An Artist Takeover

It has been seven years since Pharrell Williams, Chad Hugo and Shae Haley have combined forces as N.E.R.D. So it makes sense the alt-hip-hop outfit have titled their latest effort after the N.E.R.D acronym, NO_ONE EVER REALLY DIES. The trio has called in all their favors for a diverse array of features.

“Lemon” kicks off the album with Pharrell stating, “The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off,” then “Hate” is yelled and the percussion launches. Rihanna raps a verse and Pharrell insists he “tried to tell y’all about this dude,” and not to “drink the Kool-Aid,” blasting President Trump. The band relies on samples and repetition, but it’s not without its change-ups.

A good example of this is “Rollinem 7’s.” The bass drops, jazz percussion and samples take the lead a majority of the song, but midway through the beat changes randomly. The tail-end returns to the beginning style and André 3000 raps about racial equality. Another eclectic track is “Don’t Don’t Do It!” The track begins with a sound similar to elevator funk-jazz, but by the chorus, the song picks up and a cool electric bass riff is introduced. The last quarter of the song is enhanced by a quick-lipped rap by Kendrick Lamar.

It’s only natural that an album titled NO_ONE EVER REALLY DIES would get philosophical. This can be experienced on “1000.” Pharrell sings about rioting to evoke change then, “holy shit it’s working” is interjected before “no more trail of tears,” “the prophecy is here,” “we’re wreckin’ this bih,” “one thousand percent.” Future raps about everything he could buy that costs a  thousand dollars, slightly dismantling Pharrell’s progress, but the verse is fire and a nice reprieve from repetition.

Ed Sheeran ironically finds himself on a song with a rasta vibe. Sheeran sings the chorus, “So let them say what they want to about us / When they say your name / They’re lifting you.” The song has a way of feeling like a mix of Caribbean music and a video game background. The best line on “Lifting You” comes from Pharrell on the second verse: “You ever seen one girl take over the night? / Take over the city and restore its pride / If you’re gonna roll a blunt / Then roll a blunt right / The room is too dark / Someone spark up the light.”  

Kendrick Lamar makes a second appearance on “Kites,” “waking up the spirit” of “every human being.” A$AP Rocky provides the into, and M.I.A. closes out the track. The backing sample sounds like a conversation between Super Mario and Luigi, which makes sense coming from a band that supplied music to The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water (2014). On “Voilà,” Gucci Mane and Pharrell hold down the chorus and Wale sneaks in a final verse for a welcome change-up.

NO_ONE EVER REALLY DIES is eclectic and fun. That said, the trio could not have made their fifth album a success without the plethora of featured artists. N.E.R.D. exists on a plane of their own, achieving pop repetition, hip-hop beats, and jazz timing without ever fully immersing themselves in any one genre.