Nerd

Rambunctious rock and hard-hitting hip-hop drive the imaginative sound of N.E.R.D.

The trio—composed of childhood friends Pharrell Williams, Chad Hugo, and Shay Haley—formed in 1999 as a side project for Williams and Hugo, who were already successful as the adventurous production team The Neptunes.

While rap rock is the foundation of the group’s aural aesthetic, the band members experiment broadly with pop and funk and tinker with further-flung subgenres like psychedelia and new wave.