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, AndrĂŠ 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.
âMr. Williams had been listening to the nervy jangle of post-punk and avant-punk: Gang of Four, Suicide, Devo, Talking Heads,â the Times reported in a December profile. âOnce I identified all my pieces,â Williams said, âI was like, âYo, I donât want to make any more linear songs.âââ N.E.R.Dâs fifth album, âNO ONE EVER REALLY DIES,â released in December, delights in the aimless, anything-plays spirit of post-punk and New Waveâan era that Pharrell, Chad Hugo, and Shay Haley watched firsthand as students of nineteen-eighties MTV."
To make sense of âNO ONE EVER REALLY DIES,â it helps to spend time with the cartoonish yelps of Devoâs Mark Mothersbaugh on âUncontrollable Urgeâ or David Byrne on âLife During Wartime.â Those front men both shout-sing somewhere higher than mid-range; Byrne has mentioned that, on âOnce in a Lifetime,â he evoked the quivering timbre of a southern evangelical preacher whom heâd taped off of local radio. Fans are used to Pharrellâs many voices: the falsetto made famous on âFrontinâ,â the breezy and conversational way that he rapped on âMr. Me Too,â even the showman croon on âHappy.â But this latest voice, on such tracks as âRollinem 7âsâ and âESP,â searches for a slightly goofball tone that offsets stone-serious messages, like âWhat possessed the slave to look in the river / Then he saw his true master, fuck is a âmisterâ?â and âDetach yourself, repack yourself / Be back yourself, and dream as yourself.â Many music fans winced at the sight of the new albumâs 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 albumâs production, an unrelenting tangle of stuttering rhythms, tempo changes, bridges, and every other misdirection the band can jam in. âLemon,â the opening track, is the most generous to pop form, and âDeep Down Body Thurstâ takes traditional N.E.R.D. piano chords and lays them under new, challenging shapes. You can hear shades of the songâs stomping guitar in the English Beatâs âMirror in the Bathroom,â itself a mutation of the ska sound that took hold in the U.K. âDonât Donât Do It!â pushes through its hook in the same fashion: while the verses are smooth and bluesy, the chorus bursts open in three steamy riffs. (âDonât, donât do it!â âTheyâre gonna do it anyway!â âThey. Are. Go-nna. Do. It anyway!â) âKitesâ 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.
Things Are Getting Better
N*E*R*D Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Check it out bitch
See sometimes
You gotta realize
Where you are in your life
And knowing you feel good and I feel good baby
Listen to me
Modify ya rings so they call it drugs
See a hundred girls, get a thousand hugs
One's in my ear talkin' bout her tub
She likes me
She say she needs me
Say she wants me
'Cause I'm the shit
Said she likes me
She said she needs me
She wants to see me
'Cause I'm the shit
Now it seems that things are really gettin' better, ah
In my life
Now it seems that things are really gettin' better, ah
We'll see tonight
We'll see tonight
Hey little girl wit' the tattoo thigh
Baby, you look like a slice of pie
Hope my style don't cause you fear
Matter of fact baby, where you goin' from here?
Kiss on me baby
Lick on me baby
But you can't own me baby
'Cause I'm the shit
Kiss on me baby
Lick on me baby
But you can't own me baby
'Cause I'm the shit
Now it seems that things are really gettin' better, ah
In my life
Is it just today or things are really gettin' better? Ah
We'll see tonight
We'll see tonight
Now it seems that things are really gettin' better, ah
In my life
Is it just today or things are really gettin' better? Ah
We'll see tonight
We'll see tonight
(Check it out now)
Don't look at me like, "What is up?"
Said I was a nerd but I ain't a punk
If you talk shit be prepared to thump
Plus Terrar .44 is prepared to dump
Watch out boy
Get back then
Watch how you're actin'
'Cause I'm the shit
I'm tellin' you watch it now
Tell ya boys to get back then
Watch how ya'll actin'
'Cause we the shit
Now it seems that things are really gettin' better, ah
In my life
Is it just today or things are really gettin' better? Ah
We'll see tonight
We'll see tonight
Now it seems that things are really gettin' better, ah
In my life
Is it just today or things are really gettin' better? Ah
We'll see tonight
We'll see tonight
Now it seems that things are really gettin' better, ah
In my life
Is it just today or things are really gettin' better? Ah
We'll see tonight
We'll see tonight
Now it seems that things are really gettin' better, ah
In my life
Is it just today or things are really gettin' better? Ah
We'll see tonight
We'll see tonight
Yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah
The lyrics of N*E*R*D's "Things Are Getting Better" talk about a confident man in a nightclub scene, surrounded by beautiful women who are attracted to him because of his style and charisma. He knows how to play the game, but he also acknowledges that he's in a good place in his life right now. He's having fun, but he's also focused on his own growth and progress. The chorus confirms this feeling of positivity and progression, suggesting that things are truly getting better for him.
In the verses, Pharrell Williams raps about the attention he's getting from various women in the club, all of whom are intrigued by his vibe and reputation. He enjoys the attention, but he's also careful not to let anyone "own" him or control him, as he asserts his own status as "the shit." He also warns any potential disrespecters that he and his crew are not to be messed with. Overall, the song is a celebration of confidence, individuality, and self-improvement in the face of external distractions and obstacles.
Line by Line Meaning
Uh
Exclamation of attention to the listener
Check it out bitch
Invitation for the listener to pay attention
See sometimes
Introduction for the upcoming advice
You gotta realize
Understand the current position in life
Where you are in your life
Assess your life situation
And knowing you feel good and I feel good baby
Acknowledge mutual satisfaction
Listen to me
Request for the listener to pay attention to advice given
Walk in the club wit' a bunch of thugs
Enter a club with aggressive peers
Modify ya rings so they call it drugs
Alter jewelry to resemble drug paraphernalia
See a hundred girls, get a thousand hugs
Recieve attention and validation from many girls
One's in my ear talkin' bout her tub
A girl converses with the singer
She likes me
The girl has expressed an interest in the artist
She say she needs me
The girl has stated her dependency on the singer
Say she wants me
The girl has declared her desire for the singer
'Cause I'm the shit
The singer is superior and of high value
Said she likes me
Reiteration of the girl's interest in the artist
She said she needs me
Reiteration of the girl's dependency on the artist
She wants to see me
Reiteration of the girl's desire for the singer
Hey little girl wit' the tattoo thigh
The singer addresses another girl in the club
Baby, you look like a slice of pie
The artist compliments the girl's appearance
Hope my style don't cause you fear
The artist hopes to not intimidate the girl
Matter of fact baby, where you goin' from here?
The artist inquires about the girl's plans
Kiss on me baby
The singer offers affection to the girl
Lick on me baby
The artist offers intimacy to the girl
But you can't own me baby
The singer is indicating that they cannot be controlled
Now it seems that things are really gettin' better, ah
Observation that circumstances have improved
In my life
Referring to the singer's personal experience
We'll see tonight
Uncertainty about future situations
Is it just today or things are really gettin' better? Ah
Further questioning of the improvent of circumstances
Don't look at me like, "What is up?"
Challenging those who question the singer's behavior
Said I was a nerd but I ain't a punk
Claiming intelligence but still maintaining toughness
If you talk shit be prepared to thump
Warning of physical violence for verbal disrespect
Plus Terrar .44 is prepared to dump
Furthering threatening attitude
Watch out boy
Further warning to the listener
Get back then
Acknowledgement of the hostile behavior
Watch how you're actin'
Advising the listener to be cautious
'Cause I'm the shit
Reiteration of speaker's superiority
Tell ya boys to get back then
Advising companions to be cautious
We the shit
Claiming camaraderie of superiority
Yeah, yeah
Closing statement of excitement
Yeah, yeah
Closing statement of excitement
Yeah, yeah
Closing statement of excitement
Lyrics Š Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Chad Hugo, Pharrell Williams, Pharrell L Williams
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Bran M
[Intro: Pharrell and Shay]
Uh, uh, check it out, bitch, uh
See, sometimes, you gotta realize, where you are in your life, in order to feel good
And I feel good, baby
Listen to me (Come on)
[Verse 1: Pharrell Williams]
Walk in the club with a bunch of thugs (Uh)
Modify your brains, so they call me drugs (Uh)
See a hundred girls, get a thousand hugs (Uh)
One's in my ear talkin' about her tub
[Pre-Chorus: Pharrell Williams]
She likes me, she say she needs me, she say she wants me (I want you too)
'Cause I'm the shit (I miss you)
She said she likes me, she said she needs me, she wants to see me (I need you too)
'Cause I'm the shit
[Chorus: Pharrell Williams]
Now it seems that things are really getting better (Getting better)
In my life (Yeah)
Is it just today or things are really getting better? (Getting better)
We'll see tonight, we'll see tonight (We'll see tonight)
[Verse 2: Shay Haley]
Hey, little girl with the tattoo thigh (Thigh)
Baby, you look like a slice of pie (Pie)
Hope my style don't cause you fear
Matter of fact, baby, where you goin' from here? (Word)
[Pre-Chorus 2: Shay and Pharrell]
Kiss on me, baby, lick on me, baby, but you can't own me, baby
'Cause I'm the shit (Shit)
Kiss on me, baby, lick on me, baby, but you can't own me, baby (Ooh)
'Cause I'm the shit (Ooh, uh)
[Chorus: Pharrell Williams]
Now it seems that things are really getting better (Getting better)
In my life (Things are getting better)
Is it just today or things are really getting better? (Yeah)
We'll see tonight, we'll see tonight (We'll see tonight)
Now it seems that things are really getting better
In my life (Feel goodie!)
Is it just today or things are really getting better? (Yeah)
We'll see tonight, we'll see tonight (We'll see tonight)
[Interlude: Pharrell and Shay]
Oh, check it out now (Come on)
[Verse 3: Pharrell Williams]
Don't look at me like, "What is up?" (Uh)
Said I was a nerd, but I ain't a punk (Nah)
If you talk shit, then be prepared to thump (Uh)
Plus Terrar's .44 is prepared to dump
[Pre-Chorus 3: Pharrell Williams]
Watch out, boy, get back then, watch how you're actin'
'Cause I'm the shit (The shit)
I'm tellin' you watch it now, tell your boys to get back then, watch how y'all actin'
'Cause we the shit (We the shit)
[Chorus: Pharrell and Shay]
Now it seems that things are really getting better (Oh!)
In my life (In my life, hahahaha)
Is it just today or things are really getting better? (Haha)
We'll see tonight, we'll see tonight (We'll see tonight)
Now it seems that things are really getting better
In my life
Is it just today or things are really getting better? (Uh-huh)
We'll see tonight, we'll see tonight (We'll see tonight, baby, how do you feel?)
Now it seems that things are really getting better (I'll feel good, and how do you feel?)
In my life (I feel good, how do you feel?)
Is it just today or things are really getting better? (I'll feel good, and how do you feel?)
We'll see tonight, we'll see tonight (I feel good)
Now it seems that things are really getting better (Girl, girl, girl)
In my life (Girl, girl, girl)
Is it just today or things are really getting better? (Girl, girl, girl)
We'll see tonight, we'll see tonight (Girl, hey)
[Outro: Pharrell Williams]
Yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah
Yeah
lil baby tears
I used to listen to this when i was so little with my parents and now im 22 and im so depressed with my life, lmao, but I revisited this album and the nostalgia is hitting me. This song helps me not hate life so much and makes me feel hopeful.
xierra
hope you're doing better now :)
Jamie
Hope that things are getting better đ
lil baby tears
Iâm 26 now, and yes things have gotten better â¤ď¸ thank you guys.
Britt Rose
"said i was a nerd but I aint a punk" hands down favorite line of the song .
apple-sauce
Best line of the record đ¤Š
TheMadnessFlow
this album screams nostalgia. everything from the happy as hell cheery tunes to the album cover, which just looks like one of those days during the summer when you just stay in nd play bum for the day
clbn44
Yoooo u hella rightttt
AstroFL
Facts
Gabby Wayne
I was listening to this inbetween filming skateboarding and skits...and playin bum lol...good vibes â¤