Nelly - Brass Knuckles Review

Nelly was a hitmaker back when rappers were rewarded for making hits. In 2000, he turned a jump-rope rhyme into the No. 1 rap record in the country ("Country Grammar"), and then built on that to sell 15 million copies of his debut of the same name.

"Hot in Herre" and "Dilemma" gave him two No. 1 songs on the same album and made his sophomore release, "Nellyville," a Grammy winner that went 10 times platinum....full text Nelly is this era's LL Cool J, but that's only in image. While the ladies may love him, the St. Lunatic has yet to put out an album critically celebrated that could truly compare him to his legendary counterpart. Besides going extra hard on the bicep curls and sit-ups, Nelly's return after a four-year hiatus with Brass Knuckles (Universal Records), his fifth solo album, is lackluster.

With big names such as Snoop, T.I., Usher and Fergie, the guest list for Brass Knuckles reads like the invite list for a Diddy white party. There's only one song with the album's host, and the production credits are light on star power, with the notable exceptions being the Neptunes and Polow da Don, who produced four tracks....full text Nelly has the dubious honour of being the man who perfected the art of 'hip-pop' - as confirmed by the guest list on 2002's Nellyville album (including Justin Timberlake, back when it was still unhip to like him).

The Sweat/Suit dual offering in 2005 did further damage to the St Louis native's credibility, despite the sales doing wonders for his bank balance. And a glimpse at the guest artists on Brass Knuckles is not exactly enticing for anyone hoping for a refreshing listen - Fergie, R Kelly, Ashanti and Ciara do not exactly set a hip-hop head's pulse racing....full text