. The lap dance in the title may represent a freewheeling, impassioned attempt at escape from the many problems that society presents. It is a way to fight back against the system by rejecting the norms and conventions of mainstream culture.
Another interpretation of the song is that it is a celebration of sexual freedom and power. The lap dance in the title is a metaphor for sexual power, and the singer encourages someone to take advantage of it for free. The singer describes himself as being "straight ill," which could be interpreted as a way of saying that he is an extremely skilled and appealing sexual partner. He is confident in his sexuality and revels in the idea of taking control of someone and making them feel his power. The lyrics are filled with suggestive metaphors, like "baseball bats" and "spiked wrists," that suggest a powerful, intense sexual energy. Overall, the song is a celebration of breaking free from social norms and enjoying life to the fullest.
Line by Line Meaning
Dirty Dog
The singer is a rebel who defies the norms and conventions of society.
I'm, I'm a dirty dog
The singer is emphasizing his rebellious nature and non-conformity to societal norms.
I'm a dirty dog
The singer identifies himself as someone who lives on the edge and is unafraid to take risks.
I'm an outlaw (I'm an outlaw)
The artist sees himself as someone who operates outside the law and doesn't follow the rules.
Quick on the draw (Quick on the draw)
The artist prides himself on his quick reflexes and ability to react spontaneously in situations that require it.
Somethin' you've never seen before (Never Seen)
The singer sees himself as unique, different from everyone else.
And I dare a mother fucker to come in my face
The singer is challenging anyone who would try to stand up to him or challenge him.
I got somethin' chrome (I got somethin' Chrome)
The artist has a weapon, possibly a gun, and is ready to use it if necessary.
And I got it from home (I got it from home)
The artist implies that his violent tendencies are innate, possibly inherited from his family.
And it ain't a microphone (Ain't it a mic!)
The artist's weapon is not a microphone, but something much more dangerous and lethal.
It's so real
How I Feel
'Cause this society
That makes a nigga want to kill
I'm just straight ill
The singer is expressing anger and frustration at the society he lives in, which he feels has pushed him to his limits.
Ridin' my motorcycle down the streets
While politicians is soundin' like strippers to me
They keep sayin' but I don't want to hear it
The artist is disillusioned with politics and politicians, whom he sees as fake and shallow, and would rather ride his motorcycle than listen to them.
Ooh baby you want me?
The singer is addressing a woman whom he believes wants him and is taunting her with his abilities and prowess.
Well you can get this lap dance here for free
Now you can get this lap dance here for free
Now you can get this lap dance here for free
Oooh baby you want me?
The singer is offering the woman a lap dance, which he sees as a symbol of his sexual power and freedom. He emphasizes that it's free, as a way of flaunting his disregard for money and material possessions.
It's a raw night (It's a raw night)
Who wants to bar fight? (Who wants to bar fight?)
Well come on alright (Yo come on)
The singer is looking for a fight and challenging anyone who would dare to face him.
Baseball bats (Baseball bats)
I got somethin' for that ( I got somethin' for that)
It goes bla ka ka kat (You know what that is)
The artist is saying that he's prepared to fight with whatever weapons he has, including baseball bats, and has a way to defeat them (not specified).
When you think of Harvey, think of a Harley
Blue denim, spiked wrists and gone be
Lap-screws and tattoos that's all me
Two guns, both arm's spinnin' like Fonzie
The artist is introducing himself as Harvey, who is associated with a Harley motorcycle, tattoos, and a tough look. He has two guns and spins them like Fonzie from the TV show Happy Days.
You can find me drunk, whip it it might crash
Or find me chillin with crackers, who like thrash
Find me in court smokin' that nice grass
Burnin' the flag, all in the name of white trash
The singer is saying that he's often drunk and reckless, sometimes hanging out with white people who like heavy metal music. He also smokes marijuana and burns the American flag, as a way of expressing his disdain for authority and establishment.
It's Harvey baby, Christ on the arm I'm lawly baby
Fuck with me? Not hardly baby
And you know the flow unguardly baby
So lets party baby
The singer is reiterating his identity as Harvey, who has a tattoo of Christ on his arm and is not afraid of anyone who would try to mess with him. He also claims to have a unique flow in his rapping, and invites the listener to party with him.
Chicks nick-name me prador, they get high of my dick
I take 'em to my home, they call it the cock pit
Time for take off, their panties they drop quick
Now that's first class fuckin, ain't that some fly shit?
The artist brags about his sexual prowess, which has earned him a nickname (prador) among women. He takes them to his home, which he refers to as the cockpit, and has sex with them with ease. He compares his sexual activity to first-class flying, and takes pride in it.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Chad Hugo, Gene Thornton Jr, Pharrell Williams
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@keenanalexander3003
The seamless mixture of hip hop, rock, and funk makes this song so kickass.
@clicheguevara5282
IKR? Exactly. I used to play guitar along with this song.
@StagsWuzHere
And I'm Okay With That Y'all 💯💯💯💯
@davidlontoh
So basiclly nu metal?
@tonifresco1844
N.E.R.D. was so influential. They brought on a whole wave of "regular kids" with that "college kid" swagg into the game. They brought the fun back into hip hop at a time when violence and gimmicks were the only thing popping. They brought that regular guy party vibe into the game. Not to mention the fantastic production they brought into the game with it 🔥
@elidyson256
It's true!!!! I watched first time loved it when most ignored it cause of the music video
@rubberwoody
bro the whole song is about violence how is it any different?
@jimmythe-gent
"I dare a muthafucka to come in my face..."
@elidyson256
@@rubberwoody holy shit you serious bro? Do you watch movie and say the same thing when someone mention he's a good director? "dude create violence movie"
Relax kid.
@damonmoore773
@@elidyson256 zzzZ