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Pharrell Williams revived his N.E.R.D. project and teamed with Rihanna for a new track called “Lemon,” which debuted Wednesday a mysterious billboard campaignhinted at the return of the Neptunes’ band.
The bouncy “Lemon,” which premiered on Beats 1 before the music video dropped moments later, opens with Pharrell setting the table before Rihanna storms the track with a minute-long rap verse.
The Todd Tourso + Scott Cudmore-directed video opens with Rihanna shaving a woman’s head in a hotel room. That woman (Pharrell’s real life dancer Mette Towley) ends up being the focus of “Lemon” as she dances in an indoor flea market.
N.E.R.D. – featuring Pharrell, Neptunes cohort Chad Hugo and Shay Haley – last released Nothing in 2010. Williams briefly brought back N.E.R.D. in 2015 for three songs on The Spongebob Squarepants Movie: Sponge Out of Water soundtrack, as well a track called “Locked Away” that Pharrell debuted on his Beats 1 radio show.
It’s unclear whether “Lemon” is a one-off single or the first salvo from a new N.E.R.D. album; the group has been teasing something with their acronym, No-one Ever Really Dies. “Lemon” itself is available to download or purchase now, with N.E.R.D. also offering a yellow 7″ single of the track backed by a Rihanna-less version of the song.
