Lionel Richie, meet Tom Morello. Take off your red leather Michael Jackson jacket, put down the jheri curl juice, put on some Etnie clothes and pick out a baby ‘fro. No … the jheri curl was doper; slather that juice back in.

N.E.R.D is a baby of the Neptunes production team, designed to excite all you honkies with quick riffs and rhymes about drugs and sex. Outside of some incredibly bad lyrics, it works, and I know I would rather hear parties on DP pumping this than J.Lo. Hint, people. Hint.

This album dropped all the way back in 2001, but only now that “Rock Star” is getting MTV airplay is anyone beginning to notice it. “Rock Star” is probably the most accessible song, but In Search Of features other songs that mirror its energy – most notably “Lapdance,” which opens the album. These songs are fun, if a little too reminiscent of Puffy’s “It’s All About the Benjamins.”

“Bobby James” is a less typical standout track. It is basically a slow jam, only it is about addiction. “I’m just one hit away from being passed out / young, and assed out.” Just when Monifah should be cooing the hook, a female vocalist appears, but the subject is so perverse that even this cheese infusion does not ruin the song.

Despite some bad lines (“high like Kurt Cobain” was unnecessary), In Search Of is a pleasure to listen to. The album avoids redundancy by veering unexpectedly throughout and is consistently inventive. Maybe some day you’ll hear “Rock Star” coming from Storke Tower instead of “Hello.”

[Lee Shaker likes jheri curls the bestest]