The year of 2002 was good for several New York artists when it came to getting their first taste of commercial success. Alongside Cam’ron, N.O.R.E. also had a major hit during the summer of 2002, with “Nothin,'” produced by The Neptunes. This song was one of many Pharrell produced during the early 2000s.
Ironically, working with The Neptunes was something N.O.R.E. was warned not to do by a major figure. Big Tigger gained fame for hosting “Rap City” on BET and was a DJ/rapper outside of television. During a conversation with N.O.R.E., Big Tigger spoke to him about The Neptunes.
Before “Nothin,'” N.O.R.E. said he was confronted by Big Tigger about working with The Neptunes. He said Big Tigger can’t deny it, as he said all of their beats sound the same and it hurt his heart to hear it then and it hurts to say it now. N.O.R.E. told this to HipHopDX and, fortunately, he did not take the advice.
