CityLife

Must see: N.E.R.D.

NERD

Academy - June 23, 2010

Since a young Pharrell Williams picked up his first record contract as part of The Neptunes with school pal Chad Hugo, he has become something of a musical legend and sex god.

Heavily ensconced in the R&B and rap scenes as a guest star and producer (his credits include Britney Spears’ I’m A Slave 4 U, Justin Timberlake’s Rock Your Body, Snoop’s Drop It Like It’s Hot and Madonna’s Give

It 2 Me), he’s the polar opposite to his peers: lean, clean and dressed like your mates down the skate park.

It is, perhaps, a little bit of that natural geekiness that inspired N.E.R.D. (The Neptunes plus Shae Haley) –  short for No one Ever Really Dies. Don’t be fooled though, because N.E.R.D.’s hip-hop funk-rock mash up is just about as cool as it gets.

Now on the brink of releasing their fourth album, Nothing  – their second post hiatus – N.E.R.D. are reportedly writing some of the most genre busting tunes of their lives, despite ditching the original 25 songs for the record.

£25.