Today marks the 13-year anniversary of two beloved Hip-Hop cuts. While no one will probably argue that Tha Carter III isn’t a tried and true classic, there could be a debate as to how N.E.R.D’s third studio album Seeing Sounds holds up more than a decade later. Led by the eclectic single “Everyone Nose (All the Girls Standing in the Line for the Bathroom),” the album sold 80,000 copies in its first week and went on to debut at number seven on the Billboard 200.
On Seeing Sounds, Pharrell Williams, Chad Hugo, and Shay Haley were hoping to craft an album that was more unpredictable, exciting, and moving than its 2004 predecessor Fly or Die, and with songs like “Anti Matter,” “Spaz,” and “Sooner or Later,” it’s safe to say that N.E.R.D. succeeded on that front. Thirteen years later, “Sooner or Later” remains one of Seeing Sounds‘ highlights, as it employs a crashing beat drop to sonically illustrate the point that “Sooner or Later,” everything really does come crashing down.
Even Tyler, The Creator, a self-proclaimed student of Pharrell, loves “Sooner or Later.” Back in 2012, the Igor artist tweeted that upon hearing the Seeing Sounds standout track for the first time, he cried, and as you can see below, he’s actually admitted to it on multiple occasions.
Celebrate the 13-year anniversary of N.E.R.D’s Seeing Soundsby watching the music video for “Sooner or Later” below. Looking back at the album, what was your favorite track?
Quotable Lyrics
(So you’re sad) could’ve had so much done, you blew it off (Damn)
Your chances passing you by (You were gassed)
Time waits for no one, and it cost for a loss (Damn)
A cosmic joke, should you laugh or cry?