Nelly's Brass Knuckles lacks originality

In Nelly's Brass Knuckles, Nelly picks up where he left off

By Derek Reagan

Published Sept. 18, 2008

Finally, Nelly's newest album, Brass Knuckles, has been released after several date changes. It has been four years since Nelly dropped Sweat and Suit, which debuted at No. 2 and No. 1 respectively on the Billboard albums chart their opening week. Since their success, Nelly has been featured on a handful of songs and even teased fans with a non-Brass Knuckles single "Wadsyaname."

With his latest effort, though, Nelly has created an album that picks up right where he left off four years ago.

Nelly has an impressive discography, to say the least, and no one can blame him for using the same formula that made him one of the biggest names in the game today. (If it's not broke, then don't fix it, right?) The problem with Brass Knuckles is its lack of originality and Nelly's refusal to step out of the realm of hip-hop (Ex: "Over and Over," his 2004 duet with Tim McGraw).

In the four years Nelly has been gone, hip-hop has been overrun by an incredible amount of new rappers who follow Nelly's formula to attempt to master sound appeal over lyrical content. In the age of ring tone madness, Nelly's Brass Knuckles sounds good, but it's a step behind in the game.

For most of the opening track, "U Ain't Him," Nelly and Rick Ross talk about a popular Nelly theme: how gangster they are. The track has the makings of a hit, with two heavyweights laying down rhymes, but in a song about being gangster it hurts their street cred that Rick Ross was once a correctional officer at a Florida prison.

The album starts to gain momentum with "Party People," a club song featuring Fergie in which the two artists spend their chorus asking "Where the party people at?" Because of the song's mass appeal it's not surprising to find out that Polow DaDon engineered the beat to this club anthem.

The one song where Nelly attempts to stretch his lyrical wings is "Self-Esteem," a collaboration pitting Nelly with Public Enemy front man Chuck D. This song really works for both Nelly and Chuck D as they trade rhymes about the struggles of life over a '70s funk beat. "There are so many obstacles in life to overcome/And as soon as you jump over one/Here come another one."

After this song you hear the Nelly requisite ode to shoes "Stepped on My J'Z."

Making it popular with "Air Force Ones" on Nellyville, he tries to duplicate the success with a tribute to Michael Jordan's shoe line. The song's lack of originality doesn't quite measure up to his past hit, but with Jermaine Dupri and Ciara's input, the song is respectable in its own right.

Brass Knuckles should be a welcome addition to any Nelly fan's library of music, but if you are looking for something new from the STL resident, you will be disappointed.