N.e.r.d.(nobody ever really dies)

[Crenshaw_blvd]

Hailing from Virginia Beach, Va., the duo was tapped early on by one of contemporary urban music's first great soundsmiths, Teddy Riley, the musical force behind new jack swing's Guy and latter-day harmony group Blackstreet. After a brief apprenticeship with Riley, the duo set out on its own, a move that would prove wise both musically and financially.

Today, the Neptunes' sound is ubiquitous in hip-hop, and their collaborations with everyone from No Doubt to Limp Bizkit have given them even wider recognition. So what could possibly come next? N.E.R.D. (Nobody Ever Really Dies), a concept group formed by Williams and Hugo with their childhood friend Shay, proving the Neptunes' sound is good for a lot more than getting you blinged out.

CDNOW sat down with vociferous N.E.R.D. Pharrell Williams for a chat about agit-pop, strippers, and what's in the water down in Virginia Beach.

CDNOW: You grew up in Virginia Beach, right alongside Timbaland, Missy Elliott, and Teddy Riley. What's it like down there?

Pharrell Williams: We never had anything. We always admired so many things, so you can get so many things out of us. I was in a group called Surrounded by Idiots, with Timbaland. It was this real Native Tongue-style group. We were always doing something different. Virginia Beach -- it's my home. New York, the shopping's great, the right clubs, the culture's great, the social meatloaf is cool. L.A., there are more gorgeous girls, totally my type, but they're missing that one part that counts the most [points to heart and head]. I love Rodeo and Melrose. I love the parties. I just love seeing people out. But then you get sick of it and wanna come back home. You got a lot of guys in tight black t-shirts with their biceps showing, but then there's the cool crowd.


What do you do when you're home?

I'm planning on putting a club together in Virginia Beach. I want a club that plays a fusion of music. Who's gonna come? Everyone, anyone that loves music. Black, white, Chinese, European. We're black, but we're multicultural at the same time. I freestyled a lot when I was younger. I skated off and on, but you would never get that. Interviewers only wanna know how many cars I have, how many houses I have. If my house is bigger than Jermaine Dupri's. That shit is stupid, and it actually raises the children to think that way and only be concerned with those types of issues.

How do you feel about the position you're in right now, now that your sound is dominating hip-hop radio?

They say that we're leading the pack, which I thank God for, but the irony of that is that we're using the influence we have. We're doing what everyone says that they'll do, what everyone tries to do.

And what's that?

Look at "Lap Dance" (The first single from the N.E.R.D. album). At the end of the day, my message will get there. The message is politicians are no different from strippers; they'll do anything for money. And the second message, not that I'm Mr. Sex-Porn-Advocate, but, at the end of the day, you didn't see any Glock 9s to these girls' bodies [in the video]. There are tons of people in the world who point, point, point, and do nothing to change the world -- nothing. I think I have. I think I've bettered radio for the last year.

But can you make someone like Jay-Z or Mystikal political?

With the Jay-Z thing ["I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)"], I was totally talking to the industry -- "I'm a hustler, baby / I just want you to know / It ain't where I been / But where I'm about to go." I can be whatever I wanna be and do whatever I wanna do. At the same time, that's what a hustler says to a girl. It's putting the heat on the current status of R&B. Let's experiment, man. Everything we loved about R&B in the late '70s and early '80s, even the '60s, is the fact that they weren't afraid to experiment.

Is it ironic that your experimenting has become the pop sound?

We're not the sound of today. We just make good records. I don't wanna be the sound. That means I die in 10 years. I take it day by day. I got so much to say, so much to do, so much to express. We got a lot to say, me and my partner. We even did a new wave track for No Doubt. Where would the world be without "Planet Rock"? No freestyle music, no Miami bass, no house music, no techno. Watch what we do with LL; watch what we do with the new ODB album. We've been given a chance. Two years ago, we were just struggling for any work we could get. I think we did good work, but it was so limited we didn't have a chance to truly express ourselves.

Do you consider yourself a singer as well as a producer?

I'm not a singer. I'm an expressionist. I can't sing worth shit. Rock is expression. You don't have to sing to be a rock star. Look at the Doors. Jim Morrison's voice wasn't the illest in the world, but he expressed himself well. That's what I try to do.

Why does everyone want you to sing their hooks then?

Because they are dumb enough to think that that's what sells. My voice does not sell. What sells? Freedom of expression.

Yes, but if your voice wasn't selling, you wouldn't have a record deal.

That's true, so I happen to be the vehicle for what is selling, but that's not me, per se. Maybe I'm being humble or modest. I think we have a fan base, but it doesn't go four- and five-million deep because of us. It's the outcome. We are part of the equation. We can't make everything sell.