Biography

The funk rock band N*E*R*D was established by Chad Hugo, Pharrell Williams, and Shay Haley in 1999. Hugo and Williams had met while they were middle school students, in their school’s band class. The two teenagers began to write and perform some of their own music, and their talents caught the attention of producer Teddy Riley.

Riley signed the duo and they first established as a duo - The Neptunes. With the addition of Haley, they became N*E*R*D , and the trio began to prepare a debut album. The result, In Search Of…, was released in 2002 and the album rose to gold status and spawned the top forty rap song, “Lapdance.” The song “Rock Star” also fared well, and paved the way for the additional albums: Fly or die (2004), Seeing Sounds (2008), and Nothing (2010.) Additional hit R&B and dance singles include: “She Wants to Move,” “Maybe,” and “Hot-n- Fun” (featuring Nelly Furtado.)

Although N*E*R*D has not released any new material in a number of years, the trio continues to collaborate and perform together. Pharrell recently confirmed another upcoming album from the band which is in the works, and the group provided music for the film The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, in 2014.