N.E.R.D. have shared a new single from their upcoming self-titled album. "Don't Don't Do It," which premiered on Beats 1 on Wednesday, features Kendrick Lamar and is the third single to be released from the album, which will be released December 15.
In an interview with Zane Lowe, Pharrell said that the song was inspired by Keith Lamont Scott, a man shot and killed by Charlotte, North Carolina police in 2016. "All of these unarmed African American motorists — when you do what the authorities ask you to do, I wonder before you die if your conscience says that to you or asks you or suggests to you "don't do it, don't do it,'" he said. "When they tell you to pull over, I wonder if Philando Castile, in his mind, was thinking don’t pull over. Any of them, I just wonder if they heard a voice in their mind after they were instructed to do something, if they heard a voice saying don’t do it. Don’t don't do it. And that's where the song came from."
Pharrell also revealed that Frank Ocean wrote the song's intro: "He is the arch of no compromise, no concession and very colorful with it you know? And that's what I feel is very interesting about his journey. Because if you understand him then you know anything that everything he's done is just what he's really, really, really felt."
Listen to "Don't Don't Do It" below.
Thumbnail image; N.E.R.D. Instagram and Kevin Winter/Getty Images.
