N.E.R.D's second single from their new album, “Rollinem 7’s”, is a heavenly track featuring Outkast's André 3000.
The band, made up of Pharrell Williams, Chad Hugo, and Shay Hayley, previewed the track at a live ComplexCon showcase in California last week, following on from their instant hit “Lemon”, feat. Rihanna (released November 1).
Apart from their track “Squeeze Me” – which oddly appeared on the Spongebob Squarepants film soundtrack – “Lemon” and “Rollinem 7s” mark the first new N.E.R.D. material since their 2010 album Nothing.
On “Rollinem 7s”, which was also played on Apple Music's Beats 1 Radio on November 10, we hear Pharrell and Andre rapping verses that touch upon race and identity within the context of a fast-moving world.
“Time Pterodactyls over all the way I see / I notice fractals, clover, honey bee, that's why / I kinda cackle, it be funny, see, haha / I ain't an actor, well sometimes I be, action,” Andre raps. “But I deserve the same as white niggas, I thought...”
At ComplexCon Pharell explained how the track with André almost didn't happen: “He did a verse and he just didn’t like it. And when I heard it, I understood what he didn’t like about it, but I didn’t give a shit; it’s him. He just sounds good and his perspective is amazing. He really went in and challenged himself, and he came back with the GOAT verse.”
No_One Ever Really Dies, which doesn't have a release date, is set to feature Kendrick Lamar, Future, Gucci Mane, M.I.A and more.
Listen to N.E.R.D talking about the track below:
