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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Country
Grammar
With the No Limit and Cash Money crews having permanently
seared the once-ignored Deep South into the hip-hop map,
Nelly arrives to make a mark for the heretofore uncelebrated
St. Louis scene. After outlining the rules of the game
from lifestyle (gats, grass, and sex) to wardrobe (he
cuffs his jeans like Beaver Cleaver), the rapper offers
scenario after scenario depicting the gangsta world as
one big party; he and his crew seem much more interested
in fellatio than shootouts. The title single, which preceded
this CD's release by months, is the clear standout with
its low-rider groove, but the midtempo R&B-flavored
flows of "Utha Side," "Greed, Hate &
Envy," and "Steal Da Show" are also seductive.
--Rickey Wright
Nellyville
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. This time around, though,
unusually large chunks of his rhyme schemes are fixated
on tales of his rise from rags-to-bitches. 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
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