Audio CD review:
Nelly - Nellyville

Nelly - Nellyville

Band: Nelly Title: Nellyville Rating: Release Date: 25 June, 2002 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Nellyville 2: Gettin' It Started 3: Hot In Herre 4: Dem Boyz 5: Oh Nelly 6: Pimp Juice 7: Air Force Ones 8: In The Store 9: On The Grind 10: Dilemma 11: Splurge 12: Work It 13: Roc The Mic-Remix 14: The Gank 15: 5000 16: #1 17: CG2 18: Say Now 19: **** It Then

Editoral Review This time around, though, unusually large chunks of his rhyme schemes are fixated on tales of his rise from rags-to-bitches. When your debut album scans 8x platinum, why mess with the formula? That's what Nelly must have been thinking on Nellyville, as he virtually carbon-copies the Country Grammar template on his follow-up. On tracks like "Work It" (which sadly features Justin Timberlake of toy band 'N Sync) and the title track, hip-hop's materialistic excess hits a fever pitch. Still, "bling, bling" never sounded so good over St. Lunatics in-house producer Jay E's beats. Nelly takes his down-home St. Louis rap cadence to, er, identical heights on "Country Grammar II," one of the many similar-sounding sequels to original chart blazers "Country Grammar" and "E. I. " The anthemic "Hot in Herre," whose hook implores hotties to get undressed over a poppy Neptunes beat, is the 2002 version of "Ride wit Me. " Nelly even pulls a Q-Tip routine, mutating his already singsong delivery into full-on balladeering on "The Gank" and "Pimp Juice," with mixed results. KRS-One has called for a boycott of this album because he's decided Nelly has no respect for hip-hop elders, and, well, maybe he's right. But that won't stop this St. Lunatic from taking his fresh approach to commercial hip-hop to the nearest Chase Manhattan. --Dalton Higgins .. You can see a complete list of all Nelly discography, or go back to the Nelly tabs