Music — Consumed

2017 · N.E.R.D

NO ONE EVER REALLY DIES arrived in December 2017 as N.E.R.D's return after years away, and it reads like Pharrell, Chad Hugo, and Shay Haley processing the entire back half of the 2010s in one sitting. The production oscillates between bombastic rock guitars, sparse trap percussion, and psychedelic funk without ever losing the thread. The features aren't decorative, Rihanna on "Lemon" brings actual grit, André 3000 on "Don't Don't Do It!" sounds urgent in a way he rarely does anymore, and Kendrick on "Kites" matches the album's restless energy.

The album works because it refuses to pick a lane. "1000" opens with a wall of distorted guitar before collapsing into minimal 808s. "Voila" pairs Future with bouncing synth bass and somehow it coheres. The sequencing keeps you off balance in the best way, tracks bleed into each other with interludes and transitions that feel more like a DJ set than a traditional album structure.

What makes this compelling is how N.E.R.D's core approach, maximalist genre fusion with zero regard for radio formatting, feels like it predicted where hip-hop and pop would eventually head. The political commentary is direct without being didactic, and the production choices show a group still willing to experiment after two decades. It's a fitting capstone that sounds both like a victory lap and a challenge to everyone who tried to box them in.