Pharrell has been one of the most ardent early adopters of Apple Music and over the weekend he used his OTHERtone radio show on Beats 1 as a platform to premiere some unreleased N.E.R.D. music. Pharrell rinsed out the track "Locked Away," which has been floating around on the internet since 2002, but the new premiere could indicate that new music from the group is on the horizon.
"Locked Away" is a cut from 2002 that did not make the group's In Search Of album. It finds Pharrell crooning sweet nothings to some woman over a funky bass line and guitar riffs. "You make life worth living/You make love worth giving/You make time worth spending," he sings.
The unveiling of new N.E.R.D. could mean there is something in the works for the group. Their last album Nothing was released in 2010, but did release one song "Squeeze Me" last year and contributed two tracks "Patrick Star" and "Sandy Squirrel" to The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out Of Water soundtrack.
You can stream the song below and check out the full two hour show on Beats 1 here.
Elsewhere in the broadcast, Pharrell had Tyler, The Creator on the program for an interview and recounted when he tried to work with Michael Jackson.
He shared two hilarious stories of interacting with Michael Jackson - one in an artist trailer and another on the phone.
"You talk about mind control," Pharrell said. "He was, like, a genius. They were like, 'Michael wants to meet you guys.' We get into the trailer. It's a two-story trailer - the trailer has stairs. The assistant comes in like, 'You guys can have a seat.' So we sit down. He comes in. He's tall. Standing there, two beautiful women walk in. He kisses one, like full-on...ain't, like, no peck. It's a real situation. They look Brazilian."
The King of Pop decided to pass on Pharrell's music and many of those tracks went on to be used for Justin Timberlake's 2002 album Justified. During those one of studio sessions, he got a call from someone claiming to be Jackson, but Pharrell believed it was just a friends from back home prank calling him. After it was confirmed to be Jackson, he picked up the phone and "I heard someone eating popcorn in my ear, and that's how I knew it was him," Pharrell said. "He's the king. He's the king of trolling. I think he invented it."
Now on #OTHERtone, @Pharrell talks about meeting MJ & hangs w/ Tyler, The Creator https://t.co/rAPwDbKt1V @brokemogul https://t.co/HCv9iDonrM
— Beats 1 (@Beats1) August 16, 2015
