Release date delays and hype that just doesn't pan out are nothing new or rare in the world of urban music, but Nelly's 2008 release could be the quintessential result.
Fitting squarely in the middle of the "troubled album" spectrum, Brass Knuckles is neither a disaster nor a brilliant mistake.
It's an album where the forgettable lows marginalize the towering highs, while the feeling that something is missing covers it all.
Maybe it's Nelly's dream collaboration with Bruce Springsteen that never happened or the lack of any fresh, breakthrough number, but this parade of mostly unsurprising pop-rap tracks has no anchor.
Still, there are plenty of winners, as the macho thug anthem "U Ain't Him" with Rick Ross kicks open the door with proper swagger.
Snoop and Nate Dogg dominate with their G-funk memories on the very good "LA," while both the Akon vehicle "Body on Me" and the Jermaine Dupri production "Stepped on My J'Z" are great singles, polished to perfection with hooks that last.
On the other hand, the single "Party People" with Fergie feels like a dull outtake from either of Nelly's 2004 albums Sweat or Suit, while the Neptunes production "Let It Go Lil' Mama" ruins its wicked beat with clichéd lyrics from both Nelly and Pharrell.
While the LL Cool J and Chuck D appearances are worth hearing, they fail to pull the ambitious, loud, and cocksure Brass Knuckles out of its three-star, been there, done that rut.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | U Ain't HimCornell Haynes | Nelly | Play | 03:15 | 7 MB | 24 MB |
| 2 | Hold UpCornell Haynes | Nelly | Play | 03:48 | 8 MB | 27 MB |
| 3 | LACalvin Broadus, Cornell Haynes | Nelly | Play | 04:23 | 10 MB | 30 MB |
| 4 | Long NightCornell Haynes | Nelly | Play | 03:15 | 7 MB | 23 MB |
| 5 | LieCornell Haynes | Nelly | Play | 04:20 | 9 MB | 29 MB |
| 6 | Party PeopleCornell Haynes | Nelly | Play | 03:58 | 9 MB | 29 MB |
| 7 | Self-EsteemChuck D, Cornell Haynes | Nelly | Play | 03:37 | 8 MB | 24 MB |
| 8 | Body on MeCornell Haynes, Giorgio Tuinfort | Nelly | Play | 03:29 | 8 MB | 23 MB |
| 9 | Stepped on My J'zJermaine Dupri, Cornell Haynes | Nelly | Play | 05:03 | 11 MB | 36 MB |
| 10 | Let It Go Lil' MamaCornell Haynes | Nelly | Play | 04:22 | 10 MB | 27 MB |
| 11 | One and OnlyCornell Haynes | Nelly | Play | 04:19 | 9 MB | 29 MB |
| 12 | ChillCornell Haynes | Nelly | Play | 05:42 | 13 MB | 39 MB |
| 13 | Who F***s wit MeCornell Haynes | Nelly | Play | 04:08 | 9 MB | 28 MB |
| 14 | Ucud GeditCornell Haynes | Nelly | Play | 04:28 | 10 MB | 32 MB |
| 58 mins | 133 MB | |||||
| 58 mins | 407 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Free Agentz | Audio Production, Main Personnel, Various Instruments |
| 2 | Akon | Audio Production, Featured Artist |
| 3 | The Ambassadors | Keyboards, Main Personnel |
| 4 | Ashanti | Featured Artist |
| 5 | Avery Storm | Featured Artist |
| 6 | Marc Baptiste | Photography |
| 7 | Boom Batt | Audio Production, Engineer, Producer |
| 8 | Mr. Leslie Braithwaite | Mixing |
| 9 | Leslie Brathwaite | Mixing |
| 10 | Calvin Broadus | Composer |
| 11 | Sandy Brummels | Art Direction |
| 12 | Demacio "Demo" Castellon | Mixing |
| 13 | Chuck D | Composer, Featured Artist |
| 14 | Ciara | Featured Artist |
| 15 | Tony Davis | Management |
| 16 | Nate Dogg | Featured Artist |
| 17 | Jermaine Dupri | Audio Production, Composer, Featured Artist, Mixing, Producer |
| 18 | Ken "Supa Engineer" Duro | Mixing |
| 19 | Theron Feemster | Audio Production, Producer |
| 20 | Fergie | Featured Artist |
| 21 | G Koop | Engineer, Producer |
| 22 | Sean Garrett | Audio Production, Producer |
| 23 | Chris Gehringer | Mastering |
| 24 | Serban Ghenea | Mixing |
| 25 | Mark "Exit" Goodchild | Engineer |
| 26 | Fred Guarino | Engineer |
| 27 | Gucci Mane | Featured Artist |
| 28 | Cornell Haynes | Composer |
| 29 | John Horesco IV | Engineer |
| 30 | R. Kelly | Featured Artist |
| 31 | Brian Kennedy | Keyboards, Main Personnel |
| 32 | Brian Kennedy | Keyboards |
| 33 | Lil' Mama | Featured Artist |
| 34 | LL Cool J | Featured Artist |
| 35 | LROC | Audio Production |
| 36 | Jonathan Mannion | Photography |
| 37 | Carl Nappa | Engineer, Mixing, Vocal Engineer |
| 38 | Nelly | Executive Producer, Primary Artist |
| 39 | The Neptunes | Audio Production |
| 40 | Alicia Parker | Main Personnel, Percussion |
| 41 | Polow da Don | Audio Production, Producer |
| 42 | Rick Ross | Featured Artist |
| 43 | Jason Schuester | Engineer |
| 44 | Jason Schweitzer | Engineer |
| 45 | Kelly "Becky 4 Real" Sheehan | Engineer |
| 46 | David Smith | Engineer |
| 47 | Snoop Dogg | Featured Artist |
| 48 | Joe Spix | Art Direction, Design |
| 49 | St. Lunatics | Featured Artist |
| 50 | Phil Tan | Mixing |
| 51 | Anthony Terrebonne | Engineer |
| 52 | T.I. | Featured Artist |
| 53 | Justin Trawick | Assistant |
| 54 | Giorgio Tuinfort | Composer, Producer |
| 55 | Usher | Featured Artist |
| 56 | Elvis Williams | Keyboards, Main Personnel |
| 57 | Pharrell Williams | Featured Artist |
| 58 | The Wyshmaster | Audio Production, Main Personnel, Programming, Various Instruments |
| 59 | Jordan "DJ Swivel" Young | Assistant |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |