We call ourselves N*E*R*D because we have a different view of life. A nerd is someone who wants to be cool to everybody but it's not his fault he's witty and smart and his social skills aren't the best. If you ever listen to a nerd speak about their experiences in high school, they tell an ill story. They have an ill perspective because of the shit they've been through. You ask the average person, the kind of people that would tease nerds in high school, you ask them what their life is like and they'll give this bullshit, lame boring ass story you'll snore to. I don't mind being called a nerd. We are the people who are proud of being smart, being witty and being clever when everyone else doesn't understand. That's what we do, that's the flag we're raising and waving.

Perhaps the hottest and best pair of producers in Rap and Pop music scenes today. The Neptunes were first noticed by Teddy Riley, who himself was instrumental in defining the New Jack Swing sound of the late 80's and early 90's Hip Hop. The Neptunes got their start working with several R&B artists like MC Lyte, and SWV. Things changed in 1999 with a slew of hits, most notably ODB's Got My Money, Mystikal's two singles, Shake Ya Ass and Been So Long and their first huge joint, Jay-Z's I Wanna Love you, if it wasn't Southern Hospitality, by Ludacris. This string of hits, which still continues, catapulted the Neptunes first up to the I wanna be coolness of Jermaine Dupri, and then to the high class of Hip Hop like Timbaland, Missy, Dr. Dre, and Swizz Beatz.

The Neptunes were born when Chad Hugo and Pharrell Williams first met in a high school in their hometown of Virginia Beach, VA. They were two kids trying to bust into the hip hop world when Riley brought them in to assist in the production of Blackstreet's self titled 1994 release. This would lead to other work with SWV and Total. This in turn lead to more work, such as a track on, then rapper now preacher, Ma$e's Harlem World. During their work on this cut, the duo was tutored by the then Puff Daddy. They would follow this up by working with MC Lyte on her comeback album, Seven & Seven.

When Got Your Money, got real big, The Neptunes became one of the most sought after producers. They did work with Jay-Z, Busta Rhymes, and Fabolous, and remixes for Kid Rock, Limp Bizkit, and Lil' Kim. Then they decided to what producers before them have done. They took on a rap protege. Dre has Snoop and Eminem, Timbaland has Bubba Sparxxx, The Neptunes have the Clipse, a pair of rappers/maaad coke heads from Virginia. The Neptunes produced the entire Lord Willin' album, the second album released on their Star Trak label (the first being N*E*R*D's In Search Of...). The album, while being very kickass, was catapulted up the charts by its two lead singles, Grindin' and When The Last Time. The Neptunes are supposed to be doing production for Britney's next album, and can be heard on the new single by Michael Jackson wannabe, Justin Timberlake.

Of course, anything on The Neptunes would not be complete without mentioning N*E*R*D, the Bruce Wayne to The Neptunes' Batman. N*E*R*D consists of the Neptunes and their friend, Shay, who also hails from the Virginia Beach area. Instead of just producing N*E*R*D is them as a band/group. The first single from In Search Of... also appeared on the Paul Oakenfold produced Swordfish soundtrack. The track, Lapdance, which featured Vita and some bad white rapper (who totally ruined the song, IMHO) was a comparison of politicians to strippers, and it had a nice phat beat to drive the song. In Search Of... was released on March 12, 2002.

The Neptunes aren't going anywhere anytime soon. Happily chilling on top of the Hip Hop mountain, The Neptunes can be heard bumpin in clubs or cars from coast to coast. They can be spotted in videos by Pharrell's noticeable mug, which I believe is present in every video for a song that they produced, atleast the more recent ones anyway. Pharrell is the more vocal one, and is the one usually tossing in lines in the backround of a track, but not in the annoying P. Diddy style. Too see their production at their finest, I'd recommend Lord Willin' by Clipse. Or any of the tracks below.

*NSYNC - Girlfriend
Britney Spears - I'm A Slave 4 U
Busta Rhymes w/ Kelis - What it is
Busta Rhymes w/ P. Diddy & Pharrell - Pass the Courvoisier Part II
Clipse - Lord Willin' (the entire album)
Fabolous - Young'n (Holla Back)
Jay-Z - Just Wanna Love You (Give it to me)
Jay-Z - Excuse Me, Miss
Jay-Z - Change Clothes
Kelis - Milkshake
L.L. Cool J - Love You Better
Limp Bizkit - Nookie (remix)
Ludacris - Southern Hospitality
Mystikal - Shake Ya Ass
Mystikal w/ Nivea - Been So Long (Danger)
Mystikal - Bouncin Back
Nelly - Hot In Herre
N.O.R.E. - Nothin'
N.O.R.E. - Superthug (what what)
Ol' Dirty Bastard w/ Kelis - Got Your Money
P. Diddy - Diddy
Usher - U Don't Have to Call
Snoop Doggy Dogg - Beautiful
Snoop Dogg - From the Chuuuch to the Palace
Snoop Dogg - Drop It Like It's Hot
sources:
www.n-e-r-d.com/
www.startrakmusic.com/
music.barnesandnoble.com/search/artistbio.asp?userid=3ELH4CHO2E&ctr=386321
www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005RGFX/qid=1033569221/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/103-7022276-5279825

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