Nelly

Sweat

Nelly Just Jumped the Shark

Review Score:

(4/10)
Out of the two albums released simultaneously, this is by far the superior one. That's not saying much because there are both pretty bad. Out of two albums, he's made about three good songs. That's it. This album, Sweat, is harder of the albums. Suit is the softer, R&B influenced debacle.

Now, unlike all the Nelly haters out there, I really enjoyed Nelly's previous albums. Country Grammer was an excellent album with Nelly's patented unique voice, creative fast paced beats, and great contributions by the rest of the St. Lunatics. He fused hardcore music and beats to make catchy yet aggressive hip-hop. I really thought it was a fluke album by a fluke artist until Nellyville came out. That could possibly be the arguably be my favorite rap album of all time. "Air Force Ones" has got one of the greatest singles of all times.

Well, Sweat is just a bad album. The worst part of this album is that most of the songs sound just like every other song. True story - some songs are so similar, I thought my car's CD player's forward song button broke because songs 7, 8, 9 sound so much alike. This is by far a generic album that really shows a lack of effort or skill.

Here are the songs:
1) Heart of a Champion (2 out of 5) - Generic filler material with the exception that the chorus is based on the NBA on NBC's theme music - the one composed by John Tesh.
2) Na-Nana-Na (3 out of 5) - The most original song of the album. Nelly really doesn't do much with the lyrics though. The chorus is unique and complements the pseudo-trance beat.
3) Flap Your Wings (5 out of 5) - By far his best. This is why it was the first single. Typical great Nelly single that has consistently propelled him to the top. Too bad this is the only song of this caliber on both albums.
4) American Dream - (1 out of 5) - Sort of laid back, but lyrically and rhythmly dull. Sort of a bad clone of Nellyville's "Oh Nelly", "Dem Boyz", or Country Grammer's "Wrap Sumden", except much slower and weaker.
5) River Don't Runn - (1 out of 5) - Sound like the previous song, except with a touch of reggae, but just as dull.
6) Tilt Ya Head Back (0 out of 5) - Christina Aguilera? Now this one ticks me off. How can you rap about not getting respect from the hip hop establishment in your previous album, and then sing a duo with Miss Genie in a Bottle? This reeks of a bad cross-marketing gimmick.
7) Grand Hang Out (3 out of 5) - Finally, a faster beat. Still pretty slow with an annoying chorus. Definitely reminiscent of Country Grammer's radio singles, though not as well.
8) Getcha Getcha (1 out of 5) - Pretty much the same beat as the previous song, just slower. Sounds like number 4. Nothing original. Chorus is pretty ordinary. Plain filler.
9) Another One (1 out of 5) - Sounds just like 4, 5, 8. Couldn't bother to listen to this song longer than a few seconds.
10) Spida Man (1 out of 5) - Just terrible. Slow rap, slower beat, lyrics are boring. Literally a song that can put you to sleep.
11) Playa (1 out of 5) - A slow funk bass line with a terrible woman's voice (Missy Eliot?) singing chorus. Pretty boring, lame, and forced.
12) Down in Da Water (1 out of 5) - Sounds just like 4, 5, 8, 9. Seriously. No kidding. Have you ever met anyone who hated rap? They say it all sounds the same. After listening to this song, I can finally see there point of view.
13) Boy - (2 out of 5) Guess what? It sounds like tracks 4, 5, 8, 9, 12 with the exception of some techno beat dubbed on top of it.

This is the ultimate generic album. Nelly has definitely lost his edge and creativity.

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