Through Jennings mon, through U-City back up to Kingsland See me, mon, cheifin rollin deeper than any mon Keys to my Beemer, mon, holla at Beenie Man
Let's show these cats how to make these millionsįlows I kick 'em freely mon, 'specially off Remi, mon Smokin' blunts in Savannah, blow thirty mill' like I'm Hammer 'Ouisiana, all my niggaz with country grammar Louis to Memphis, from Texas back up to Indiana Say, "Hi", to my niggaz left in the slammerįrom St. May I, answer yo 'Third Question' like A.I. Play by, my rules Boo and you gon' stay high Say now, can you hoes come out to play now Pound niggaz, what you be givin' when I'm around niggaįrown niggaz, talkin' shit when I leave the town nigga Now nigga, come to the circus and watch me clown nigga How nigga? Ask me again and it's goin' down nigga Who say pretty boys can't be wild niggaz?įoul niggaz, run in the club and bust in the crowd nigga I'm goin' down down baby, yo street in a Range Rover Light it up and take a puff, pass it to me now Shimmy shimmy cocoa what? Listen to it pound Street sweeper baby, cocked ready to let it go Hmm, I'm goin' down down baby, yo street in a Range Rover Lunatics 'til the day I die, I run more game than the Bulls and Sonics My grammar be's ebonics, gin, tonic and chronicįuck bionic it's ironic, "Slammin'" niggaz like Onyx Playa my style's raw, I'm "Born to Mack" like Todd Shawįorget the fame and the glamour, give me D's with a rubber hammer Run a mile for the cause, I'm righteous above the law Uh uh uh so feel me when I bring it, sing it loud Wild ain't it? How me and money end up hangin' Just to navigate it, wood decorated on chromeĪnd it's candy painted, fans fainted, while I'm entertainin' Sippin' Bud, gettin' perved and gettin' dubbedĭaps and hugs, mean mugs and shoulder shrugsĪnd it's all because, 'ccumulated enough scratch Smokin' on dubs in clubs, blowin' up like Cocoa Puffs Man I'm a honey mackin Hillside hustler man Household thug, for all up in my business Gettin that hunny with the peaches and creamĭo my thug things, livin' off the King Pin Where the Louie at man, where the Louie the thirteenth Pimp tryna make a dollar outta fifteen centīustas on the corner of the block gettin' bent Let me show you how to swing, push pedal that candy cane Let me teach you somethin' about this game Album of the year so far.Let me breathe on ya man, let me speak upon a man Little wonder, then, that the A&R machine is currently cruising the St Louis environs for more where this came from. ‘Batter Up’ is like DMX with a humour infusion, a bold, barking claim to the big league, ‘Utha Side’ is like feline and focused Prince before he went bonkers and traded in songs for jams, and ‘EI’ is just one big-up whoop of testosterone. ‘Luven Me’ also tips respect to Shakur, a sweet virtual rewrite of the deceased’s ‘Dear Mama’, while ‘Wrap Sumden’ is a riotous weed anthem, Nelly so high, he can hardly be arsed to finish his lines. ‘Ride Wit Me’ is glorious, streamlined on DeBarge and easily the most seductive rap/pop crossover since Tupac‘s ‘California Love’. Nelly takes Tupac‘s sensitive use of soulbro’ history, wacks in some of that good ol’ Ruff Ryders rumpus, rolls it together with a pinch of pungent Cypress Hill and exhales it cool, clear and original.Ī rarity for a rap album – make that any album – there’s no waste on ‘Country Grammar’, no fillers or bummers. Nelly is legit and eased between Cedric The Entertainer’s dumb-ass yokel ‘Intro’ and ‘Outro’ is the year’s dreamiest new hip-hop discovery. Hence ‘Country Grammar’, slurred and slow and damn proud of it. Nelly, tellin’ it like it is in the sticks. “Some got jobs and some sell yay/Others just smoke and fuck all day”. The single ‘St Louie’ was the hit that set the laid-back style – lazy vocals telling stoner tales of racist hassle and sweet honey babes, a gang growing up determined to add a Southern voice to the intercoastal rap rivalry.
St Louis actually, which wasn’t even on the hip-hop radar until this young thug and his St Lunatics started in with the sweet local slang on regional radio. In the States right now, Nelly is Number One.