N.E.R.D. made headlines earlier this week when they announced plans for the band’s first feature film. Set to come out in December, it will depict the trio’s musical journey from recording to touring, described by Pharrell Williams as being something like A Hard Day’s Night.
Hip-hop and film hasn’t always been the perfect marriage (Cam’ron’s 2006 Killa Season comes to mind here), but Pharrell, Chad, and Shay made the right decision bringing in hip-hop video vet Hype Williams to handle directing.
Williams truly made his name directing 1998’s Belly. Widely criticized for its iffy plot (Nas wrote the thing, and hasn’t written anything worth note since Illmatic), the film’s most heralded for its look. Each scene is shot like a music video, with contrasting colors, all vibrant and clear and captivating.
N.E.R.D.’s third LP, Seeing Sounds, hits shelves June 10.
This article appears in May 16 • 2008.