This week we're going to tweak our usual Music Video of the Day just a bit and feature some of the bands appearing in Miami during Art Basel 2010. We'll start with N*E*R*D and their clip for "Hot-N-Fun," a track from their new album, Nothing, directed by Jonas Akerlund (Lady Gaga's "Telephone" ) featuring Nelly Furtado. The action takes place in the desert, where some hotties are hitchhiking and get picked up by the band who take them to party by a campfire. Everybody is (almost) upstaged by the car, a Rolls Royce convertible custom painted by Miami art collective FriendsWithYou. Speaking of FriendsWithYou, on Thursday, December 2, N*E*R*D is playing with DJ Mia Moretti at an incredible inflatable art installation/environment created by FWY called "Rainbow City" that will up until December 5 at 3800 NE 1st Avenue in Miami's Design District.
2010/11/30
2010/11/29
Pharrell Williams' Favourite 80s Comedies
"The multi-talended Pharrell Williams gives a comprehensive run down of his all-time favourite comedies.
The latest N*E*R*D album ‘Nothing’ is on sale now. ‘The Nothing’ sneaker, with a leopard print inner and crocodile print sole unit is also on sale now.
Airplane! (1980)
Pharrell says: “Man, this movie has so many special moments, but the old white woman speaking "jive" is classic!”
Airplane! is an American satirical comedy directed and written by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker. It stars Robert Hays and Julie Hagerty and features Leslie Nielsen, Robert Stack, Lloyd Bridges, Peter Graves, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Lorna Patterson"
The latest N*E*R*D album ‘Nothing’ is on sale now. ‘The Nothing’ sneaker, with a leopard print inner and crocodile print sole unit is also on sale now.
Airplane! (1980)
Pharrell says: “Man, this movie has so many special moments, but the old white woman speaking "jive" is classic!”
Airplane! is an American satirical comedy directed and written by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker. It stars Robert Hays and Julie Hagerty and features Leslie Nielsen, Robert Stack, Lloyd Bridges, Peter Graves, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Lorna Patterson"
2010/11/24
2010/11/23
2010/11/21
2010/11/18
some videos of N*E*R*D
N*E*R*D Interview
MTV 52 Bands 52 Weeks N.E.R.D.
Funny N.E.R.D. video
Blackbook-N.E.R.D
FEW PICS FROM BLACKBOOK SESSION (click to zoom)
N.E.R.D. Reveals 'God Bless Us All' Is Dedicated To Chris Brown
Chris Brown's career is on an upswing, previously down from the aftermath of his February 2009 assault on ex-girlfriend Rihanna.
Brown's celebrity friends are showing him support. Drake, T.I., Kanye West and Andre 3000 appear on a remix of his top 20 song "Deuces."
But Pharrell Williams, frontman of N.E.R.D. and one of Brown's big brothers in the music business, has taken it a step further, writing a song of encouragement for the embattled singer.
N.E.R.D., Williams' alternative hip hop band with Chad Hugo and Shae Williams, features the song "God Bless Us All" on its fourth studio album, "Nothing." The track is dedicated to Brown, Williams revealed to Yahoo! Music.
"'God Bless Us All' is about Chris. When you hear me say, 'Hold your head up lil' bruh,' I'm talking about Chris," said Williams, who added that Brown refers to him as Big Bro. "When I say, ‘You're a Brown in this world that's black and white,' I wasn't talking about the fact that there are issues and you're either black or white. I was saying the world is just very clear. It's black and white."
(Pharrell discusses Chris Brown at the 1:37 mark.)
The song's strong message of hope tells Brown not to focus on the negativity, but to stay optimistic. "Forget what you read lil' bruh/ Get them words out your head lil' bruh," Williams sings.
In another verse, Williams adds, "You were made to amaze and bring change lil' bruh."
The overall tone of the entire N.E.R.D. album is uplifting. The alternative hip hop band was inspired by music from artists like Neil Young and others from the '60s and '70s.
"When we made this record we kinda stumbled into that late '60s and early '70s kinda culture sound," Williams said. "Before we knew it there was the Neil Young feeling song, then the kinda moody blues, then we wanted a big festive, you know, we just won a football game or sports championship moment."
While the music may take the album's sound back three or more decades, the themes are modern, Williams said. "It doesn't sound like what's going on today, but it literally talks about all that stuff that goes on today," he said.
The album artwork strikes a universal chord. "The army helmet was kinda like representative of war and the features represent peace," Williams said. "It's just presenting the view of the world without a political slant and without a righteous slant."
N.E.R.D. members Williams and Haley stopped by the Yahoo! Music offices to perform three new songs from "Nothing," "Hot N' Fun," "Hypnotize U," and "I Wanna Jam." Check them out below.
Pharrell, “I’m Thankful for Every Grammy… But I Need Some Oscars.”
After producing countless hits for a who’s who of hip-hop and pop artists, as well as scoring a few films, Pharrell Williams took a break from the boards to focus on N*E*R*D, his group with longtime friends Chad Hugo and Shay Haley. The trio recently released their third album, Nothing, which actually covers a lot of wide-ranging topics and genre-bending backdrops. XXLMag.com recently caught up with the Star Trak captain to pick his brain on the art of hip-hop, Hollywood and getting back on his camouflage hood shit.
XXLMag.com: First and foremost, why did you guys decide to call this latest N*E*R*D album Nothing?
Pharrell: Well, we were working on a big body of music. We had amassed like 26 records, and to be honest, it just felt like it was good music—it was dope—but it just didn’t feel like I was pushing the envelope enough and I really wanted to go and just make something like next level. Not artsy-fartsy, but just something next level that was kind of like pushing the envelope. I was like I wanted to take another approach and make something that like when you hear it you’re like, “What is that?”
The weird thing is, though, the content on the album is actually about something. Was that a purposeful thing you guys decided to do?
Well, I’m sorry. I actually negated to tell you that part. Once I started over, we started from nothing, so that’s why we called the album Nothing, because it started with nothing. We scrapped everything and started with nothing. At the end of the day it’s kind of like the Big Bang. What was there before the Big Bang? There was nothing, so I just sort of like tried to draw that parallel between then and now. The title, and like the [feel] of the album, just talking about a lot of the things going on in the world, so that album is like a time capsule if you will.
This is the fourth album for N*E*R*D. How do you guys differentiate what goes to a N*E*R*D project as opposed to a Neptunes or Pharrell solo project? Like, what’s the mind-state for approaching each?
Well, actually I don’t do solo stuff so much. I only did that one album, and that proves that that was so much that I wasn’t ready for it. I kind of like producing. When I produce I’m able to just push other people further, and being in N*E*R*D that’s just who we are. Even with making this album it was kind of like how do we express ourselves, and I wanted to make records that you go digging in the crates for. The difference in this music versus what we would do, like I just did some records for T.I. N*E*R*D we wouldn’t do that. Those records were meant to push Tip further, whereas our records are kind of like more reflective of who we are versus pushing ourselves. If we would’ve pushed ourselves that’d be a whole different thing. I felt like the album that we made that we didn’t release was that it was us pushing ourselves. It was kind of like putting steroids in the music, and while that doesn’t sound like it makes sense or would be counterproductive I don’t know I just felt more like let me push the envelope versus putting the steroids behind the drums or whatever. Let me do what I feel like no one else has done or just make classic rock.
You’ve also stepped into Hollywood a little bit, scoring for Despicable Me. How’d you even get connected with that film project?
They approached me, man. I was really honored. That’s another thing, too. I got two other films that I’m about to score as well. I love scoring, but I love making beats as well, too. I just hadn’t been so motivated to do it, because you don’t want to do the same shit. You want to go out and discover new shit, and cool news sounds, and new soundings, and experience new styles and so, and bring them back. Now that I’ve done my fourth N*E*R*D record I can really let lose the virus.
In terms of the scoring process, how different is that in terms of producing music for an artist or yourself? Do you prefer one over the other?
I love scoring and I love making music in the studio…. Seriously, I’m thankful for every Grammy I have, but I need to see some Oscars.
You helped introduce fans to the Clipse; what are your thoughts on their progression as artists? Pusha T is now with Kanye on G.O.O.D. Music and Malice is working on releasing his book soon.
I love it! They’ve been on their own for about three or four years now. And I think they’ve done a good job. In terms of their choices, they really stuck to their core in the face of like the wintertime and everybody else feeling like they got to go pop. You know, [Pusha] really stuck to his guns and I feel like the marriage of him and Kanye, I feel like that’s going to be incredible.
And what about Malice penning a book?
Malice is a genius! People don’t know Gene Thornton—that’s a really smart guy. And when his book comes… It’s going to go, it’s probably going to be like one of the craziest books when it drops.
Speaking of crazy; did you know that you made No. 7 on XXL’s greatest rapping-producers of all-time list?
Really? Oh, wow.
You were in good company with the likes of Jermaine Dupri, Dr. Dre, Diddy and Kanye. You didn’t know?
Nah, man, you know what I been on the road. I’ve been out of everything I just been on the road with N*E*R*D just concentrating on that. The shed is full of a lot of artillery now though… I just been out of everything for like three years straight just doing N*E*R*D. but now I miss it—I miss hip-hop. I miss all of that good stuff.
How does that feel that you actually know you were named in the top 10
rapper/producers of all-time?
I’m very thankful, I’ve spent a lot of my time, you know, being in fashion and doing a lot of N*E*R*D-oriented stuff, so to be acknowledged is completely an honor, I respect XXL and what you guys do, and I look forward to doing more with you guys. You know I just been doing that, man, so for you to tell me that is super cool.
So what’s next on the horizon after this N*E*R*D tour?
Just more music… You know what it is? I just needed to get that art side out. Like I said [the N*E*R*D album] wasn’t intentionally artsy-fartsy, but I just needed… You know, sometimes you got to push yourself and do things. Now I’m kind of like back on my camouflage hood shit. All them beats is coming. —Anslem Samuel
2010/11/17
2010/11/16
Tracklisting & Cover Art Revealed To N*E*R*D's "The Best Of" Album
Earlier this month, Hip Hop/Rock band N*E*R*D released their fourth album Nothing. Piggybacking that release, the trio will release a Best of N*E*R*D compilation that celebrates their nine years of releasing music on January 11, 2011. The Virgin/EMI Records collection will include some hits from their first three albums, as well as rarities and B-sides.
The cover art, although not shown in full is displayed. The tracklisting is as follows:
1. Rock Star
2. Lapdance
3. She Wants To Move
4. Provider
5. Maybe
6. Fly or Die
7. Brain
8. Thrasher
9. Run To The Sun
10. Baby Doll
11. What’s Wrong With Me [“Lapdance” b-side]
12. Lil’ Suzy feat. Kelis [“Lapdance” b-side]
13. Things Are Getting Better
14. Truth Or Dare (featuring Kelis and Pusha T)
15. Maybe (Sander Kleinenberg Remix – Radio Edit) [from “Maybe” single]
16. She Wants To Move (Justice Remix) [French single version of “She Wants To Move”]
2. Lapdance
3. She Wants To Move
4. Provider
5. Maybe
6. Fly or Die
7. Brain
8. Thrasher
9. Run To The Sun
10. Baby Doll
11. What’s Wrong With Me [“Lapdance” b-side]
12. Lil’ Suzy feat. Kelis [“Lapdance” b-side]
13. Things Are Getting Better
14. Truth Or Dare (featuring Kelis and Pusha T)
15. Maybe (Sander Kleinenberg Remix – Radio Edit) [from “Maybe” single]
16. She Wants To Move (Justice Remix) [French single version of “She Wants To Move”]
N.E.R.D.’s Shae Haley Gets Married
There’s one less lonely N.E.R.D. Shae Haley, one-third of the rap-rock band, has tied the knot with his girlfriend Jackie Garcia.
According to TMZ, the couple wed in Miami this past weekend at a private ceremony with invited guests including his bandmate Pharrell, who served as the best man. Chris Brown also performed during the reception.
Garcia linked up with the N.E.R.D. member after a highly-publicized incident involving the murder of her former NFL boyfriend Sean Taylor. The bride, who is also actor Andy Garcia’s niece, was with Taylor on the night he was shot in their Florida mansion.
Pharrell celebrated the newlyweds’ nuptials by leading Garcia in a congratulatory dance during the fete. Take a look at the party people below.
2010/11/14
2010/11/11
2010/11/10
2010/11/09
Renaissance Men - Pharrell in PAPER magazine
Neither Shepard Fairey nor Pharrell. Williams seems to be afraid of a hyphen. The artist-designer-branding wizard and producer-musician-designer-entrepreneur-style icon, respectively, are two of the most influential genre-hopping creative forces making their marks on pop culture right now. The two initially teamed up in 2000 when Fairey designed rap-rock outfit N.E.R.D. (Pharrell, Shay Haley and Chad Hugo)'s now iconic brain logo. On the eve of the drop of their funky futuristic fourth album, Nothing, Williams and Fairey got together for a tête-à-tête.
Shepard Fairey: It's great to see everything you're doing now. You're kicking ass. So I know you skated a lot when you were younger. That was a big thing for me, too; it was what opened my eyes to creative cultures. You grew up in Virginia Beach, which was a big skate town. Do you think it was skateboarding that initially got you into what you are into musically and artistically?
Pharrell Williams: Yeah, because at the end of the day it attracted so many people of different cultures that you were bound to learn something from each other because you all have something cool in common, and that unified us as kids. And I thought it was amazing as a child that all my friends were so different, listening to all different kinds of music.
SF: I grew up in South Carolina, so I don't think we had all that different of an experience in terms of skating. The openness of it, the creativity, it definitely fueled a lot of things that I'm into. At what point did you get interested in visual art? When you put out your first album in 2002, did you already have a sense of what you wanted to present visually? How did that develop?
PW: I always had my own ideas and things I wanted to see. I guess it was the hidden artist in me that wanted to make a lot of choices as to how I wanted to be seen, or what I wanted people to digest about me. There's a veil of obscurity that goes along with that as well.
SF: I'm a huge fan of your music but I want to learn a little bit more about how you evolved into the clothing, the art collecting, how you collaborated with FriendsWithYou, Louis Vuitton -- how this evolved is what I'm really interested in.
PW: To be honest, it's about going from one lily pad to the next and just making sure you hop on the right ones. And it's just important you do things that are exciting to you and that present a learning experience. I don't ever want to do anything that I can't learn from, so that's why I always collaborate with the best: because I know they can teach me.
SF: I'm curious about your relationship with [Bathing Ape designer/music producer] Nigo, who I feel is like the Japanese Warhol. In Japan, in terms of the crossover between commercial projects and high-end art, there are fewer boundaries. How did you get into what he was doing with the [clothing and shoe lines] Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream?
PW: Well, he basically just gave me a shot. I came to his studio, he showed me some of his stuff, and I told him I wanted this, this and this. He told me to take it. I wore a lot of it, and finally he was like, "Hey, you wanna do your own line?" I was like, "Hell yeah," and so
the rest was history.
SF: What do you consider yourself? A musician? A designer? Or just a general creative person?
PW: I would just say, you know, just a kid with ideas.
SF: You're so humble! Tell me about your new project, Brooklyn Machine Works.
PW: It's this iconic bike company that's over 10 years old, located out in Brooklyn. They do a lot of dope collaborations. We did one with Supreme. You should see if you like the bikes -- we would love to do a collaboration with you. That would be crazy. Like you know, an apparel line.
SF: Nice, nice, that would be totally fresh. I'll check it out. So tell me about your art site through which you're trying to showcase emerging artists, Artst.com.
PW: We just felt like every time we come on stage, there is always some dope artist saying, "Hey, you know, check me out, let me direct your next video, let me design your next T-shirt." So we created the site because we wanted to give them a platform so they could not only be
heard by us, but by the rest of the world as well. If you're an artist, you can go on and find producers and someone to do your cover, someone to dress you for your shoot. I was just trying to provide a space for them to get visibility.
SF: Is there anything you get out of it besides spreading the creativity? Like financially? A lot of people won't do anything unless there's going to be some sort of financial reward for them, but to me I figure if I don't make money from spreading around the culture I care about, at least it creates more of an audience for things that I'm interested in. Being charitable with your time and your energy is tough when you're spread thin.
PW: Well, I don't feel guilty about monetizing situations that are good. Like, there are tons of people in the world who are making billions who basically should be considered criminals. So if I'm doing something to help people, I don't mind making money. Right now, we don't do anything except just give exposure, but eventually we'll build it into something that's more like a business. We have some things in the works, but the most important thing to me is that these kids get the visibility that they deserve. They're so fucking talented, you know?
SF: Right, so let's talk about [the artist duo] FriendsWithYou. What they're doing here in the U.S., it's a little bit like what Nigo has been doing in Japan. A little bit of the KAWS thing, too: art and T-shirts and toys. I love that it's all upbeat, it's pop-y and well-done and friendly. You're
sort of an official member of the collaboration now.
PW: Yeah, we work together. I think that those guys are super-talented and I believe that they can be the next Disney.
SF: I noticed that they designed the N.E.R.D. web page, and I know they've done some video stuff with you, but what kind of projects do you have on the horizon with them?
PW: They have a bunch of stuff coming up. I kind of stay out of the way and let them do what they want to do. Mostly we just do commercial stuff together. FriendsWithYou comes in and they are the creatives. We are doing stuff for Gwen Stefani, for her line. They did the Pop-Tart commercials.
SF: It seems like they're doing a lot of whimsical things they want to do because they're able to make money with their business. To have that freedom, that's really ideal.
PW: We can't allow the pop and commercial worlds to go to shit. We have a responsibility as artists on many different levels to change the way people see the world.
SF: Whenever somebody's saying that the world of commercial graphic design or marketing is lame, I always say, I can turn on the television and watch a lot of ads that are actually really great and don't necessarily brainwash me into buying that product. But I'd rather see great marketing and great advertising that's art within itself. And that's part of mass communication, that commercial side of it is always going to be there, you might as well raise the bar, is what I think. So what else is coming up for you? Your new N.E.R.D. record, Nothing, is really good by the way. Congratulations.
PW: Thank you.
SF: I think you were an early ambassador of that crossover between the indie-rocker mentality and the hip-hop mentality. Is there anything happening musically right now that you're excited about?
PW: There's a lot of great music out there, but I always draw a blank when people ask me about that. I just like when people are unafraid to just go and take music into different directions. The one thing I don't like is when you turn on the radio and it sounds like one three-hour-long song.
SF: I love the idea that you're doing all this stuff, simply because the world loves to put shit in categories that are restrictive. This might sound sort of pretentious to say, but being a renaissance person is the ideal. I've got a lot of different interests and I don't want people telling me which ones are appropriate to pursue. You seem like that, too.
PW: Yeah man, you just have to do what you really feel, whether it's some really obscure or super-pop thing, you just have to make sure in the end that shit is tasteful. Nike is as pop as can be, but they do it tastefully. Apple is as pop as can be, but they do it tastefully. The Whopper is as pop as can be, but that shit is tasteful.
SF: One of my favorite Warhol quotes is, when he was asked about some of the objects he was making art about, Coca Cola, he said, "A Coke is a Coke, and no amount of money can get you a better Coke than the one the bum on the corner is drinking... Liz Taylor knows it, the President knows it, the bum knows it, and you know it." In your sculpture collaboration you did with Takashi Murakami, you included a bottle of Johnson & Johnson lotion and a Pepsi can. Do you actually prefer Pepsi? Or because you have an endorsement deal with Pepsi, did you feel like you had
to put it in there?
PW: No, no, I grew up on Pepsi. My mom and dad drink it. But other times when we're in countries where there's only Coke, I drink that, too.
SF: I like that project with Murakami. You're mixing a really ambitious piece of high art but with really accessible subject matter. I definitely dig a lot of artists who make stuff that aspires to be the highest of high art, but at the same time connecting with a lot of people in a way that isn't cryptic, and that is addressing pop culture. But yeah, I think I don't have any advice for you, man. Just keep doing what you're doing.
Styling by Luigi Tadini
Pharrell Talks Daft Punk Collaboration, Hopes To Work With Eminem
Skateboard P explains how Daft Punk returned a 10-year-old favor, and his hopes to work with Eminem in the future.
As far as he can tell, there’s no particular reason Pharrell hasn’t worked with Eminem yet.
“I’d love to work with Eminem,” Pharrell told the Associated Press in a recent interview. “I’d love to do it. It just hasn’t happened yet.”
In past years, Eminem has been notoriously picky with his collaborations, but if Recovery is any indication, this would be the perfect time for Skateboard P and Slim Shady to team up. In addition to Rihanna, Eminem also enlisted the help of Lil Wayne, Boi 1da, Just Blaze, P!nk and Kobe for what his manager, Paul Rosenberg, called a “more accessible” sound.
As for Pharrell and N*E*R*D’s somewhat less-expected collaboration with Electronic duo, Daft Punk, Pharrell says “Hypnotize U” was essentially a favor for a favor.
“I remixed ‘Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger’ for them like 10 years ago so that was a great feeling to do that (and) to work with them again,” Pharrell explained, adding that he’s open to other producers creating music for him and N*E*R*D. While the deluxe version of the album Nothing includes 14 tracks, Pharrell said he Chad and Shay are planning on filming 10 videos for each song on the standard edition
“We were just thinking about the music for the most part,” he said. “But then like once you, you know, heard the whole body of work, you’re like, ‘Man, we got to do something (more).’”
“I’d love to work with Eminem,” Pharrell told the Associated Press in a recent interview. “I’d love to do it. It just hasn’t happened yet.”
In past years, Eminem has been notoriously picky with his collaborations, but if Recovery is any indication, this would be the perfect time for Skateboard P and Slim Shady to team up. In addition to Rihanna, Eminem also enlisted the help of Lil Wayne, Boi 1da, Just Blaze, P!nk and Kobe for what his manager, Paul Rosenberg, called a “more accessible” sound.
As for Pharrell and N*E*R*D’s somewhat less-expected collaboration with Electronic duo, Daft Punk, Pharrell says “Hypnotize U” was essentially a favor for a favor.
“I remixed ‘Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger’ for them like 10 years ago so that was a great feeling to do that (and) to work with them again,” Pharrell explained, adding that he’s open to other producers creating music for him and N*E*R*D. While the deluxe version of the album Nothing includes 14 tracks, Pharrell said he Chad and Shay are planning on filming 10 videos for each song on the standard edition
“We were just thinking about the music for the most part,” he said. “But then like once you, you know, heard the whole body of work, you’re like, ‘Man, we got to do something (more).’”
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