Who knew? Nearly a half-decade later, the young man born Cornell Haynes Jr., is a Grammy-winning hit machine churning out such chart-toppers as "Hot in Herre," "Dilemma," and "Ride Wit' Me." He's one of the world's biggest rappers, relying on a formula of party jams filled with celebrations of sexually compliant women, the wonders of weed, and lots of product placement.
"I done got so damn cocky, I took that Band-Aid off," raps Nelly on "Na-Na-Na-Na," referring to his removal of the trademark tape under his left eye. Apparently, he's so pleased with himself that he's summoned the ego to release both his third and fourth albums, "Sweat" and "Suit," today.
This isn't a double album like Prince's "Sign O' the Times" or two CDs sold as a unit as with R. Kelly's current "Happy People/U Saved Me." These are two entirely separate discs, recalling what Guns N' Roses did in 1991 with "Use Your Illusion I" and "Use Your Illusion II" and Bruce Springsteen in 1992 with "Human Touch" and "Lucky Town."
In both of those instances, the Boss and GNR would've been better served by trimming the fat and releasing a tighter, single album. So there was no reason to think Nelly, who tends to make better singles than albums, could possibly pull off this feat without similarly overplaying his hand or taxing his audience.
Yet that's what Nelly accomplishes, and with surprising aplomb, especially on "Suit," the more R&B-dipped of the two CDs. With seven of its 11 tracks featuring guest stars, "Suit" could almost pass as Nelly's version of a duets album. There's Jaheim on "My Place," Ronald Isley and Snoop Dogg on "She Don't Know My Name," and, most astonishing of all, country star Tim McGraw on "Over and Over."
