July 31, 2010

"People don't want to think anymore/They just want to feel," N*E*R*D frontman Pharrell Williams muses on the trio's new single, "Hot-N-Fun." Perhaps it's this theory that led the group to shift its focus away from provocative lyrics, as heard on past hits "Provider" and "Lapdance," and toward the music itself. The track—which features Nelly Furtado on her catchiest hook since Timbaland's "Give It to Me"—delivers a pulsing club beat that could also work in a live concert setting. (As Williams says, "This is stadium status/ Fifty thousand jumping at a time.") Despite the Neptunes' acclaim as producers, N*E*R*D hasn't yet cracked the mainstream. But with its stellar hook over an arresting beat and heavy bassline, "Hot-N-Fun" just might change N*E*R*D's fortunes.—Gabriella Landman

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