No One Ever Really Dies
No One Ever Really Dies (stylized as NO_ONE EVER REALLY DIES) is the fifth studio album by American hip hop and rock band N.E.R.D. The album was released on December 15, 2017 through I Am Other and Columbia Records. It features guest appearances from Rihanna, André 3000, Kendrick Lamar, M.I.A., Gucci Mane, Wale, Future and Ed Sheeran among others. It was preceded by three singles; "Lemon" with Rihanna, "1000" with Future, and "Don't Don't Do It!" with Kendrick Lamar. "No One Ever Really Dies" is the group's first full-length album since  2010's "Nothing". Background. On February 6, 2017, during an interview with BBC Radio 1, Pharrell stated that "it's feeling really good, really special" about the group's return. In October 2017, the album was teased after posters were popping up on the side of streets, and by concertgoers at the 2017 Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival. The album was debuted with a live listening party during the first day at ComplexCon, thus revealing the tracklist. Pharrell revealed the album's cover art and release date via Instagram and Twitter on November 22, 2017. Artwork. The album's artwork depicts  a tongue with the album's title placed on top and aluminum foil on the teeth to substitute grills. Critical reception. "No One Ever Really Dies" received positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 74, based on 17 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". In a four out of five star review for AllMusic, critic Andy Kellman claimed that "Tied together with recurring declarations of "mad ethnic right now," sampled from Retch's 2016 viral clip, the album is all raucous  resistance to issues ranging from anti-immigration to police brutality to transgender rights. When Williams barks "You fuckin' with survivors!" like an activist Rockwell, he perfectly summarizes the indignant optimism that dominates the best N.E.R.D album since the original version of "In Search of..."" Track listing. Credits adapted from Tidal. All tracks are produced by Pharrell Williams, except where noted. Notes Personnel. N.E.R.D Additional musicians Technical Release