Fly or Die

Fly or Die
Fly or Die
Studio album by N.E.R.D.
Released	March 23, 2004
Recorded	2003
Length	61:01
Label	Star Trak; Virgin;
Producer	The Neptunes
N.E.R.D. chronology
Singles from Fly or Die
	"She Wants to Move"; Released: March 9, 2004; "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.

Quick Facts Studio album by N.E.R.D., Released ...

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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."^[1]

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]}

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More information Aggregate scores, Source ...

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	(68/100)^[2]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[3]
Entertainment Weekly	A−^[4]
The Guardian	^[5]
NME	(8/10)^[6]
PopMatters	^[2]^[7]
Rolling Stone	^[8]
Slant	^[9]
The Times	^[10]
Uncut	^[2]

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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.^[11]^[12]^[13]

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.^[14]

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More information No., Title ...

No.	Title	Length
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

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

More information Chart (2004), Peak position ...

Weekly charts

Chart (2004)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)^[15]	11
Australian Urban Albums (ARIA)^[16]	1
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)^[17]	33
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)^[18]	9
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)^[19]	33
Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)^[20]	12
Canadian R&B Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)^[21]	3
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)^[22]	9
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[23]	5
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)^[24]	19
French Albums (SNEP)^[25]	19
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[26]	20
Irish Albums (IRMA)^[27]	12
Italian Albums (FIMI)^[28]	10
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[29]	22
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)^[30]	4
Portuguese Albums (AFP)^[31]	30
Scottish Albums (OCC)^[32]	3
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)^[33]	9
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)^[34]	27
UK Albums (OCC)^[35]	4
UK R&B Albums (OCC)^[36]	2
US Billboard 200^[37]	6
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)^[38]	5

Year-end charts

Chart (2004)	Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)^[39]	93
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)^[40]	65
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[41]	28
UK Albums (OCC)^[42]	78
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)^[43]	92

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More information Region, Certification ...


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)^[44]	Gold	35,000^{^}
United States (RIAA)^[45]	Gold	500,000^{^}
^{^} Shipments figures based on certification alone.

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[1]
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.
[2]
"Fly Or Die by N.E.R.D. [The Neptunes]". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2016-03-06. Retrieved 2020-04-21.
[3]
Allmusic review
[4]
"Fly or Die". Entertainment Weekly. April 2, 2004. Archived from the original on October 7, 2012. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
[5]
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.
[6]
NME review Archived February 9, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
[7]
"N.E.R.D.: Fly or Die". Archived from the original on 2013-05-23. Retrieved 2020-04-21.
[8]
"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)
[9]
"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.
[10]
The Times review Archived June 16, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
[11]
"Recording Industry Association of America". RIAA. Archived from the original on January 19, 2012. Retrieved March 2, 2012.
[12]
"Recording Industry Association of America". RIAA. Archived from the original on October 19, 2015. Retrieved March 2, 2012.
[13]
"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.
[14]
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)
[15]
"Australiancharts.com – N.E.R.D. – Fly Or Die". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
[16]
"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.
[17]
"Austriancharts.at – N.E.R.D. – Fly Or Die" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
[18]
"Ultratop.be – N.E.R.D. – Fly Or Die" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
[19]
"Ultratop.be – N.E.R.D. – Fly Or Die" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
[20]
"Albums : Top 100". Jam!. April 15, 2004. Archived from the original on December 10, 2004. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
[21]
"R&B : Top 50". Jam!. April 1, 2004. Archived from the original on April 7, 2004. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
[22]
"Danishcharts.dk – N.E.R.D. – Fly Or Die". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
[23]
"Dutchcharts.nl – N.E.R.D. – Fly Or Die" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
[24]
"N.E.R.D.: Fly Or Die" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
[25]
"Lescharts.com – N.E.R.D. – Fly Or Die". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
[26]
"Offiziellecharts.de – N.E.R.D. – Fly Or Die" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
[27]
"Irish-charts.com – Discography N.E.R.D.". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
[28]
"Italiancharts.com – N.E.R.D. – Fly Or Die". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
[29]
"Charts.nz – N.E.R.D. – Fly Or Die". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
[30]
"Norwegiancharts.com – N.E.R.D. – Fly Or Die". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
[31]
"Portuguesecharts.com – N.E.R.D. – Fly Or Die". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
[32]
"Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
[33]
"Swedishcharts.com – N.E.R.D. – Fly Or Die". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
[34]
"Swisscharts.com – N.E.R.D. – Fly Or Die". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
[35]
"Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
[36]
"Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
[37]
"N*E*R*D Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
[38]
"N*E*R*D Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
[39]
"ARIA End of Year Albums Chart 2004". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on July 10, 2020. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
[40]
"Jaaroverzichten 2004". Ultratop. Archived from the original on September 17, 2020. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
[41]
"Jaaroverzichten – Album 2004". dutchcharts.nl. Archived from the original on July 15, 2012. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
[42]
"End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2004". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on April 1, 2019. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
[43]
"Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2004". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 17, 2020. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
[44]
"ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2004 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
[45]
"American album certifications – N.E.R.D. – Fly or Die". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 18, 2024.

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N*E*R*D web site
Fly or Die at AllMusic
VH1 N*E*R*D page^{[dead link‍]}
Top 40 Charts entry for "She Wants to Move"
Fly or Die at Metacritic

[1] [1]
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.

[meta-2] [2]
"Fly Or Die by N.E.R.D. [The Neptunes]". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2016-03-06. Retrieved 2020-04-21.

[3] [3]
Allmusic review

[4] [4]
"Fly or Die". Entertainment Weekly. April 2, 2004. Archived from the original on October 7, 2012. Retrieved April 21, 2020.

[5] [5]
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.

[6] [6]
NME review Archived February 9, 2009, at the Wayback Machine

[7] [7]
"N.E.R.D.: Fly or Die". Archived from the original on 2013-05-23. Retrieved 2020-04-21.

[8] [8]
"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)

[9] [9]
"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.

[10] [10]
The Times review Archived June 16, 2011, at the Wayback Machine

[11] [11]
"Recording Industry Association of America". RIAA. Archived from the original on January 19, 2012. Retrieved March 2, 2012.

[12] [12]
"Recording Industry Association of America". RIAA. Archived from the original on October 19, 2015. Retrieved March 2, 2012.

[13] [13]
"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.

[14] [14]
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)

[ac_Australia_N.E.R.D.-15] [15]
"Australiancharts.com – N.E.R.D. – Fly Or Die". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 11, 2020.

[16] [16]
"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.

[ac_Austria_N.E.R.D.-17] [17]
"Austriancharts.at – N.E.R.D. – Fly Or Die" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 11, 2020.

[ac_Flanders_N.E.R.D.-18] [18]
"Ultratop.be – N.E.R.D. – Fly Or Die" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 11, 2020.

[ac_Wallonia_N.E.R.D.-19] [19]
"Ultratop.be – N.E.R.D. – Fly Or Die" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 11, 2020.

[20] [20]
"Albums : Top 100". Jam!. April 15, 2004. Archived from the original on December 10, 2004. Retrieved April 12, 2023.

[21] [21]
"R&B : Top 50". Jam!. April 1, 2004. Archived from the original on April 7, 2004. Retrieved January 29, 2023.

[ac_Denmark_N.E.R.D.-22] [22]
"Danishcharts.dk – N.E.R.D. – Fly Or Die". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 11, 2020.

[ac_Netherlands_N.E.R.D.-23] [23]
"Dutchcharts.nl – N.E.R.D. – Fly Or Die" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 11, 2020.

[ac_Finland_N.E.R.D.-24] [24]
"N.E.R.D.: Fly Or Die" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved September 11, 2020.

[ac_France_N.E.R.D.-25] [25]
"Lescharts.com – N.E.R.D. – Fly Or Die". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 11, 2020.

[ac_Germany4_N.E.R.D.-26] [26]
"Offiziellecharts.de – N.E.R.D. – Fly Or Die" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved September 11, 2020.

[ac_Ireland2_N.E.R.D.-27] [27]
"Irish-charts.com – Discography N.E.R.D.". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 11, 2020.

[ac_Italy_N.E.R.D.-28] [28]
"Italiancharts.com – N.E.R.D. – Fly Or Die". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 11, 2020.

[ac_New_Zealand_N.E.R.D.-29] [29]
"Charts.nz – N.E.R.D. – Fly Or Die". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 11, 2020.

[ac_Norway_N.E.R.D.-30] [30]
"Norwegiancharts.com – N.E.R.D. – Fly Or Die". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 11, 2020.

[ac_Portugal_N.E.R.D.-31] [31]
"Portuguesecharts.com – N.E.R.D. – Fly Or Die". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 11, 2020.

[ac_Scotland_-32] [32]
"Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 11, 2020.

[ac_Sweden_N.E.R.D.-33] [33]
"Swedishcharts.com – N.E.R.D. – Fly Or Die". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 11, 2020.

[ac_Switzerland_N.E.R.D.-34] [34]
"Swisscharts.com – N.E.R.D. – Fly Or Die". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 11, 2020.

[ac_UK2_-35] [35]
"Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 11, 2020.

[ac_UKR&B_-36] [36]
"Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 12, 2023.

[ac_Billboard200_N*E*R*D-37] [37]
"N*E*R*D Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 11, 2020.

[ac_BillboardRandBHipHop_N*E*R*D-38] [38]
"N*E*R*D Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 11, 2020.

[39] [39]
"ARIA End of Year Albums Chart 2004". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on July 10, 2020. Retrieved September 11, 2020.

[40] [40]
"Jaaroverzichten 2004". Ultratop. Archived from the original on September 17, 2020. Retrieved September 11, 2020.

[41] [41]
"Jaaroverzichten – Album 2004". dutchcharts.nl. Archived from the original on July 15, 2012. Retrieved September 11, 2020.

[42] [42]
"End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2004". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on April 1, 2019. Retrieved September 11, 2020.

[43] [43]
"Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2004". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 17, 2020. Retrieved September 11, 2020.

[AustraliaN*E*R*DFly_or_DiealbumCertRef-44] [44]
"ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2004 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved December 27, 2021.

[United_StatesN.E.R.D.Fly_or_DiealbumCertRef-45] [45]
"American album certifications – N.E.R.D. – Fly or Die". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 18, 2024.

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Fly or Die

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

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Production

Reception

Track listing

Charts

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References

External links