1000
by N.E.R.D (featuring Future)

Album: No One Ever Really Dies (2017)
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Songfacts®:

  • This dense and boisterous track finds Pharrell Williams playing on the numeric theme of the numbers one, zero, zero, zero. He explained to Zane Lowe on Beats 1: "This '1000' record is pushing for everybody and there's also an uplifting message in it [that] just says to everyone in the mirror there's a hero 1 0 0 0."
  • Future jumps on the second verse, During his signature Autotuned rap, Hendrxx spits luxury rhymes in which he covers the lifestyle of a big spender.
  • The song also features the first new Shay Haley verse since his rapping appearance on "I Wanna Jam" from N.E.R.D's 2010 set, Nothing.
  • The song's music video, directed by Todd Tourso and Scott Cudmore, intersperses clips of protests and police brutality with Mette Towley and back-up dancers. They perform a visually-stunning dance sequence dubbed "Tutorial No. 2."

    Towley told The Independent about the clip: "'1000' is centered around smashing white supremacy and racism," she said. "It doesn't condone violence, it picks the found footage and demonstrations, which are really a tool to convey the physical presence of protests and rallies... people showing up to fight for what they believe in, and to really stake claim to the idea that white supremacy and racism in America needs to end. Around the world, it needs to end. It's been in power for far too long."

    "We're trying to say that no matter where you're from or who you are, the narrative or standing up for what you believe in is power," Towley continued. "How we choose to execute our presence is really important. I physically show up and protest via performance – I tear apart symbols of injustice, and I believe it's through art that I can create and engage in resistance."

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