N.E.R.D. will release Fly or Die on November 18th. The album will be the first by the hip-hop collective (comprised of the NEPTUNES' CHAD HUGO and PHARRELL WILLIAMS and rapper SHAY) since its 2002 debut, In Search Of . . ., which won the Shortlist Prize and has sold more than 500,000 copies to date. In other N.E.R.D. news, the group will hit the road on August 14th for the nine-date Sprite Liquid Mix tour with the ROOTS and TALIB KWELI . . .

DMX has recorded a new song, "Thank You," with PATTI LABELLE for his new album, Grand Champion, due September 16th . . . The WHITE STRIPES have posted footage of JACK WHITE's surgery to repair a broken finger on their official Web site . . . The LIVING THINGS will release their debut album, Black Skies in Broad Daylight, in early 2004. The band is currently touring with the LIBERTINES . . . Dopesmoker, the legendary unreleased hour-long musical tribute to marijuana by stoner rock pioneers SLEEP will be released this summer, nearly a decade after it was recorded . . . ROBERT EARL KEEN will release his eighth studio album, Farm Fresh Onions, on October 7th. The record features guest appearances by SHAWN COLVIN and IAN McLAGEN . . .

BLUES TRAVELER will celebrate the release of "Truth Be Told" with a free concert at City Hall Park in New York City tomorrow . . . A TRIBE CALLED QUEST have reunited and are planning to record their first album in more than five years . . . A&E will air documentaries about PAUL McCARTNEY and STING this fall . . . MERLE HAGGARD will begin a twenty-two-date tour on August 22nd in Huntington, West Virginia . . . R. KELLY performed at the BMI Urban Awards last night in Miami . . . A four-CD AL GREEN box set, The Immortal Soul of . . . will be released on September 16th . . .

(August 4, 2003)