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Music

N.E.R.D's New Song With Future Is Really Something

N.E.R.D stick with a hurried beat while Future sings in a totally different key. Okay!
Photo via N.E.R.D on Instagram

N.E.R.D have released the third single from their forthcoming record No_One Ever Really Dies. It's called "1000" and it features Future. It is really something.

Like "Lemon" and "Rollinem 7s" before it, "1000" is underpinned by a hurried, bass-heavy beat that runs the rest of the track ragged. On "Lemon," that worked in the song's favor—the track had a discernible energy and, well, it had Rihanna too. On "Rollinem 7s," which didn't see an official release, it sat under a whole load of clutter; it sounded like three songs playing at once.

"1000" sits between the two. There's no real melody to dig into because Pharrell shouts his way through the first half of the song. Future's verse does have a melody. It just doesn't seem to be the one that N.E.R.D were expecting. Future is in a different key. This is disorienting.

I don't even know if that's a bad thing at this point! These three songs have confused the shit out of me. They all sound like mutations of one another. I need to lie down.