N*E*R*D

N.E.R.D. (the acronym of No one Ever Really Dies, stylized as N*E*R*D) is an American rock, funk, and hip hop band. Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo were signed by Teddy Riley to Virgin Records as a duo, The Neptunes. After producing songs for several artists throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, the production duo formed the band with Shae Haley as a side project of The Neptunes in 2001. N.E.R.D's debut album, In Search Of..., sold 603,000 copies in the United States and was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It was also awarded the second annual Shortlist Music Prize. The band's second album, Fly or Die, sold 412,000 copies in the United States, but shipped at least 500,000 units making it qualify for RIAA's Gold Certification.. The band's sound generally contains elements of rock, funk and hip hop, while also encompassing R&B and pop. They have been praised for their heavy use of electronic, bass and funk beats, while others have suggested that The Neptunes are unable to blend R&B and rock.. N.E.R.D's lyrics have been criticized. Ian Cohen of Pitchfork Media called the band's writing ability "far down the list of what N.E.R.D is actually good at", where Williams is often criticized for being excessively sexual. With the release of Fly or Die, the album was advertised in Kerrang! magazine, which made Alexis Petridis of The Guardian feel that N.E.R.D's lyrics tried to "empathize with the alienated teenagers who make up Kerrang!'s readership"....
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