Nellyville

Exclusive Asian pressing of his multi-platinum 2002 album features a bonus audio/video CD. The VCD (Viewable on most DVD players) includes his videos to the four singles lifted from the album, 'Dilemma' (featuring Kelly Rowland), 'Hot In Herre' (Rap Version), 'Air Force Ones' & '# 1' (without Movie Footage). The bonus audio portion (only playable on DVD players, will not work on conventional CD players!) features five non-LP tracks, 'Dilemma' (Jason Nevins Hard Step Mix), 'Dilemma' (GC4E Full Vocal Mix), 'Hot In Herre' (X-Executioners Remix), 'Stick Out Ya Wrist' (Featuring Toya from the XXX soundtrack) & 'Not In My House'. The first audio disc includes the same 19 tracks as the US pressing. Universal. 2003.

When your debut album scans 8x platinum, why mess with the formula? That's what Nelly must have been thinking on Nellyville, as he virtually carbon-copies the Country Grammar template on his follow-up. This time around, though, unusually large chunks of his rhyme schemes are fixated on tales of his rise from rags-to-bitches. On tracks like "Work It" (which sadly features Justin Timberlake of toy band 'N Sync) and the title track, hip-hop's materialistic excess hits a fever pitch. Still, "bling, bling" never sounded so good over St. Lunatics in-house producer Jay E's beats.

Nelly takes his down-home St. Louis rap cadence to, er, identical heights on "Country Grammar II," one of the many similar-sounding sequels to original chart blazers "Country Grammar" and "E.I." The anthemic "Hot in Herre," whose hook implores hotties to get undressed over a poppy Neptunes beat, is the 2002 version of "Ride wit Me." Nelly even pulls a Q-Tip routine, mutating his already singsong delivery into full-on balladeering on "The Gank" and "Pimp Juice," with mixed results. KRS-One has called for a boycott of this album because he's decided Nelly has no respect for hip-hop elders, and, well, maybe he's right. But that won't stop this St. Lunatic from taking his fresh approach to commercial hip-hop to the nearest Chase Manhattan. --Dalton Higgins