Nelly: Brass Knuckles
Nelly's bulked up for Brass Knuckles
Also In The News
|
By inthenews. |  |
Thursday, 11, Sep 2008 09:34
Universal/Island, out September 15th.
In a nutshell...
Boring, generic hip-hop with big beats.
What's it all about?
Nelly's fourth (or fifth if you count Suit and Sweat as different albums) studio album, which is basically 16 collaborative tracks, with just the two by Nelly on his own. Apparently trying to use new and exciting producers, but basically using Jermaine Dupri and Pharrell to try and inject some life into a very dull attempt.
Who's it by?
I'd be surprised if you haven't heard of Nelly - He's super famous for tracks like Ride Wit Me, Hot in Herre, Dilemma (with then girlfriend Kelly Rowland) and the brilliant Over and Over. He's also had some fame as an actor, taking a cameo role in The Longest Yard with Adam Sandler.
As an example...
"It's no mistake the attraction's ironic/I wanna make you someone more than just a bone in my closet/I wanna win that type of relationship where you wanna come hang when your man is trippin'/You say you're short this month and you're late on your rent/He took your car, what cha mean homeless/Hey hey you see oohhh/You see lil mama outta control." - Body On Me featuring Akon and Ashanti
Likelihood of a trip to the Grammys
It's happened before, but I think this is poorer fare this time.
What the others say
"On his fifth album, he mostly sticks to that pop-rap formula, cranking his distinctly melodic flow to hyper-speeds and playing the good-natured hedonist on cuts like Party People. But when he tries to come off hard on a handful of Dirty South brawlers, he ends up sounding generic." - Christian Hoard, Rolling Stone
So is it any good?
As suggested, it's just a bit disappointing. Christian Hoard nails it, when he argues that sometimes Nelly just sounds a bit generic. It's really like he's lost all the passion and fun that made him famous. The really worrying thing is that Nelly doesn't have to seem to have the confidence to back himself. I really feel as though the multiple 'collaborations' are in fact hiding a mediocre rapper. Worryingly, it's not even as those he's picking good collaborators. Jermaine Dupri? Fergie? Really?
I'm just entirely undecided, but I'd say if you really want Nelly at his best, go and buy Suit and Sweat. At least the collaborations on that album are of a much higher quality and actually exciting.
4/10
Rob Wheatley