CityLife

N*E*R*D

Pharrell Williams

N.E.R.D
Academy 2
June 23, 2010

I last saw N.E.R.D perform in Manchester in 2003. I was a student and my flatmate and I had a picture of frontman Pharrell Williams stuck to our fridge. I even got a photo of him in his trademark trucker cap and shades as he left the Apollo that night and put it, pride of place, alongside the magazine cut out.

Fast forward seven years and, not just because we're back at the student union, Pharrell's baby face and N.E.R.D's unique brand of synth, sample and drums heavy hip hop reminds me just why that's one of my favourite gig memories.

Seeing the trio - Williams, Chad Hugo and Shay Haley - perform tracks like breakthrough single, Lapdance, from debut album In Search Of... and She Wants to Move, from follow-up Fly Or Die, in such intimate surroundings is pretty exhilarating considering the credits their production alter-ego, The Neptunes, have notched up.

The Williams / Hugo duo is behind some of the biggest pop / R&B hits of the past decade - Snoop Dog’s Beautiful, Justin Timberlake’s Like I Love You, Kelis' Milkshake and Britney Spears' Slave 4 U, to name a tiny handful, as well as elements of Jay Z's current mega-selling album The Blueprint 3.

Back to N.E.R.D and the self styled music misfits demonstrated the stroke of genius that has earned them a cult following in their own right as performers.

Tracks like Provider, Rock Star and Fly or Die deliver a nostalgic buzz, while the jazz club melody of recession commentary Sooner Or Later and Help Me - which has a touch of the James Bond about it - from newest album Nothing, due in September, chart the evolution of a unique brand of hip hop meets rock meets funk. It sounds as fresh as that baby face looks.