The band named “No-one Ever Realy Dies” popularly known as N.E.R.D rock band is an American hip-hop and rock band that was put together in Virginia Beach, Virginia in 1999 by Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo initially, they would later bring in Shay Haley to form a trio. The band’s music genre includes all of alternative hip-hop, funk rock, rap-rock, alternative rock, experimental hip-hop, and Avant-funk.
Each member had his own specialty in equipment handling to make a complete whole. While Pharrell Williams is the lead vocal, he also plays piano, keyboards, drums, and was equally good at percussion. Chad Hugo, the multi-instrumentalist was apt at playing all of the lead guitar, piano, keyboards, saxophone, bass guitar, rhythm guitar, and doing backing vocals. Shay Haley, on the other hand, saw drums, percussion as well as backing vocals.
N.E.R.D Rock Band marked their entry into the music world in 1999 with the release of their debut album In Search Of… and recorded huge success instantly. It sold more than 603k copies in the U.S alone while its second album Fly or Die sold more than 412k copies in the U.S with over 500k copies shipped abroad. Their first and second albums were certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
N.E.R.D rock band disbanded in 2005 but reunited in 2008 to release their 3rd album Seeing Sounds which sold a little under 800k copies in just its first week of launch. Their 4th album Nothing was released in 2010 and after it, they seemed to have gone incommunicado before beginning to advertise again in October 2017.
This fueled the speculation by people that a 5th album was probably on the way. The speculation turned out to be true when the N.E.R.D rock band announced they were working on their eponymous album entitled No One Ever Really Dies. They gave their fans and music lovers a peek into what to expect from the album by releasing its first single titled “Lemon”. It was said that the album will be rich with collaborations with many A-list musicians such as Ed Sheeran, Kendrick Lamar, Rihanna, André 3000, M.I.A, Gucci Mane, Future, and Wale. It didn’t fall short of expectations when it was released on December 15, 2017.
Who Are The Members Of N.E.R.D Rock Band? What You Need To Know
- Pharrell Williams
His full name is Pharrell Lanscilo Williams and he was born on April 5, 1973, in Virginia Beach, Virginia to Pharoah and Carolyn Williams as the eldest of 3 boys in the family. His roots were traced back to Liberia where one of his uncles emigrated from to America in 1832 which prompted his relatives to follow suit.
Pharrell today is recognized as an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer who has many beautiful musical works to his credit. In his budding days, he was first a solo artist and released singles like Frontin (2003), and later the commercially successful single Happy in 2014. His solo albums boast of In My Mind (2006) and Girl (2014). Being a music producer, Pharrell has produced many hit singles for many artists, and for all his works, he has for keeps, 10 Grammy Awards. He founded a N.E.R.D rock band with his childhood friend Shay Haley and Chad Hugo.
William is a married man. He got married to his longtime girlfriend; a model and designer called Helen Lasichanh on October 12, 2013. Their marriage had earlier on produced a son born in 2008 and named Rocket Williams. In January 2017, Helen gave birth to a set of triplets which made their kids 4.
- Chad Hugo
Chad or Charles Edward was born on the 24th of February 1974 in the South Hampton Roads city of Portsmouth, Virginia, and grew up in Virginia Beach under the guardianship of his Filipino parents; a retired Navy officer father and a laboratory technician mother.
Chad and Pharrell Williams met in a band class in their grade school and quickly took a liking for each other. They began mixing beats and playing in various live bands as often as time would permit. Hugo’s career has seen him create many hit singles for various artists as well as recording huge career success with the N.E.R.D rock band.
Chad was married to Rachel Hugo from 1998 to 2010 before they divorced. He then again got married to Priscilla Lynch Hugo in 2014. In total, he has 3 kids who were born in 1998, 2000, and 2014.
- Shay Haley
He goes by the nicknames Shae, Shay, or Shade, or by his full name Sheldon Haley. He is one member of the music group who much is not known about. While the other members put up a good representation in the media, Shay Haley is not cut out for such but prefers to keep a low profile to avoid paying what he termed “the price of being famous.”
His quiet lifestyle was such that it was questioned what really his role was as a member of N.E.R.D rock band to which Pharrell Williams responded that he is the root of the band who keeps everyone grounded and together. It turned out that Shay Haley was a lot more valuable than people had ever thought.
He was born on December 18, 1972, in Portsmouth, Virginia, U.S. Shay got married to Jackie Garcia in 2010. Jackie once dated slain NFL Safety Sean Taylor. She is a niece to Andy Garcia an American actor.
