N.E.R.D & Rihanna

“Lemon”

(Single Review)

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Who’s ready for something crisp?

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After an almost decade hiatus, American funk rock/hip hop band N.E.R.D, consisting of front man Pharrell Williams, have returned with music industry goddess Rihanna for their new single Lemon. After endless anticipation and teasers over the last week, the group is finally back with a fresh new image. The bands last album release Nothing dates back to 2010, giving them a thrilling advantage to comeback stronger than ever with songstress Rihanna as she’s dominated the 2017 charts with anthem Wild Thoughts alongside DJ Khalid and Bryson Tiller.

I was completely surprised when I first listened to the track. It was nothing what I expected the structure, sound or lyrics to be like. The bouncy track uses a series of minimalistic elements throughout the instrumental. Although it is quite a simple production, the track has an electro/hip hop flavour to it that really makes you concentrate to all the different sounds. Thinking I wasn’t interested in the kind of tempo the group was producing within the first 30 seconds, I couldn’t help but repeat the track straight away as the lyrics work effortlessly with the beat.

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“The truth will set you free,

But first, it’ll piss you off”

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The lyrics on the other hand are extremely fun and energetic. Although it touches on themes of honesty, politics and danger, the explicit nature of the track projects the lyrical content greatly to the listener. Pharrell Williams raps about his truth as he begins each line with the phrase “hate!”. The title ‘Lemon’ and album artwork of the track already made me assume that there may be some sort of reference to Beyonce’s Lemonade. As Rihanna does reference the title of the song within her rap, other lyrics perfectly exploit her bad girl persona as she gives listeners a new side that has never been seen from the songstress within her music.

All I can say is this was definitely not what I was expecting from these musicians when I first heard that they had collaborated. It goes to show that when you put one of the world’s most established music producers Pharrell Williams in a song with one of the world’s most established artists Rihanna, magic is bound to occur. Although I wouldn’t quite call this type of genre my style, you might surprise yourself like I did an enjoy this electrifying comeback single from N.E.R.D. Check out the music video down below, it’s one definitely worth the viewing.

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Wanting to listen to the unexpected? N.E.R.D & Rihanna have got you covered.

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Connect with N.E.R.D

Website     Facebook     Twitter     YouTube     Instagram

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Connect with RIHANNA

Website     Facebook     Twitter     YouTube     Instagram

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