Nelly - Brass Knuckles Album Review

Brass Knuckles is Nelly’s fifth studio album after four years of silence with straight hand-to-mic combat.

Nelly is a man about his business. An award-winning artist who’s up for the challenge, primed for battle… here we go, round five with ‘Brass Knuckles’ - ding ding.

The album was released on September 16, 2008 after several delays and debuted at #3 on the Billboard 200 and #1 on U.S. Billboard Top Rap Albums selling 84,000 copies in its first week.

Cruising, clubbing or loving this is the album your gonna need. If you like Nelly’s previous work this will not disappoint, however if you’re new school you may not like it.

Nelly - Brass Knuckles Track Listing

1. “U Ain’t Him” featuring Rick Ross - 3:15
2. “Hold Up” featuring T.I. & LL Cool J - 3:48
3. “L.A.” featuring Snoop Dogg & Nate Dogg - 4:23
4. “Long Night” featuring Usher - 3:21
5. “Lie” featuring St. Lunatics - 4:26
6. “Party People” featuring Fergie - 4:04
7. “Self-Esteem” featuring Chuck D - 3:37
8. “Body On Me” featuring Akon & Ashanti - 3:31
9. “Stepped On My J’z” featuring Ciara & Jermaine Dupri - 4:40
10. “Let It Go (Lil Mama)” Pharrell - 4:22
11. “One and Only” featuring Polow da Don - 4:19
12. “Chill” featuring St. Lunatics - 5:42
13. “Who Fucks Wit Me” featuring Avery Storm - 4:08
14. “Ucud Gedit” featuring Gucci Mane & R. Kelly - 4:28

* “Bay” (Wal-Mart online bonus track) (UK/Japenese bonus track) - 3:42
* “Problems” (Wal-Mart online bonus track) - 3:11
* “Wadsyaname” (Japanese/Australian bonus track) - 4:08
* “Warrior” (iTunes bonus track) - 2:44
* “Let’s Go” (iTunes bonus track) - 3:43

Nelly makes his statement in the form of brass-tacks vocal tracks, dance floor anthems and suggestive, seductive slow jams. A master at dynamic collaborations, he’s assembled a cast of all-stars to collaborate including Usher, Pharrell, Akon, Ciara, Chuck D, Snoop Dogg, Jermaine Dupri, Ashanti, Avery Storm and the St. Lunatics.
“When you hear the energy change, or the tempo switches to a nice flow, it means something,” he says. Nelly shows his versatility spitting rhymes with deep, percussive flow, and then switching it up to sing over soulful hooks.

‘Brass Knuckles‘ does as it’s told, to beat you up. Noggin’s will be knocked, rocked, and bobbed by the whim of the speakers.

Album Information

Released September 16, 2008
Recorded 2006-2008
Genre Midwest rap, pop rap, R&B, crunk
Length 69:04
Label Derrty, Universal
Producer Nelly, Polow Da Don, Adam “Wyshmaster” Cherrington, Akon, Giorgio Tuinfort, Droop-E, Jermaine Dupri, James “JLack” Lackey, Ron “Neff-U” Feemster, The Neptunes, Boom-Batt Productions, Free Agents

sources amazon.com and wikipedia.org