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REVIEW
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Nothing spectacular
Lets go track by track
The CD warms up with "Nellyville", a song about a perfect city in which all the youngsters are born with five hundred G's to their name. There’s no violence, cocaine, or teen pregnancy in Nellyville and folks can even vote on the weather! Even Nellyville's projects would make Bill Gates blush! And of course, none other than Nelly Nel himself is the mayor. The smooth beat and corresponding flow of Nelly make this a track worth listening to over and over again.
The CD follows up with a skit and then slides right into the dance floor commanding "Hot in Herre". If this track is a sign of anything, Nelly and the Neptunes will be a dangerous tandem down the road. With a hook that you cant help but to sing along with, Nelly keeps you moving with his high energy rap and add in's (Let it just fall out! Wit a lil bit of uh! uh! And a sprinkle of that uh! uh!). This is guaranteed to be on of the cuts that we will still try to get up and dance to when we're in our eighties. Scary.
After "Hot in Herre", the pace is slowed with the anthemic "Dem Boyz". This track contains your typical self endorsement. Despite impressive verses by Murphy Lee and Nelly, this song drags. The beat makes it a good track to play when you feel like bump'n something in your car but otherwise this counts as the first low point of the CD.
Up next is "Oh Nelly". The beat in this song is plain different and takes time to get used to. Nelly himself however, puts on a good show with his colorfull wordplay (Me and my dirtys we like to by things,and if you f*ck around and give me a license to fly things,you gone' look up in the sky and have a Nelly sighting.")With an upbeat tempo and catchy hook, this track delivers a good vibe to the dancefloor.
Next up is "Pimp Juice". It may just be me, but this track seems like the perfect Ron Isley platform. It definately brings a different vibe seeing as Nelly sings (yes sings) in a Ron Isley esqe tone, even busting out a high note in the hook. The slow Dolamite style club beat is catchy but the lyrics are played to death. "Pimp Juice is anything attracts the opposite sex/it can be money,fame or straight intellect/it dont matter,b*itches got the Pimp Juice too/come to think about it dirty they got more than we do". The lack of substance is what makes this song seem so effortless. Because of the creativity however, it earns a spot in the "average" category.
"Air Force Ones" featuring the Lunatics, combines a clubworthy beat with the comedic antics of Ali and Murphy Lee, and the smooth savvyness of Nelly and Kyjuan."Dont get me wrong man see Murphy Lee aint dumb man/cuz if the shoe is on the shelf you should have some man/you can not sit up and tell tell me that you have none man/you may not have three or four but you got one man". A smooth fun song to listen to the first time, "Air Force Ones" gets old quick. Creative but not captivating.
After anothe Ced The Entertainer skit, "On the Grind" featuring King Jacob hits your speakers hard. This track displays the more lyriclly agressive Nelly that reared his head occasionally on the "Country Grammar" CD."They act'n like they really want it wit me/trust me,they dont want it they just wannna be seen". King Jacob was impressive in his big league premire. With a hard blasting beat that you can nod your head to, Nelly shows definate signs of lyrical maturation. Definately one of Nelly's better showcasings.
"Dilemma" featuring Kelly Rowland is a huge step up for Nelly. The eerielly smooth beat and addivtive hook keep you nodding your head while Nelly uses his sing/rap style of flow to tell the story of how he fell in love with a girl who already has a man and a son but he can get her out his head."I met this chicken she just moved right up the block from me/and she got the hots for me the finest thing I think I seen but oh no no/she got a man and a son though oh/but das ok cuz I/wait for my que and just listen,play my position like a short stop/pick everything mami hit'n".This is a track that you can just sit back and listen to over and over again. Nelly's versatility really shines in this song.A definate high spot fot this disc.
The CD continues on its smooth pace with the melodic "Splurge" in Nelly explains that he's just out to have some fun and spend his money. He talks about how good it feels to "go from slang'n and bang'n to yell'n number 1". He simply tells it how it is."If they want the fame and all that it can bring/if they attracted to Nelly then who like Cornell Haynes". Again Nell's maturation in the area of writing shows in this song.
The next track gives you a best of both worlds collabo of sorts."Work It" featuring N*Sync front runner Justin Timberlake is one for the books.Justin lays the hook out like a pro (yes homeboy can sing with the best of em)while Nelly spits three of the hottest verses on the entire CD. Nelly knew his credibility was on the line when Universal announced the two were doing a track to the public and, quite frankly, he shrugged the pressure off. This cut brings a smooth party vibe that makes you wonder why you doubted in the first place. Just give the track a listen and see for yourself. Hot stuff.
"Roc The Mic Remix" is by far the best song on the album. But Nelly cant take that credit. Beanie Sigel, Freeway, Murphy Lee, and Nell basically threw a party to the club anthem beat of the original "Roc The Mic". Round two of the Nelly/KRS beef begin when Nelly takes a hard shot at the Hip Hop icon."I strike a nerve wit old MC's want'n to come back/I had respect but its lost and thats fact/K-no one here even said ya name/R-you really feel'n guilty bout somethin man/S-sad to see you really just one that one more hit (please! please!)/you the first old man should get a rappers pension/no hits since the cordless mic invetion/I'm switch'n,matter fact,stay the fuck out the kitchen". Despite KRS get'n verbally kicked in the mouth, Murphy Lee is the one who shine on this track. His clever wit and savvy wordplay really show his potential."Murphy Lee 18 entertain'n em/21 when I'm club'n it/fake ID for the f*ck of it/I'm just a school boy,somewhat new boy/ya can't get Nelly you would settle for who boy?". Kudos to Fo Reel for scoring this track from Rocafella.
The CD drags from here."The Gank",Nelly's highly anticipated singing debut turns out to be a huge dissapointment. Nelly carries his voive nicely but the production of the song is horrible. The lyrics are non existant and Nelly's vocal range stays the exact same throughout the song.The only reason I would suggest you listen to this track is to hear Nelly sing.
"#1" is old and was'nt hot in the first place. The only reason the track was added was to take a direct shot at KRS-One's camp."#1" was the single that started the whole mess in the first place. By including it on his new album, Nelly comes off as pressed for ideas and uncreative.Bad move.
"CG 2" makes a good attempt to save the CD before it sinks completely. The smooth remake of "Country Grammar" symbolizes the rise of Nelly and his Lunatics."You can find me,same city same state/carry'n more weight/fish'n wit more bait/more license plates than ya DMV/take'n more Total Requests than ya MTV".Very creative and should have been placed earlier in the album.
"Say Now" closes the CD with the soothing play of a piano as Nelly talks about life in he ghetto,something he rarely speaks of."Gunshots reign out over the city and had everybody duck'n and run'n look'n for any kind of shelter/cuz them peoples know they at it again/if you had heard or seen it than you better pretend."A good song as Nelly goes deeper than he ever has before.Worth checking out.
All in all a solid CD.The back half of he CD drags horribly and the arrangement of the front half comes off akward.Nonetheless, Nelly continues to show promise for the future with his unique stle and versatility.He should be carefull though, too many cameos with N*Sync and Destiny's Child may take a chunk out of his credibility,as it did untill the "Work It" track dropped."Nellyville is definately worth picking up.
3 2 ~1~ And I'm Done.
OVERALL RATING: 3/5
REVIEWED BY: MistaFreakyStuf
ADDED: 2002-08-03
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