In 2000, Nelly burst onto the scene with Nation Grammer. Boosted by the success of its title monitor and the only Trip Wit Me within the charts, the album was an prompt hit, debuting at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and rapidly climbing to No. 1. Nelly capitalized on the album’s success with its follow-up, Nellyville, which soared to No. 1 within the charts and produced the chart-topping hits Scorching in Herre and Dilemma. After being billed as one of many greatest stars of the early 2000s, Nelly has continued his success with every subsequent album, and now ranks because the fourth best-selling rap artist in US music historical past. Right here’s how we rank all of the Nelly albums from worst to greatest.
8. 5.0.
For his sixth studio album, 5.0., Nelly invited a bunch of massive names alongside for the journey, together with Kelly Rowland, Keri Hilson, DJ Khaled, Child, Sophie Greene, Ali, Plies, Chris Brown, T.I., Yo Gotti, T-Ache, Akon, Talib Kweli, Avery Storm, Murphy Lee, Soiled Cash and Sean Paul. Sadly, even all that star energy couldn’t elevate the album from mediocrity. Commercially, it was a hit, peaking at No. 10 on the Billboard 200 and No. 1 on the High Rap Albums chart. However whereas the hooks are sticky, there’s nothing that will encourage you to hit the repeat button. Nelly appears quick on concepts, low on inspiration, and out of the punchy rhymes that made his title. Regardless of its business success, it’s by far his least important album.
7. Heartland
When you like nation rap, then take Heartland for a whirl. When you don’t, this isn’t the album to persuade you of its deserves. A barely cynical try to money in on the success of his look on the Florida Georgia Line mega-hit, Cruise (Remix), Heartland is a set of songs that appear purpose-built to get Nelly as a lot crossover play as attainable. There’s a giant record of artists available to assist, from Florida Georgia Line to Kane Brown and Jimmie Allan. The tracklist is nice sufficient, with the Tyler Hubbard duet Nation Boy Do and the deeply mellow Somebody Someplace standing out as highlights. The issue is, in making an attempt to make a document for everybody, Nelly has solely succeeded in creating an identity-free album for nobody particularly.
6. Brass Knuckles
Brass Knuckles was Nelly’s first album to not go Platinum. It’s not a nasty album, however by 2008, Nelly’s market place was in decline. Regardless of a jaw-dropping record of well-known assistants (Snoop Dogg, Fergie, Chuck D, Pharrell, Akon, LL Cool J, Ashanti, and Ciara all function), this wasn’t the album to re-establish him as a contender. Hedonistic cuts like Celebration Folks showcase his abilities to perfection, however there’s an excessive amount of generic filler and pointless fluff to make the album work. For all that, it nonetheless managed an inexpensive quantity of chart success, peaking at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, No. 20 within the UK, and coming into the highest 40 in quite a few different international locations.
5. M.O.
By 2013, Nelly’s star had fallen. He was nonetheless selecting up airplay, however his days of being one of many greatest and brightest stars in hip hop had been over. He wanted to recapture the general public’s consideration, badly. M.O. wasn’t the album to do it with. Like most of Nelly’s albums, the visitor record is spectacular, with Nicki Minaj, Pharrell, Future, T.I., Daley, 2 Chainz, Trey Songz, Fabolous, Wiz Khalifa, Florida Georgia Line, Nelly Furtado and Yo Gotti all getting a point out. It opens brilliantly, with a shocking cameo from Nicki Minaj on the Pharrell monitor, Get like Me. However from there, it begins to go downhill. The songs aren’t essentially dangerous, however neither are they significantly memorable. A serviceable document, however not an thrilling one.
4. Sweat
Sweat, Nelly’s third album, was launched in September 2004 to vital and business acclaim. It’s filled with uptempo, high-energy treats – the Neptunes-produced Flap Your Wings and the Christina Aguilera duet Tilt Ya Head Again are all highlights, whereas the looks of Tim McGraw was stunning, however not unwelcome. As Rolling Stone mentioned of their assessment, Nelly “mixes hip-hop vitality and pop ebullience prefer it’s no sweat in any respect:” right here, the payoff was a spot at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and a Platinum-selling document.
3. Go well with
Following scorching on the heels of Sweat was Go well with. Each albums had been launched on the identical day, however stylistically, they couldn’t have been extra totally different. Whereas Sweat is all bump and grind, Go well with is a refined, seductive album with much less vitality and extra melody. Like Sweat, it was a vital and business success, with All Music praising it as “well-done popcraft” and followers appreciating its maturity sufficient to take it to No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
2. Nation Grammer
Described by Rolling Stone as the perfect factor to return out of St. Louis since Redd Foxx, Nation Grammer was launched in 2000 to widespread acclaim. Its titular monitor peaked at No. 7 on the Scorching 100 and No. 1 on Scorching Rap Tracks, main the best way for the album to climb to No. 3 on the Billboard 200. In 2019, it turned solely the ninth rap album in historical past to be licensed Diamond by the RIAA after promoting over 10 million copies within the US.
1. Nellyville
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Nellyville, Nelly’s second studio album, is the place every thing got here collectively. Effectively calculated, expertly crafted, and filled with catchy rhymes, it took the early promise of Nation Grammer, multiplied it by 100, and got here up with one of many greatest hits of the early 2000s. Led by the success of the singles Scorching in Herre and Dilemma, the album spent 4 weeks at No. 1, licensed 6x Platinum, and, as of 2011, ranks because the 14th best-selling rap album of all time.
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