 For the album , the band wanted to create the atmosphere of hyperactivity they knew their fans wanted . They wrote a few songs , but felt the songs " weren 't strong enough " and sent them to other musicians . Shay Haley , a member of the band , explained that in their new work , the band wanted to add energy to the emotional appeal of their past albums , though the band did not conceive a clear plan for the direction of the new album . N.E.R.D described the desired outcomes of the album as " a pre @-@ cognitive effort to make music that would make sense for us on while we 're on a stage and to recapture that feeling we love so much " and additionally , " to make something that was thought provoking and for people to listen to it and enjoy it on their own time " . 
