By Eric Fung
Hot beats and live instruments aren’t normally mentioned in the same breath, but the combination works on N.E.R.D.’s debut album In Search Of…
The disc features hip-hop tracks tinged with pop, rock and blues. For better or worse, it lacks the beats the duo became famous for as killer producers, The Neptunes. The product is a mix of diverse styles, with the smooth groove of any Neptunes production, but unfortunately, the songs are plagued with unoriginal lyrics dealing almost exclusively with sex, drugs and rock’n’roll. The music makes up for the words though; overall it’s a hot package. In their words, “we the shit.”