Nellyville

Nelly takes his down-home St. Louis rap cadence to, er, identical heights on "Country Grammar II," one of the many similar-sounding sequels to original chart blazers "Country Grammar" and "E.I." The anthemic "Hot in Herre," whose hook implores hotties to get undressed over a poppy Neptunes beat, is the 2002 version of "Ride wit Me." Nelly even pulls a Q-Tip routine, mutating his already singsong delivery into full-on balladeering on "The Gank" and "Pimp Juice," with mixed results. KRS-One has called for a boycott of this album because he's decided Nelly has no respect for hip-hop elders, and, well, maybe he's right. But that won't stop this St. Lunatic from taking his fresh approach to commercial hip-hop to the nearest Chase Manhattan. --Dalton Higgins