Coming off the lowest-selling album of his career with ‘Brass Knuckles’, St. Louis rapper Nelly reemerges with ‘5.0’, his sixth studio release.
Of the album, which tributes his fifth release date and his love for the 5.0 Mustang through its title, the rapper says “It’s a classic Nelly album with the energy and muscle of what previous albums have been up to this point.”
SUMMARY ANALYSIS
The 12-track set starts in reverse with the indulgent “I’m Number 1”, featuring Baby and DJ Khaled, which sees the rapper bragging about the cars that line his yards and delivering laughable lines like “I got get money syndrome”.
On the follow-up “Long Gone”, featuring Chris Brown and Plies, he settles more into his comfort zone as he sends out warnings to watch your girls or he’ll take advantage of your neglect by making the girl his.
Components of the record work in its favor, such as, the standout ad-libs from Brown, but added with a lackluster verse from Plies, and the rapper is set up with problems that become a recurring theme throughout the project.
For the most part, he relies on too many featured guests, only electing to travel the solo route on three of the album’s twelve tracks, and even then, only “Just A Dream” and “Making Movies” stand as viable outings.
On the former, which serves as the album’s lead single, he reflects on love lost and the possibility of loving again with the same person, while the latter, declares his sexual appreciation for making movies as oppose to making love.
There are select times when the featured guests excel, such as, “She’s So Fly”, featuring incarnated rapper T.I., where he admires the beauty of a woman that deserves to “rock the runway in Paris”, as well as, “Gone”.
On the Jim Jonsin-produced sequel to his 2003 Grammy-winning smash “Dilemma” with Kelly Rowland, the two stars reignite their chemistry and although they don’t match the quality of the original, it is a standout.
However, with the winning cut, as well as, others like the closer “Nothing Without Her”, comes the concern that the rapper has become too comfortable utilizing his singing talents and has all but abandoned, his original path.
Other hip-hop artists such as Kanye West and T.I. have all dabbled with it at some point, but unlike the St. Louis star, they never tried to make it the focal point, being that it typically doesn’t garnish huge amounts of respect.
other solid cuts include “1000 Stacks”, “Move Ya Body” and “Don’t It Feel Good”, while “Broke” and the Keri Hilson-assisted “Liv Tonight” fall flat.
FINAL VERDICT
With ‘5.0’, his sixth studio outing, Nelly maintains his promise to bulk up on the energy, but once again, his greatest falter remains his lyrics, which still hold little weight, and his inability to use them to tackle serious issues.
Instead, he stays in the lane of worshiping women and providing the soundtrack to the club scene, unaware that he is on the wrong route to obtain longevity.
3 OUT OF 5
CELEBRITY BUG’S KEY TRACKS
“She’s So Fly”, “Just A Dream”, “Making Movies”,“Gone” & “Nothing Without Her”.
“She’s So Fly”, “Just A Dream”, “Making Movies”,“Gone” & “Nothing Without Her”.
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