Lemon (N.E.R.D. and Rihanna song)

"Lemon"
The letters, N, E, R, D, and the underscore (_) symbol are left out with the rest of the letters blacked out in electrical tape on a yellow background. On the bottom right, the text reads "Lemon".
Single by N.E.R.D. and Rihanna
from the album No One Ever Really Dies
ReleasedNovember 1, 2017 (2017-11-01)
Recorded2017
GenreHyphy[1]
Length3:39 (single version)
3:07 (radio edit)[2]
2:27 (w/out first verse)[3]
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
N.E.R.D. singles chronology
"Hypnotize U"
(2010)
"Lemon"
(2017)
"1000"
(2017)
Rihanna singles chronology
"Loyalty"
(2017)
"Lemon"
(2017)
"Believe It"
(2020)
Music video
"Lemon" on YouTube

"Lemon" is a song by American band N.E.R.D. from their fifth studio album, No One Ever Really Dies (2017).[4] The song features vocals from Barbadian singer Rihanna, and was released as the album's lead single on November 1, 2017.[5]

Former Pennsylvania U.S. Senator Arlen Specter is sampled in the song as the man saying "wait a minute."[6]

Several alternate versions of the songs were produced, including a version without the Rihanna feature (which sees Pharrell rapping a similar verse), a radio edit, and an edited version submitted to streaming services that omits Pharrell's first verse. The remix featuring Drake was released on March 17, 2018.[7][8][9]

  1. ^ "Singles Club: N.E.R.D and Rihanna bring plenty of zest to 'Lemon'". Fact. November 7, 2017. Retrieved November 15, 2017.
  2. ^ "N.E.R.D Ft. Rihanna – Lemon (Clean)". BeatSnoop. Archived from the original on November 15, 2017. Retrieved November 15, 2017.
  3. ^ "Lemon - Edit". Spotify. December 6, 2017.
  4. ^ Ortiz, Edwin (November 5, 2017). "N*E*R*D Debut New Album at ComplexCon With Electrifying Show". Complex. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
  5. ^ "Lemon – Single by N.E.R.D". iTunes Store (US). November 2017. Retrieved November 15, 2017.
  6. ^ Rolen, Emily (August 20, 2018). "Song on Ariana Grande's new album samples clip of man shouting at 2009 Pa. town hall meeting". Philadelphia Voice. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Remix iTunes was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Billboard Remix was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Morgan Britton, Luke (March 18, 2018). "Drake remixes N.E.R.D and Rihanna's 'Lemon'". NME. Retrieved June 16, 2018.