After Pharrell and Zane Lowe told fans to tune into a Beats 1 radio session that took place today (1 November) at 4pm (GMT), Lowe announced N.E.R.D.’s official return and premiered their new Rihanna-featuring single Lemon.
A video, directed by Todd Tourso and Scott Cudmore, has been released showing Rihanna shaving a dancer’s head, followed by a dance sequence.
Speculation over the group’s return began after cryptic posters appeared around Tyler, the Creator’s Camp Flog Gnaw festival in LA. Alluding to the retired noughties group, the poster’s slogan ‘No_one Ever Really Dies’ – an acrostic for N.E.R.D. – match the graphics on their website and social media.
N.E.R.D.’s last full-length album was 2010’s Nothing. The group are due to headline ComplexCon on 4 November, at California’s Long Beach.
You can purchase Lemon here. Watch the visual in the player above, and check out the single’s new artwork below.
