N.E.R.D

Rambunctious rock and hard-hitting hip-hop drive the imaginative sound of N.E.R.D. The trio—composed of childhood friends Pharrell Williams, Chad Hugo, and Shay Haley—formed in 1999 as a side project for Williams and Hugo, who were already successful as the adventurous production team The Neptunes. While rap rock is the foundation of the group’s aural aesthetic, the band members experiment broadly with pop and funk and tinker with further-flung subgenres like psychedelia and new wave. In 2001, N.E.R.D released its debut album, In Search Of…, which was highlighted by the sonically ambitious “Lapdance.” The group continued its mission of crafting rowdy yet inspiring music with Fly or Die in 2004, followed by 2008’s Seeing Sounds, the latter of which featured the party anthem “Everyone Nose (All the Girls Standing In the Line for the Bathroom).” NO ONE EVER REALLY DIES, the 2017 release named for the band’s expanded acronym, was led by the glitchy, Rihanna-assisted single “Lemon.”