N*E*R*D

NER*D

Hip-Hop

N*E*R*D is an alternative rock/funk/rap group which formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States in 2001. The group consists of lead singer Pharrell Williams (vocals, keys, guitar), Chad Hugo (guitar, bass) and Shay Haley (drums). Williams and Hugo are also known as the Grammy-winning production duo The Neptunes. N*E*R*D's sound is a blend of rock, hip-hop, and R&B. N*E*R*D stands for No-one Ever Really Dies. Williams and Hugo originally recorded the band's debut album, In Search Of..., for European release in 2001 using similar digital production techniques used on Neptunes-produced records. However, they decided that if N*E*R*D was to be different from The Neptunes, it should sound different. This led to them re-recording the album (still titled In Search Of...) with the power pop band Spymob for worldwide release in 2002. In Search Of... achieved moderate success in the United States.: the album reached number 59 on the Billboard 200; its first single, Lapdance, reached the top 40 on the rap charts; and its second single, Rock Star, reached the top 40 of the modern rock charts in the US and is still incredibly popular today. Lapdance also went top 40 in the Netherlands and its music video received heavy airplay on American MTV2. The album was well-received by critics even though it was not as successful as many of the Neptunes' productions for other artists. The album won the second annual Shortlist Music Prize, awarded (by a group of musicians, journalists, a...