9781422276259

added to the excitement around the single. It peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart and number one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart. Light Your Ass on Fire (Released August 19, 2003) This hip-hop/ rap classic single features Pharrell and Busta Rhymes. It peaked at number twelve on Billboard’s Hot Rap Songs Chart, number twenty-three on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart, and number sixty-nine on the Hot 100 Chart. NE*R*D NE*R*D is a funk-rock band that was created in 1999 by the owners of The Neptunes, Pharrell and Chad Hugo, and their longtime friend Shay Haley. NE*R*D is a backronym—an invented phrase, either serious or humorous, that pretends to be the source behind a word that’s an acronym—for No-one Ever Really Dies. The group’s music is a combination of hip-hop, funk, pop, rock, and R&B. Their first album, I n S earch O f , sold over five 500,000 copies in the United States, and the RIAA certified it as Gold. Their second album, F ly or D ie , sold over 400,000 copies in the United States, but attained Gold status because 500,000 albums were shipped. NE*R*D disbanded in 2005, but reunited in 2008 under The Neptunes’ record label, Star Trak

Entertainment. Under that label, NE*R*D has released four albums of their own material so far. I n S earch O f (Released August 06, 2001) I n S earch O f was originally released

in Europe in 2001, but the band was not happy with its sound. They decided to rerecord the album, adding live instruments in a collaboration with rock band Spymob. When it was released a second time in 2002, I n S earch O f started out at number sixty- one on Billboard’s Top 200 Album Chart, but only climbed five spots to peak at number fifty-six.

Even though it was a worldwide release, it did not achieve the success of previous productions of The Neptunes. The lead single, Lapdance , peaked at number thirty-six on Billboard’s weekly list of Hot Modern Rock Tracks and number eighty-four on their weekly chart of Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. Rock Star , the second single from I n S earch O f , was released July 29, 2002, and climbed to number thirty-six on Billboard’s weekly Hot Modern Rock Tracks. This song discusses rock stars who are posers and those stars whose particular time of notoriety has passed. An edited version of this song was used in the 2002 game NFL Fever as its theme song.

Scan the code to watch the music video for Rock Star featuring NE*R*D!

Scan the code to watch the music video for Frontin ’, featuring Jay-Z

14

15

HIP HOP & R&B Pharrell

Pharrell