Making musical history was not, of course, the intention going into the studio. ''We made it up as we went along,'' says a cooled-out Williams (helpful hint: To calm him down, talk about music). ''That's what's so crazy, because when you look back you say, 'Oh, okay. We've made a good album.' We're doing N.E.R.D. for the love of the music.''
N.E.R.D.'s 2002 debut, In Search of..., was a critical favorite, but its so-so sales were a comedown from the platinum stratosphere they are used to. Many -- no doubt including Virgin Records -- are wondering: Can Fly or Die, which flaunts its rock-oriented eclecticism more outrageously than its predecessor, hope to expand N.E.R.D.'s following?
Kenny Burns, vice president of Roc-A-Fella Records, has worked closely with Williams and Hugo on several projects, including songs for Babyface and ODB. He sees N.E.R.D. (it stands for No one Ever Really Dies) as a chance to capture a wider audience by giving free rein to the pair's ''multicultural instincts. These guys grew up with an Eric B. & Rakim album in one hand and Bon Jovi's Slippery When Wet in the other. And, quiet as it's kept, there are many people like that out there.''
Williams and Hugo, who grew up in Virginia Beach and have been producing records together since 1989, have never seen rock and rap as mutually exclusive. ''We met in jazz band in high school, and we started messing around with instruments in the garage,'' says Hugo. ''We loved digging through crates of records and checking out things. It was a trip to discover stuff like Rush and the Steve Miller Band.''
The duo believe those catholic tastes are not uncommon. ''A lot of hip-hoppers know the words to 'Smells Like Teen Spirit,''' says Williams. ''You couldn't go to a hip-hop show and mosh; you'd start a million fights. But with N.E.R.D., hip-hoppers come to our shows and they mosh with the white boys, the Asian kids mosh with the Spanish kids, whatever. They're all there to celebrate being different.''
The inner-city hip-hop fan as closeted rocker? Music insiders still need convincing on that score. ''Maybe some know the words to 'Smells Like Teen Spirit,' but I think they're probably white fans, not African Americans,'' says Tracy Cloherty, program director of New York urban station Hot 97 (which has not added Fly or Die's first single to its playlist).
Whether or not Hot 97 jumps on the N.E.R.D.-wagon, it may be a while before they add a new Neptunes production: Williams says the duo is retiring the Neptunes name. ''I'm tired of that word. We want to go under aliases, like Them, or the Exploration of Sound, or BMX Street Sweeper. All kinds of s -- -.''
It remains to be seen if a new moniker will herald a new sound for their big-ticket pop productions, but Williams and Hugo maintain that they'll continue writing and producing for others. ''Don't get it twisted, man,'' says Hugo. ''It's not the end [as producers].'' Not hardly. ''Wait till you hear this s -- -we're doing with Nelly,'' says Williams. ''Hot!''
