 While touring in promotion of their previous album , Fly or Die , N.E.R.D ended their contract with Virgin Records in 2005 . After touring , Pharrell Williams felt that the album was too consistent ; he felt the band abandoned a sense of unpredictability . The band became " hooked " on the energy from their fans and began recording their third album . Williams and fellow band member Chad Hugo later established Star Trak Entertainment , a subsidiary of Interscope Records . 
