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Fly or Die

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For the Rock Mafia song, see Rock Mafia § Discography.
Fly or Die
Studio album by
N.E.R.D.
ReleasedMarch 23, 2004
Recorded2003
Genre
Length61:01
Label
ProducerThe Neptunes
N.E.R.D. chronology
In Search of...
(2001) 		Fly or Die
(2004) 		Seeing Sounds
(2008)
Singles from Fly or Die
  1. "She Wants to Move"
    Released: March 9, 2004
  2. "Maybe"
    Released: June 14, 2004

Fly or Die is the second studio album by American rap rock band N.E.R.D. It was released on March 23, 2004.

Production

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The band recorded its second album Fly or Die during 2003. The band actually learned the instruments needed to play the tunes, so they could perform live. As Chad Hugo told MTV News on December 8, 2003, "We're the ones playing the instruments live this time. I just started playing guitar last year so I'm learning as we go. Pharrell's playing drums. Last time, (on In Search of...) we didn't have time to learn certain instruments so we got Spymob to help us out."[2]

The band also recruited some assistance to record the album with Lenny Kravitz and Questlove playing on the track "Maybe." Several of tracks concern issues of particular concern to adolescents including "Thrasher" about bullies, "Drill Sergeant" about rebellion and conscription, and first love on "Backseat Love".[citation needed] Considered an eclectic album of art rock, Fly or Die features songs that have been compared to XTC and 10cc.[1]

Reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic68/100[3]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[9]
The Guardian[10]
NME8/10[5]
Pitchfork3.1/10[12]
PopMatters8/10[3][4]
Rolling Stone[11]
Slant[6]
The Times[7]
Uncut[3]

Fly or Die went on sale on March 23, 2004. The lead single "She Wants to Move" went into the Top 5 in U.K, top 10 in New Zealand, top 20 in Norway, Italy, Ireland and Denmark and top 40 in Australia and the Netherlands as of March 2004. Fly or Die sold 412,000 copies in the United States, but shipped at least 500,000 units making it qualify for RIAA's Gold Certification.[13][14][15]

Rolling Stone (4/15/04, p. 147) - 3 stars out of 5 - "It's fascinating to hear these rap geniuses go undercover as a bar band you might hear rocking Journey covers in a bowling alley."[citation needed]

Entertainment Weekly (4/2/04, p. 62) - "Fly or Die is craftier and more multilayered than its predecessor....[A] set of clever, complex, studio-crafted pop--complete with musicianly, smooth-jazz licks--that doesn't owe allegiance to any one genre." - Rating: A-[citation needed]

Uncut (p. 91) - 5 stars out of 5 - "N*E*R*D can replicate machine hypersyncopation at the drop of a hi-hat. Prog-pop album of year."[citation needed]

Uncut (p. 74) - Ranked #18 in Uncut's "Best Albums of 2004" - "[A]n object lesson in eclectic art-rock....[T]his prog-pop classic reveal further depths of detail with every repeated play."[citation needed]

Mojo (p. 106) - 4 stars out of 5 - "This is an enthusiastic hymn to the terminally uncool, an un-ironic celebration of nerd-culture....They make a party you want to be invited to."[citation needed]

It was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[16]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo; produced by The Neptunes

No.TitleLength
1."Don't Worry About It"3:41
2."Fly or Die"3:30
3."Jump" (featuring Joel Madden and Benji Madden)3:55
4."Backseat Love"2:48
5."She Wants to Move"3:33
6."Breakout"3:47
7."Wonderful Place" / "Waiting for You"7:09
8."Drill Sergeant" / "Preservation"6:54
9."Thrasher"2:51
10."Maybe"4:22
11."The Way She Dances"4:05
12."Chariot of Fire" / "Find My Way"8:15

Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[46] Gold 35,000^
United States (RIAA)[47] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Second album from ubiquitous production unit The Neptunes". Uncut. June 1, 2004. Retrieved December 29, 2024.
  2. ^ Patel, Joseph (8 December 2003). "N.E.R.D. Step Up Their Game On Fly Or Die, Reminisce About Teen Years". MTV News. Archived from the original on 4 July 2017. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  3. ^ a b c "Fly Or Die by N.E.R.D. [The Neptunes]". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2016-03-06. Retrieved 2020-04-21.
  4. ^ "N.E.R.D.: Fly or Die". Archived from the original on 2013-05-23. Retrieved 2020-04-21.
  5. ^ NME review Archived February 9, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "N.E.R.D. Fly Or Die - Album Review - Slant Magazine". Slant Magazine. 20 March 2004. Archived from the original on 2021-07-02. Retrieved 2020-04-21.
  7. ^ The Times review Archived June 16, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ Allmusic review
  9. ^ "Fly or Die". Entertainment Weekly. April 2, 2004. Archived from the original on October 7, 2012. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  10. ^ Petridis, Alexis (March 19, 2004). "N*E*R*D, Fly or Die". The Guardian. Archived from the original on April 23, 2017. Retrieved December 14, 2016.
  11. ^ "Rolling Stone review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 1, 2007. Retrieved January 28, 2009.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  12. ^ DiCrescenzo, Brent (March 25, 2004). "N.E.R.D.: Fly or Die Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 29, 2024.
  13. ^ "Recording Industry Association of America". RIAA. Archived from the original on January 19, 2012. Retrieved March 2, 2012.
  14. ^ "Recording Industry Association of America". RIAA. Archived from the original on October 19, 2015. Retrieved March 2, 2012.
  15. ^ "RIAA AND GR&F CERTIFICATION AUDIT REQUIREMENTS RIAA ALBUM AWARD" (PDF). Recording Industry Association of America. March 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 April 2021. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  16. ^ 1001 albums you must hear before you die. Robert Dimery (Revised and updated ed.). New York, NY. 2010. ISBN 978-0-7893-2074-2. OCLC 558738692. Archived from the original on 2021-07-02. Retrieved 2021-07-02.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
  17. ^ "Australiancharts.com – N.E.R.D. – Fly Or Die". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  18. ^ "ARIA Urban Chart – Week Commencing 7th March 2005" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association (784): 17. March 7, 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 February 2008. Retrieved April 16, 2023 – via Pandora Archive.
  19. ^ "Austriancharts.at – N.E.R.D. – Fly Or Die" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  20. ^ "Ultratop.be – N.E.R.D. – Fly Or Die" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  21. ^ "Ultratop.be – N.E.R.D. – Fly Or Die" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  22. ^ "Albums : Top 100". Jam!. April 15, 2004. Archived from the original on December 10, 2004. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  23. ^ "R&B : Top 50". Jam!. April 1, 2004. Archived from the original on April 7, 2004. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
  24. ^ "Danishcharts.dk – N.E.R.D. – Fly Or Die". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  25. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – N.E.R.D. – Fly Or Die" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  26. ^ "N.E.R.D.: Fly Or Die" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  27. ^ "Lescharts.com – N.E.R.D. – Fly Or Die". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  28. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – N.E.R.D. – Fly Or Die" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  29. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography N.E.R.D.". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  30. ^ "Italiancharts.com – N.E.R.D. – Fly Or Die". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  31. ^ "Charts.nz – N.E.R.D. – Fly Or Die". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  32. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – N.E.R.D. – Fly Or Die". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  33. ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – N.E.R.D. – Fly Or Die". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  34. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  35. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – N.E.R.D. – Fly Or Die". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  36. ^ "Swisscharts.com – N.E.R.D. – Fly Or Die". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  37. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  38. ^ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  39. ^ "N*E*R*D Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  40. ^ "N*E*R*D Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  41. ^ "ARIA End of Year Albums Chart 2004". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on July 10, 2020. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  42. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 2004". Ultratop. Archived from the original on September 17, 2020. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  43. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 2004". dutchcharts.nl. Archived from the original on July 15, 2012. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  44. ^ "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2004". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on April 1, 2019. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  45. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2004". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 17, 2020. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  46. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2004 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  47. ^ "American album certifications – N.E.R.D. – Fly or Die". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
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