"Provider" is a song by American funk rock band

N*E*R*D N.E.R.D. (stylized as N⋆E⋆R⋆D and N.E.R.D, a backronym of No-one Ever Really Dies) is an American hip hop and rock band, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1999. Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo were signed by Teddy Riley to Virgin Reco ...

from their debut studio album, '' In Search Of...''. The song was the third and final single from the album. It managed to gain minor popularity in Europe, making the charts in the Netherlands and Sweden. In the UK, it was released as a double a-side with a re-release of " Lapdance," peaking at number 20.

Music video

The video opens with two girls and a guy in a truck, the guy asking the two if they remember a guy named Shagg. Pharrell and Chad ride around with a bike gang interspersed with scenes of a young man ( Brad Renfro) struggling to make ends meet and his pregnant girlfriend (

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). She suggests he apply to the military, which he angrily rejects but reluctantly does. The video ends with Pharrell wearing camo and holding a little girl displaying the

peace sign A number of peace symbols have been used many ways in various cultures and contexts. The dove and olive branch was used symbolically by early Christians and then eventually became a secular peace symbol, popularized by a ''Dove'' lithograph by ...

with other children around him doing the same.

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and

Travis Barker Travis Landon Barker (born November 14, 1975) is an American musician who serves as the drummer for the rock band Blink-182. He has also performed as a frequent collaborator with hip hop artists, is a member of the rap rock group Transpla ...

make a cameo in a convenience store scene, while Pusha T of the

Clipse Clipse, also known as The Clipse, is an American hip hop duo, chiefly active from 1994 to 2010. It consists of brothers Gene "No Malice" and Terrence "Pusha T" Thornton. Pusha T was known as Terrar during the group's early years, while No Mal ...

appears as a drug dealer. For some unknown reason, this music video is no longer available on YouTube and any other streaming websites.

Track listing

UK CD single

# "Provider" (Zero 7 Remix Edit) # "Provider" (Remix Radio Edit) # "Lapdance" (Freeform Reform) # "Provider" (Video)

Charts

References

2002 singles N.E.R.D. songs Song recordings produced by the Neptunes Songs written by Pharrell Williams Songs written by Chad Hugo {{2000s-hiphop-single-stub