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.

What is the return policy? This CD SUCKS. I painfully sat thru the entirity of this cd, Nelly Big dissapointment. I liked Nelly's first two releases, but this is no where near the quality. If you have thought about purchasing this cd, I advise otherwise. Check Guerrilla Black out instead. ~~~peace~~~

Wow, two albums both at the top of the charts? I bet the record executives didn't plan that, huh? And the U.S. is just that easy to score off when you're a cocky pretender like Nelly. I can't believe both albums are at the top. This is outrageous. Flabbergasting. Ridiculous. Hopeless. The music nowadays (not just rap, almost every genre) has regressed and been diluted so bad that Nelly can get so much attention and hype for three albums in a row. MC Hammer, Vanilla Ice, etc. were hyped up too but could not ride fame that long before being pointed out as phonies and being ridiculed. And Nelly's basically pulling the same sh*t only in today's sh**ty music world. Don't try and say otherwise.

Okay, go ahead and say that I have too much time on my hands! I do at the moment, but while I do, I'm gonna try and do something to try and stop ignorance as much as I can through this. Some artists are sellouts in that they can make real music that is meaningful but they change their agenda to make more money and appease more. Nelly is not a sellout. He's just not a very bright guy, apparently. Making true and meaningful music is most likely beyond him, and he probably grew up listening to the radio and watching videos thinking that was what rap music is. And now he is is just doing his version of what he thinks rap music is. No doubt, his bling-bling, playa, thug facade is still selling to America the slut.

I would say hiphop is dead too, but with so many 'real' albums coming out this year (Gift of Gab, Brand Nubian, KRS, Kool Keith, and upcoming De La Soul, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Dr. Octagon, and possibly Tribe Called Quest) underground and old-school style hiphop is making a comeback whether the mainstream recognizes that or not. Do yourself a favor and quit listening to the radio. Do your homework and seek out albums that made a big impact in the past and still have meaning today (any type of music)! Open your eyes, quit living in the dark, slap yourself and realize that just because Nelly has MTV's and Grammy attention does not mean that he represents the best kind of music of this genre.

I will be suprised if this review gets posted. I wrote extended reviews criticizing recent Kanye West and Jadakiss albums only to have Amazon's reviewing system go down when I sent them and they never got posted. Plus, I didn't have the energy to write the reviews over again. What a conspiracy! Why doesn't Amazon advertise good albums like Brand Nubian's lastest on the main page for Rap & Hip Hop (I saw it on there for like two days)? Oh fine, go ahead and buy one or two of Nelly's albums and just plan to hear SHEER entertainment that really offers nothing or gives anything back. You'll look at this album at the bottom of your collection two years from now (or sooner) and wonder what you were thinking (or taking) and remember I told you so!

i never was a fan of nelly.but i have always cut him some slack on his songs cuz they r not bad party songs and not intended for ppl that r into hardcore rap.so i decided to download some of the songs on the sweat cd.i was shocked that the songs were that bad w/the exception of heart of a champion,spida man.all the other songs lack flow,his lyrics r terrible,the background beat is all messy.and he has those stupid guests appearing in his songs.i guess if ur some white surban kid who dunno much bout rap then ull probably like this.but otherwise STAY AWAY!!

Man oh man does this stink. I'm writing this review for both albums because both albums are garbage. I noticed a lot of people claiming the production on these two albums is tight. Are you sure we're listening to the same two albums here? I don't know, perhaps there are another two Nelly albums lurking out there with amazing production or something because the two albums I'm listening to are about as inspiring as elevator music. There is not one single song on either of the two albums that tickles my eardrum. Even "Play It Off", the track produced by the Neptunes, is ugly.

And the guest appearances? Wow. A duet with Christina Aguilera ("Tilt Ya Head Back") and Tim McGraw ("Over and Over")? Please. I mean I'm all for artists expanding their boundaries and yadda yadda yadda but do you really think hip hop heads want to listen to Tim McGraw? No. Do you think country heads want to listen to Nelly? No. This is crossover music at its worst.

I can understand the Christina collaboration because Nelly fits a lot more into the pop mold than he does hip hop, but as Chris Rock best puts it, you can drive a car with your feet but that doesn't make it a good idea.

One could argue that releasing two albums is a pretty good idea because it can potentially double your sales, but in order for that to happen you need two actually good albums. The same thing happened to Outkast. Had the Love Below and Speakerboxx combined its best tracks on each album to create one it would have been off the hook, but instead you have two albums marred by inconsistency. At least Andre and Big Boi put out some good songs; I cannot think of a single track on Sweat or Suit that deserves any attention. A dead giveaway that these two albums are terrible is the single they chose to lead it all off with, "My Place" (you know the video). Everyone (and I mean everyone) hated that duet he did with Kelly Rowland a couple of years ago - well, this is just the same song but with Jaheim singing the hook instead of Kelly. Come on Jaheim, you're the next Teddy Pendergrass - you can do better.

You will adore these two albums if your taste in music is determined almost exclusively by what the radio plays. I'm not trying to hate, just some people like to limit themselves like that, is all. Otherwise, don't even give this album a second look if you're looking for something fresh. This is redundant garbage and I assure you that if you dig a little deeper than the radio or BET you will find lesser known artists with infinitely better material.