It seems that most people either love Nelly or hate him. I always just thought he was okay. I was initially surprised that he was releasing two albums, and I was flabbergasted to learn that he was originally going to release FIVE albums. Anyway, Sweat seems to be for the fellas, so I gave it a spin.
I didn't expect this album to be all that great, but actually it's better than I thought it would be. But don't get too excited; I rated it three stars. Anyway, there ARE some songs on here that have potential to be hits, like the obligatory Jazze Pha track "Na-Nana-Na" (it's not called "Can We Leave Her" (here) like a lot of people think). And "Another One" is especially interesting due to Nelly's diss to Chingy (but does anyone really care about a Nelly vs. Chingy beef?). There are also some okay songs like "Getcha Getcha" and "American Dream" (both featuring St. Lunatics).
But there's also a whole lot of filler, like "Tilt Ya Head Back" (with Christina Aguilera) and the necessary Neptunes track, "Flap Your Wings" (by the way, what exactly does "drop down and get your eagle on" mean?). And "Grand Hang Out" (with Fat Joe, Young Tru and Remy Martin) suffers because of two things: the lame chorus and Young Tru's entire verse. "Spida Man" makes no sense at all; and "Heart of a Champion", which uses the NBA on NBC's music as its backdrop, should have never made it out of the studio.
Another thing people have probably noticed about this album is that it's just LITTERED with guest stars. This album is probably perfect for fans of Nelly, but everyone else will just say it's okay. It would be fine for a party, making Sweat live up to its title, but fans looking for substance will most likely want to check out something else.
Anthony Rupert
P.S. In response to another reviewer, "Over and Over" is on Suit, not Sweat.