N.E.R.D, the funk/rock/experimental/electronic/hip-hop/and-everything-in-between collaboration between Pharrell Williams, Chad Hugo, and Shae Haley, have had an oversized effect on popular music since their first album dropped over 16 years ago. In a world where genre-blending has become almost passé, N.E.R.D was blending punk with R&B ("Rockstar"), singing pop hooks over funk instrumentals ("Backseat Love"), and rapping over electronic beats ("Everybody Nose (Remix)") well before it was cool. With their latest album dropping this Friday, more than 7 years since their (arguably) disappointing release Nothing, the stakes are high for a band that has defined the sounds of the future. To hear Haley tell it, we have nothing to worry about.

Free of the constraints of a typical label deal, and energized by music's new playing field, Haley sounds thrilled to have been able to have "complete freedom" while making No_One Ever Really Dies. You can hear it in the music. Frantic, chaotic, exuberant, experimental tracks that truly reflect our fraught times, created not necessarily as an overt political statement, but more of a collection of tracks in which to lose yourself, forget the world, and dive deeper into your own subconscious.

Haley has taken on plenty of roles within N.E.R.D (on No_One Ever Really Dies, he plays the "three-dimensional curator") and firmly believes that the band is the "nucleus" of the musical creativity that radiates from all three members. We spoke with Haley about how the group's new album came together, what to do with the blessing of two Kendrick Lamar verses on one project, approaching politics from the realm of sound, and how Pharrell's belief in achieving the impossible took longer than you'd think to rub off on him.

GQ: You guys have talked about how your 2010 record, Nothing, came about at a tumultuous time for you all emotionally and creatively. How have your mindsets changed with approaching your new album?

Shae Haley: During the time that we were recording Nothing, there was the whole financial collapse. The majority of the music industry was moving in one genre, one sector. Then the digital wave was coming in, and we also had some internal issues. All of those variables really stifled the creative process. This time, we weren't signed to a label so we had complete freedom. We've been making experimental music since day one. We were the genesis of that. I felt like this particular time, with having that freedom, it relieved a lot of stress off of our shoulders.

With this project we felt like we had the freedom to do whatever we wanted. When we first discussed diving into this project, it started with mild discussions about the social and musical climate. Then it evolved into us creating a few songs, which weren't the greatest. They didn't inspire and invigorate us in the way we wanted, so we scrapped them and went back to the drawing board. We continued to take on this vigorous approach so we could tap into a timeless sound.

The word that has kept coming to my mind while listening to the new music is frantic. It's high-energy music with tons of vibrating instrumentation. Are you guys trying to reflect the chaos of our times?

Well yeah, although we're not necessarily a "political band." We're essentially trying to give a clever point of view over barbaric, disruptive, modern day sonics. We want to inspire and invigorate and have people dig into the crevices of their minds to uncover their full potential. We want to galvanize and to inflict a positive, optimistic perspective on our current scenarios.