In Search Of...

Few star producers would have the chutzpah—or the stockpile of sonic ideas—to experiment as freely and potently as The Neptunes do on N.E.R.D’s debut record. Joined by school friend Shay Haley, Chad Hugo, and Pharrell Williams trade bloopy futurescapes for a sound that’s scuzzier (“Lapdance”), heavier (“Rock Star”), and more wildly carnal (the intoxicating engine-rev of Kelis feature “Truth or Dare”). It’s not all lustful abandon, though. “Provider” brims cinematic funk storytelling while “Run to the Sun” arrives aboard an impossibly buttery groove.