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.
Tape You
N*E*R*D Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I really, I really like you baby
Don't be mad at me
Babe
For what I'm about to ask, don't be ashamed
I just love you girl
Babe
In my "Fuck You" world
(Yeah, ahh)
(Yeah, ahh)
Relax girl (relax baby)
Sip some of my Slurpee
You don't have to lie to me (nah baby)
It's fly to me (I like it)
And this way (hey)
You can have your privacy (how do you want it)
And at the same time I can see
Look
I just want to tape you
All night
Yeah
Hey baby
I just wanna tape you
All night
Yeah
Babe, please don't let this make you think my love has swayed (hey baby)
No way, okay (still the same)
Baby girl, this is not her idea
It's mine single handedly
It's just my fantasy (ain't just 'bout the tapes)
There's only one and when you're done
It's ours just for fun
And then please give me some
Listen we'll call her gold and you'll be platinum
I just want to see you come (out)
Look
I just wanna tape you
All night
Yeah
Look here sugar
I just wanna tape you
All night
Yeah
I just wanna tape you mama
All night
Yeah
I just wanna tape you
All night
Yeah
Nah baby don't worry about your makeup
I promise I won't be jealous and break up
Not to patronize and sound fake but
If this is a dream I don't want to wake up
Nah baby don't worry about your makeup
I promise I won't be jealous and break up
Not to patronize and sound fake but
If this is a dream I ain't waking up
Turn on the purple light
Begin flashing
By removing your fashion
And start tongue lashing
Now girl kiss her boobs
And you kiss her boobs too
And let your finger dash in
Lights, camera, action
Yeah, tape you
All night
Yeah
Hey sugar
I just wanna tape you
All night
Yeah
I just wanna tape you
All night (I just wanna tape you, baby)
Yeah
Hey 'little mama I just wanna tape you
All night
Yeah
Uh, I just wanna tape you
All night, yeah
Hey, I just wanna tape you
Little mama
I just wanna tape you (ohh)
All night, yeah
I just wanna tape you
You and your girl, baby
All night
Hey 'lil mama, uh
You and your girl
All night, just taping (me and you and her)
It's just my fantasy, don't be afraid (ooh, ooh)
It's alright
And cut
The lyrics of N*E*R*D's song Tape You may seem explicit at first, but upon closer analysis, they reveal a deeper meaning. The song is about the desire to capture and preserve a moment of intimate connection between two lovers. The singer is assuring his partner that his request to record their sexual encounter is not out of shame or exploitation, but rather out of a deep love and desire to hold onto the fleeting moments of their passion.
Throughout the song, the singer encourages his partner to relax and enjoy the moment, while also acknowledging the potential discomfort or insecurity that may arise from the request. He assures her that this is just a fantasy and that he will not be jealous or controlling. Instead, he views this as an opportunity to celebrate their love in a unique way. The lyrics also suggest a desire for experimentation and exploration, as the singer encourages his partner to engage in sexual acts with another woman.
These lyrics are provocative and controversial, but they also reveal a deeper theme of love, intimacy, and the desire to hold onto fleeting moments. The song captures the complexity of human relationships and the blurred lines between love and desire.
Line by Line Meaning
Babe
Addressing the person he is speaking to
For what I'm about to ask
Preparing the person for something important
Don't be ashamed
Trying to make the person feel comfortable
I just love you girl
Reaffirming his love for the person
Babe, as time will surely pass
Noting that time moves on despite his desires
Love shows it flame
Love persists even when time moves on
In my fuck you world
Indicating a disregard for societal norms and expectations
Relax girl
Encouraging the person to relax
Sip some of my slurpee
Offering the person a drink, perhaps as a gesture of care or kindness
You don't have to lie to me
Trying to establish trust and honesty
It's fly to me
Expressing his own desires or interests
And this way, you can have your privacy
Offering a way for the person to maintain their privacy
And at the same time I can see
Indicating his own desires while acknowledging the other person's needs
Look, I just want to tape you all night, yeah
Stating his intention directly and without shame
Babe, please don't let this make you think my love has swayed
Reassuring the person that his feelings have not changed
No way ok
Asserting his sincerity and perhaps seeking agreement or understanding
Baby girl, this is not her idea
Clarifying that the idea is solely his
It's mine single handedly, it's just my fantasy
Admitting that this is his own personal desire or fantasy
There's only one and when you're done it's ours just for fun
Describing the activity as something that can be shared and enjoyed
And then please give me some
Asking for something in return
Listen, we'll call her gold and you'll be platinum
Using nicknames as a way to personalize or make the activity more enjoyable
I just want to see you come...out
Expressing a desire for the person to be more open or expressive
Nah baby don't worry about your makeup
Telling the person not to worry about their appearance
I promise I won't be jealous and break up
Offering reassurance that there will be no negative consequences
Not to patronize and sound fake but
Qualifying his statement to avoid giving the wrong impression
If this is a dream I don't want to wake up
Indicating that he is enjoying the moment and does not want it to end
Turn on the purple light, begin flashin'
Setting the mood and ambiance for the activity
By removing' your fashion and start tongue lashin'
Engaging in intimate activity
Now girl kiss her boobs, and you kiss her boobs too
Describing the specific activity in more detail
And let your finger dash in, lights, camera, action
Actively engaging in the activity and perhaps enjoying the moment
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Chad Hugo, Pharrell Williams
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind