Brass Knuckles [PA]

Performer: Nelly
Artist: Rick Ross; LL Cool J; T.I.; Nate Dogg; Snoop Dogg; Usher; St. Lunatics; Fergie; Chuck D; Akon; Ashanti; Jermaine Dupri; Ciara; Lil Mama; Pharrell Williams; Avery Storm; Gucci Mane; R. Kelly
Engineer: G Koop; Boom-Batt; Kelly Sheehan; Jason Schuester; Mark "Exit" Goodchild; Anthony Terrabonne; Fred Guarino; John Horesco IV; Jason Schweitzer; David Smith; Carl Nappa
Producer: Polow Da Don; Giorgio Tuinfort; G Koop; Boom-Batt; Theron Feemster "Neff U"; Jermaine Dupri; Sean Garrett; Polow Da Don; Boom-Batt; Jermaine Dupri; Akon; LROC; The Neptunes; The Wyshmaster; Sean Garrett; Ron "NEFF-U" Feemstar; Free Agentz
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Personnel: The Wyshmaster (various instruments, programming); Free Agentz (various instruments); Elvis Williams, Brian Kennedy, The Ambassadors, Brian Kennedy (keyboards); Alicia Parker (percussion). Audio Mixers: Demacio "Demo" Castellon; Supa Engineer "Dura"; Mr. Leslie Braithwaite; Jermaine Dupri; Phil Tan; Serban Ghenea; Leslie Brathwaite; Carl Nappa. Recording information: BattCave, Hollywood, CA; Brandon's Way, LA; Chalice Studios, Hollywood, CA; Derrty Studios, St. Louis, MO; Hitland Studios, Alpharetta, GA; Legacy Recording, New York, NY; SouthSide Studios, Atlanta, GA; The Record Plant, LA; Track Record Studios, LA; Zac Recording, Atlanta, GA. Photographers: Marc Baptiste; Jonathan Mannion. It's impressive that Nelly has stayed consistently relevant enough to release his fifth LP in a mere eight years. But upon skirting through BRASS KNUCKLES' relatively trim 13-song set, his ongoing commercial viability is abundantly clear. Remaining resolutely pop-friendly and resting on his sex appeal (while throwing in frequent reminders of hardened machismo), Nelly leaves no demographic unturned, not to mention high-profile cameos; Akon, Ashanti, R. Kelly, LL Cool J, Pharrell, Rick Ross, and T.I. are among the album's guest stars. But it's Chuck D.'s appearance on "Self Esteem" (with its catchy, if simplistic refrain of "I think I can/I know I can) that begins to shed a more complex light on the MC who once inspired a nation of clubs to get naked with "Hot In Here." Release date delays and hype that just doesn't pan out are nothing new or rare in the world of urban music, but Nelly's 2008 release could be the quintessential result. Fitting squarely in the middle of the "troubled album" spectrum, Brass Knuckles is neither a disaster nor a brilliant mistake. It's an album where the forgettable lows marginalize the towering highs, while the feeling that something is missing covers it all. Maybe it's Nelly's dream collaboration with Bruce Springsteen that never happened or the lack of any fresh, breakthrough number, but this parade of mostly unsurprising pop-rap tracks has no anchor. Still, there are plenty of winners, as the macho thug anthem "U Ain't Him" with Rick Ross kicks open the door with proper swagger. Snoop and Nate Dogg dominate with their G-funk memories on the very good "LA," while both the Akon vehicle "Body on Me" and the Jermaine Dupri production "Stepped on My J'Z" are great singles, polished to perfection with hooks that last. On the other hand, the single "Party People" with Fergie feels like a dull outtake from either of Nelly's 2004 albums Sweat or Suit, while the Neptunes production "Let It Go Lil' Mama" ruins its wicked beat with clich�d lyrics from both Nelly and Pharrell. While the LL Cool J and Chuck D appearances are worth hearing, they fail to pull the ambitious, loud, and cocksure Brass Knuckles out of its three-star, been there, done that rut. ~ David Jeffries

XXL (Magazine) (pp.115-116) - "[Nelly's] charged up on the Fergie-assisted first single, 'Party People,' and expertly rides a haunting piano melody with his fellow St. Lunatics on 'Chill.'"

St. Louis, Missouri rapper Nelly (of the St. Lunatics clique) dominated MTV and radio in late 2000 with his debut COUNTRY GRAMMAR, which featured irresistible hooks, a danceable tempo, newly styled bounce beats different from the New Orleans-based No Limit output, and, perhaps most importantly, Nelly's own photogenic, confident appeal. Pushing a party atmosphere is nothing new in commercial hip-hop, but Nelly delivered the product with country twang-inflected lyrics full of St. Louis regionalisms, hence "country grammar." The distinctive MC would prove no flash in the pan, notching top-selling albums and radio hits (most notably, the club banger "Hot in Herre") throughout the '00s.

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