Here’s a little story that must be told about a still-young rapper whose style is old.
First, flashback to the year 2000, when Nelly’s country-pop-hip-hop hybrid sounds bumped across St. Louis’ Eads Bridge and into radio speakers across the country. It was a style most had never heard before. His Midwestern drawl, infectious melodies and undeniable swagger thrust popular singles “Country Grammar,” “E.I.” and “Ride Wit Me” into the nation’s consciousness. Nelly became a pop superstar who put his Missouri hometown on the rap map.
Nelly followed his debut album with numerous memorable hits that cemented him as one of hip-hop’s trend-setters: In 2002, “Hot in Herre” became the anthem for sweaty people who dry-hump in clubs, and the single’s video inspired plenty of wannabes to wear white Band-Aids under their eyes. Three years later, “Grillz” summed up the gold and platinum teeth trend and “Over and Over,” a collaboration with country star Tim McGraw, is arguably the oddest hit duet in recent memory. To date, Nelly has sold more than 30 million albums and has even copped a couple of Grammys.
But it has been four years since Nelly released an album, and as the late, great Notorious B.I.G. once said, “things done changed.” Rappers are singing less (whatever happened to Ja Rule?) and new lyrical fads, such as songs about the trap (the Atlanta drug scene), dope boys and skateboarding, are dominating radio, MTV and clubs. Nelly’s novelty, his Midwest swing, is yesterday’s news. So with his fifth album, Brass Knuckles, can he progress and stay relevant to the fickle hip-hop world?
Unfortunately, Nelly does not reinvent himself on Brass Knuckles, and his old tricks don’t incite any musical magic. The album is filled with generic beats, mundane rhymes and typical collaborations. In fact, there’s a sense of deja vu surrounding the entire record.
On “L.A.,” which features Snoop Dogg and Nate Dogg, Nelly proves that he’s been using his grill to bite other artists’ concepts. Twista (“Had to Call”), Ludacris (“Living the Life”) and plenty of others have already tried this type of G-Funk, California homage to the aforementioned West Coast kings. Nelly’s lyrics show no passion for the City of Angels – it seems as if he is just rapping about it because he booked Snoop and Nate for his album.
Nelly is also trumped on the hype track “Hold Up,” which features T.I. and L.L. Cool J guesting. He should never have put those superior lyricists on a song because they outshine him.
Nelly just can’t knock anything out on Brass Knuckles. When his flow is at its most energetic, such as on “Long Night,” an R&B song that features Usher, the hooks are weak. Catchier songs, such as “Body on Me” and “One and Only,” are reminiscent of late-’90s boy band tunes.
On the lead-single, “Party People,” a call-and-response-type song with Southern stomp-music drums, Fergie raps just as well as Nelly does (not supposed to happen!). Even “Stepped on my J’z,” where Nelly professes his love for Nike Jordans, is just a half-assed version of “Air Force Ones.”
Brass Knuckles is so lackluster, it’s actually remarkable the album got released at all (especially considering it went through several delays). When Nelly burst onto the rap scene eight years ago, other artists were pushed out of the way to make room. Now, music has come full circle, and Nelly’s pimp juice has run dry. When it comes to his career, he should take the advice of one of Brass Knuckles’ tracks and just “Let It Go.”
arush@umd.edu
RATING: 1 out of 5 stars
