N*E*R*D & NaS at Smirnoff Global Experience: New York

Last night in NYC NaS & N*E*R*D performed at the Smirnoff Global Experience, which is described on its Web site as being "a global series of events celebrating the brands eclectic taste in music."

I guess I showed up too late since the line was around the block, but video footage of the event has emerged online.

Aside from N*E*R*D reportedly satisfying the crowd with a number of their hits, NaS also rocked the house. But not before responding to the alleged claims of his wife starring in a sex tape (without him) that is currently selling for $150,000.

The event's press conference, as shown in the photo to the left, can be seen in video form here.

Below is footage of all of the above.

N*E*R*D on the Cover of Complex Magazine

N*E*R*D continues to get attention for their new album -- which is extra dope -- by being featured on the cover of this month's Complex Magazine, which is their Style & Design issue.

Before the interview goes into a Q&A format, the interviewer, Brendan Frederick, proposes his theory on why the Neptunes continually churn out #1 hits for people they produce for while N*E*R*D routinely flies below the charts' radar:

"How is it that their beats for-hire business has been a gold mine for years, yet their do-for-self mission has been so hit-and-miss? Easy answer: Weirdness is a risky business. When they provide the backdrop and let someone else deliver the message, they’re a novelty, and an infectious one. When they’re delivering their own message, though, it’s a lot harder—being at the vanguard is lonely when no one can match your speed. ...

Bottom line: Weirdness is the cousin of genius. Madness and artistry go hand in hand, and it’s what’s made them design icons in addition to just musical ones (LV, BBC, Bape—should we go on?). And most important, they’re just being themselves. You might not understand it, but you gotta respect it. N.E.R.D. = life, son!"

I think I have to agree whole heartedly.

Frederick poses some really good questions to the group, too.

Q: Musically, you guys aren’t exactly mainstream, but you’re probably the biggest producers that ever made it from the world of hip-hop. But then from a style standpoint, it seems you try to keep a proximity to the exclusive shit. You don’t have BBC brand in Macy’s, which you could. Why do you feel that’s the way to go for clothes, as opposed to how you handle your music?

Pharrell: Certain things are meant to be amongst a smaller populace. You don’t want everything you do to be ridiculous, you know? Exclusivity is a good thing. It keeps it close to you.

Q: But at the same time, a lot of styles you guys pioneered, and Nigo started, sort of trickled down to a lot of the mall brands. Does that worry you?

Pharrell: I’m not here to take credit. I’m just really appreciative of the opportunity. The most important part is the process.

Q: Everyone knows what Chad and Pharrell do from the Neptunes. But what does Shay do?

Shay: I just try to push them to the full extreme and have them do records that they normally wouldn’t do. That’s why we’re always like, “Neptunes is what they do, and N.E.R.D. is who we are.”

Q: Let’s talk about the Ice Cream shit a little bit. How difficult has it been to find acceptance in the skateboard world?

Pharrell: I never really gave it that kind of thought—the only thing that really matters to me is that I’m offering them an opportunity I didn’t have. I wasn’t good enough, by the way.

Q: To skate?

Pharrell: When you hear “Skateboard P,” that’s just like in the hood, skating around. They never called me that, but that’s the name I wish I would have had. When I was a kid, I never had a nickname; it was always just Pharrell.

Q: Back when Clones came out, there was talk about you guys making a movie called Dude, We’re Going to Rio.

Pharrell: Are you trying to torture me right now?

Q: No, I’m just curious what happened to that.

Pharrell: It was just bad. Not surrounded by the right people. Just a shitty arrangement. Those guys were nice, but I didn’t know what was appropriate. But now I’m working with Joel Silver so we’re producing something. I’m doing some television things with McG.

Q: P, you often rap—and sometimes sing—about a very hyper-consumerist lifestyle. Do you feel conflicted about that when we’re in a recession?

Pharrell: That was one little small era. All of that is just the nerdy guy going, “Ha ha!” But when’s the last time you heard me rap about that stuff? At this moment, right now it’s all about N.E.R.D. and it’s about energy. I’m just inspired by that. When I was doing that kind of stuff before, it was because I felt like I was doing something different, but in essence it wasn’t really. It was the same shit I’d been hearing.

Make sure you check out the magazine as it arrives on newsstands.

There is also a video of behind the scenes footage at the interview and photo shoot for the magazine's cover.

N*E*R*D Shoots Video for Remix to Everyone Nose

MTV.com recently reported on N*E*R*D's filming of a video for the Everyone Nose CRS remix -- featuring Kanye, Lupe and Pusha -- a very hot track that deserves some recognition beyond the blogs and Internet sites.

Pharrell took the time to comment on each participant's rhyme:

“I think Pusha put the meltdown on it. ... But, I mean, I like everybody’s verse because I think that Lupe killed it, Kanye killed it. Mine was more about style than how dope the rhyme was. It was really my melody that I liked more than anything — that’s why my vocal approach was a little different from what you would hear me do. I wanted to just do something different that would look different on me.”

When asked why fix something that isn't broken (a reference to how great the original version of the song already is), Chad from the Neptunes said:

"We wanted something with more of a straight-ahead, club-bumping beat, just a different take on it," Hugo said. "We like to remix, dismantle, take apart shit and put it back together. It's just like a Rubik's Cube: When you can't solve it, you just break it and you put it back together."

MTV has some footage of Pharrell talking on the set of the video:

• MTV
• Music Videos
• MTV Shows
• Entertainment News

Pharrell Talks Madonna, Common, Solo Album

A recent interview with Pharrell uncovered a few gems I had no idea about.

After intially dismissing the influence of drum n' bass on the new N*E*R*D album, Pharrell finally admits it in reference to Common's new album, of which the majority will be produced by the Neptunes:

"We kept talking about going in the studio for two years straight. We had done "Come Close" a couple of years ago, but he said he wanted to go back in and work together. We finally we scheduled it and it was just magical. He was into where I was going...

I was annoyed by D&B when I was young. You have to think about it, what could we do more energetic than Lapdance. So we had to speed up the BPMs so we took it to 140!"

About working with Madonna and him making her cry in the studio:

"We really collaborated and she pushed me harder and harder and harder. At first it frustrated me cos I'd never been demanded around like that, but after a while, I got used to it and it made me be even more efficient than I would normally be. I learned a lot. I thought I was a workaholic before -- now I'm a workaholic."

On his situation with The Clipse, which is rumored to be on the rocks:

"All is good, we're family."

One thing that surprised me was his answer when asked if he was disappointed with the reception of his solo album:

"In hindsight, I realised that it should have been a compilation with a bunch of artists, rather than just me. Once I did a couple of shows I was like 'Uh-uh, this ain't working.' So I let it go. The energy just wasn't right."

He also touches on CRS. Check it out here.

N*E*R*D Interview

Interesting how when asked about the Drum n' Bass influence on Seeing Sounds Pharrell and Shay decidedly disagree with the interviewer and instead declare that the album pulls from a myriad of genres and that Drum 'n Bass is but one of them, downplaying it's undeniable presence on the album.

Pharrell also confirms my suspicions -- that Seeing Sounds was made specifically with the concert performance in mind; the music is tailor made for rocking stadiums, arenas and nightclubs alike.



This album is growing on me more and more daily. Word on the street is that Spaz (yes, the song from that Zune commercial...) will be the next single.

N*E*R*D: Lazer Gun (Bonus Track)

It's no secret that The Neptunes/N*E*R*D have a very intimate relationship with Japan.

It is the home to the very first BBC/Ice Cream boutique, Pharrell's Japanese kindred spirit Nigo and his rap group Teriyaki Boyz (who recently released to Neptunes-produced Zock On featuring Busta Rhymes), A Bathing Ape (a clothing store owned by Nigo and the model after which Pharrell built BBC/Ice Cream), and now, as of last week, it is also home to another rare gem -- Lazer Gun, a bonus track from N*E*R*D's new album Seeing Sounds.

The song is a welcome addition to the album, which I thought was very good but not necessarily the group's best effort. In my humble yet still biased opinion, Seeing Sounds doesn't flow that well, not transitioning well from song to song, which at times can mean going from genre to genre, and some times going from a melancholy rock song to an uptempo damn-near-pop song just doesn't work that well.

That said, I am enjoying the album because at the very least it is still good music, regardless of the sequencing of the songs. But still, I would be a naive Neptunes fan if I didn't say that from less than a week of constant listening to Seeing Sounds, it doesn't seem to be quite as good as its two predecessors. All three have incredible, ground breaking music, but the first one is an undeniable classic, and from a personal standpoint, the release of Fly or Die coincided with my first trip to Las Vegas, where I celebrated 24-7 for my homey's bachelor party. "The Way She Dances" is my official Vegas anthem and one of N*E*R*D's best songs ever. Word to the Ghostbar.

But I digress... This track is special in that unless I'm mistaken this is the second time Shay rhymes for an entire verse (first time was from In Search Of...'s "Things Are Getting Better". And not only does he rhyme but Pharrell does his emcee thing too. I seem to be one of the few fans of Pharrell's rhyming skills. I believe that he really does write his own rhymes. Not Pusha, who is brilliant in his own right.

The beat is a slow, classic Neptunes beat with the usual suspects on the scene: congas, fresh little guitar lick, subtle bass, all stripped down bare to emphasize the vocals more than anything, until heavier guitars come rushing in on the hook.

When Pharrell lyrically is at his simplest he is also at his best:

"Man, my beat’s like a b*tch — make you drool in ya car
It shines bright like the night with the moon and stars
Then I wake up and make more by noon tomorrow"

Then Shay laments about any would-be competition:

"They aint the future
What you think – they get tomorrow?
That’s like Larry Bird coming to school Jabbar
You should be happy
That should be news to yall
Like a little boy hearing ‘no school tomorrow'"

Again, simple, but effective, with a nice flow. My hat's off to Shay for getting more vocals on this album and this bonus track.

Check it out, and if you're an obsessive N*E*R*D fan you'll buy the Japanese version for this song only.

N*E*R*D: Lazer Gun (Seeing Sounds Bonus Track)

Seeing Sounds Is Here!

Get it while you can, this album is blazing.

Everybody NEEDS to buy this joint when it comes out Tuesday!

N*E*R*D SEEING SOUNDS LP

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Res Sings for N*E*R*D?

I've seen Res perform live and I've even enjoyed a few of her songs, including what she's done with her group with Talib Kweli, but I have a new found respect for her after hearing her version of the upcoming N*E*R*D song "You Know What".

I heard the N*E*R*D snippet already but it got cut off like 10 seconds into the track, so imagine my delight when I stumbled upon this gem that just recently leaked to the Web.

No doubt Pharrell murders this on his own but it's kind of nice to hear other artists that aren't normally associated with the Neptunes featured on a N*E*R*D track.

I can't stop playing this song! Enjoy.

Res -You Know What (Reference Track)