Brass Knuckles (album)

Brass Knuckles is the fifth studio album by American rapper Nelly, released on September 16, 2008, after several delays. In 2008 Nelly embarked on The Brass Knuckles Tour in support of the album.

Brass Knuckles
Studio album by Nelly
Released	September 16, 2008 (2008-09-16)
Recorded	2007–2008
Genre	Hip hop
Length	58:15
Label	Derrty Ent. Universal Motown
Producer	Wyshmaster Free Agentz Neff-U James "JLack" Lackey Polow da Don Sean Garrett G Koop Akon Giorgio Tuinfort Tha Bizness Jermaine Dupri The Neptunes Andrew "Papa Justifi" Wansel Boom-Batts Droop-E
Nelly chronology
Sweatsuit (2005) Brass Knuckles (2008) 5.0 (2010)
Singles from Brass Knuckles
"Wadsyaname" Released: August 21, 2007 "Party People" Released: April 15, 2008 "Body on Me" Released: June 10, 2008 "Stepped on My J'z" Released: July 1, 2008 "One and Only" Released: November 18, 2008

Background

Production was set to come from Bryan-Michael Cox, Neff-U and Pharrell, among others.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]} Nelly mentioned in an interview that producer Polow da Don produced tracks for the album.^[9] On March 30, Nelly told HipHopDX.com that "the album would feature a handful of new producers."^[10] Nelly was set to collaborate with Springsteen but he stated he was hopeful to collaborate with him on a future album, or even a repackage of Brass Knuckles.^{[citation needed]} Dupri gave a look into the two collaborations, one being Nelly, Carey and Jackson all appearing on the same track, in which he stated Nelly has laid the following blueprint.^[11]

Nelly's got a crazy collaboration he's trying to put together, which is him, Janet and Mariah Carey all on one song ... That's what he wants. If he could convince them to do it, it would be crazy. [He] wants [Janet] to rap a 16-bar verse, he wants [Mariah] to sing the hook and he's gonna do two verses. [He] has it all planned out. You ask him about it! This is what he wants; he's 100-percent deadlocked into it.

Jermaine Dupri also stated possibilities of hopeful collaborations with Bruce Springsteen, Mariah Carey and Janet Jackson.^[2][11] Nelly went on to speak about the possibility of the Springsteen collaboration and that two of his own tracks will appear on the album.^[11]

I think he's doing a record with Bruce Springsteen. You know he always has to do one of those! My two records [that J.D. has produced for Nelly so far], he's gonna have some people on them—I won't tell it yet. I don't want to jinx the record.

Singles

The first single was believed to be "Cut It Out" which features rappers Pimp C and Sean P of YoungBloodZ, but was later confirmed to be "Wadsyaname", which was released digitally on August 21, 2007. However, because of the pushed release dates from October 16, 2007 and on, the first official single was changed to "Party People", which features Fergie. It was released on March 18, 2008 and peaked at number forty on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number fourteen on the UK Singles Chart. The album's second single "Body on Me", which features Akon and Ashanti, was released on June 9, 2008. It peaked at number forty-two on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number three on the UK Singles Chart. Just two days later, "Stepped on My J'z", which features Ciara and Jermaine Dupri was released on June 11, 2008. It peaked at number ninety on the US Billboard Hot 100. After several single releases amid delays, accompanied by noticeable anticipation, the full Brass Knuckles album was released in September of 2008.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[12]
RapReviews	8/10[13]
Rolling Stone	[14]
Vibe	[15]

Reviews for the album were generally mixed. Pharoh Martin of Vibe stated that "Brass Knuckles is standard Nelly fare."^[15] RapReviews wrote that "underneath the materialistic veneer Nelly's got a good delivery, sharp lyrics and impeccable breath control."^[13]

Commercial performance

Brass Knuckles debuted at number 3 on the Billboard 200, selling 83,717 copies in its first week in the United States. Only 8-weeks later, the album was left on the Billboard 200 chart. On March 21, 2009, the album re-appeared at number 152. On December 12, 2008, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipping over 500,000 copies in the United States.^[16] As of September 2010, the album has sold over 223,000 copies in the United States.^[17]

Track listing

Brass Knuckles track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"U Ain't Him" (featuring Rick Ross)	Cornell Haynes, Jr., William Roberts II, Adam Cherrington	Wyshmaster	3:15
2.	"Hold Up" (featuring T.I. and LL Cool J)	Cornell Haynes, Jr., Rufus Morgan, Tadd Mingo, Clifford Harris, Jr., Todd Smith	Free Agentz	3:48
3.	"LA" (featuring Snoop Dogg and Nate Dogg)	Cornell Haynes, Jr., Calvin Broadus, Jr., Nathaniel Hale, Christopher Whitacre, Justin Henderson	Tha Bizness	4:23
4.	"Long Night" (featuring Usher)	Cornell Haynes, Jr., Ryon Lovette, Usher Raymond IV, James Lackey	James "JLack" Lackey	3:15
5.	"Lie" (featuring St. Lunatics)	Cornell Haynes, Jr., Jamal Jones, Brian Kennedy, Ali Jones, Robert Cleveland, Torhi Harper,	Polow da Don	4:20
6.	"Party People" (featuring Fergie)	Cornell Haynes, Jr., Jamal Jones, Garrett Hamler, Stacy Ferguson	Polow da Don, Garrett	3:58
7.	"Self-Esteem" (featuring Chuck D)	Cornell Haynes, Jr., Robert Mandell, Carlton Ridenhour	G Koop	3:37
8.	"Body on Me" (featuring Akon and Ashanti)	Cornell Haynes, Jr., Aliaune Thiam, Giorgio Tuinfort, Ashanti Douglas	Akon, Giorgio Tuinfort	3:29
9.	"Stepped on My J'z" (featuring Ciara and Jermaine Dupri)	Cornell Haynes, Jr., Jermaine Dupri, James Phillips	Jermaine Dupri	5:03
10.	"Let It Go Lil' Mama" (featuring Pharrell)	Cornell Haynes, Jr., Pharrell Williams	The Neptunes	4:22
11.	"One and Only"	Cornell Haynes Jr., Jamal Jones, Darnell Dalton, Lamar Taylor	Polow da Don, Andrew "Papa Justifi" Wansel	4:20
12.	"Chill" (featuring St. Lunatics)	Cornell Haynes, Jr., Adam Cherrington, Ali Jones, Robert Cleveland , Tohri Harper, Lavell Webb	Wyshmaster	5:42
13.	"Who Fucks wit Me" (featuring Avery Storm)	Cornell Haynes Jr., Christopher Whitacre, Justin Henderson	Tha Bizness	4:08
14.	"Ucud Gedit" (featuring Gucci Mane and R. Kelly)	Cornell Haynes, Jr., Jamal Jones, Robert Kelly, Radric Davis	Polow da Don	4:28
Total length:				58:15

Walmart bonus tracks^[18]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
15.	"Bay"	Haynes, Earl Stevens, Jr.	Droop-E	3:42
16.	"Problems"	Haynes, Jones	Polow da Don	3:11
Total length:				65:09

Japanese bonus tracks^[19]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
17.	"Wadsyaname"	Haynes	Tha Bizness	4:07
Total length:				66:05

iTunes bonus tracks^[20]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
18.	"Warrior"	Haynes, Feemster	Theron "Neff-U" Feemster	2:43
19.	"Let's Go"	Haynes, Cherrington	Wyshmaster	3:44
Total length:				64:44

Sample credits

• "Stepped on My J'z" Contains a sample of "Tipsy" performed by J-Kwon.

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for Brass Knuckles Chart (2008) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[21] 15 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[22] 90 Canadian Albums (Billboard)[23] 22 French Albums (SNEP)[24] 88 Irish Albums (IRMA)[25] 60 Japanese Albums (Oricon)[26] 6 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[27] 22 Scottish Albums (OCC)[28] 34 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[29] 55 UK Albums (OCC)[30] 20 UK R&B Albums (OCC)[31] 6 US Billboard 200[32] 3 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[33] 2 US Top Rap Albums (Billboard)[34] 1

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for Brass Knuckles Chart (2008) Position US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[35] 78

Certifications

Certifications for Brass Knuckles

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[36]	Gold	500,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Scott Bowles, Steve Jones and Pete Johnson (September 6, 2007). Coming attractions: Nelly's ready to crack his 'Knuckles'. USA Today. Accessed September 9, 2007.
2. Shaheem Reid (August 22, 2007). T.I., Akon, Snoop, Pimp C Get Behind Nelly's Brass Knuckles. MTV. Accessed August 22, 2007.
3. Shaheem Reid, with additional reporting by Tim Kash and Jayson Rodriguez (May 1, 2007). Mixtape Monday: 50 Cent Talks Batman, Both New LPs; Rick Ross Rubs Elbows With Jay, Jeezy Archived July 4, 2007, at the Wayback Machine MTV. Accessed August 22, 2007.
4. Shaheem Reid, with additional reporting by Rahman Dukes and Brennan Williams (October 8, 2007). The Streets Is Talking: News & Notes from the Underground Archived February 15, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. MTV. Accessed October 10, 2007.
5. Jayson Rodriguez, with additional reporting by Sway J. Calloway (October 16, 2007). Nelly Ready to Battle Don Imus, Other Foes with Hard-Hitting New LP. MTV. Accessed October 16, 2007.
6. Nelly in Studio with JoJo. KISS-FM (August 14, 2007). Accessed December 13, 2007.
7. DADDYMACKOFNYC (February 12, 2008). Chuck D Interview Part 4 of 4 on YouTube. Accessed February 13, 2008.
8. Nelly & Ashanti Interview – Rap-Up TV. Rap-Up TV. Accessed August 25, 2007.
9. Nelly Exclusive Interview Part 1 on YouTube
10. (March 30, 2008). Nelly Preps New Album Archived 2014-10-16 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed April 20, 2008.
11. Anthony Springer, Jr. (August 23, 2007). Nelly Is Back! Archived 2012-06-16 at the Wayback Machine. HipHopDX. Accessed August 23, 2007.
12. Kellman, Andy. "Brass Knuckles - Nelly". AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-12-04.
13. RR. "Nelly's "Brass Knuckles"". RapReviews. Retrieved 2010-08-20.
14. Hoard, Christian (2008-09-18). "Brass Knuckles : Nelly : Review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2008-09-06. Retrieved 2012-03-21.
15. Pharoh Martin (September 17, 2008)."Nelly: "Brass Knuckles"". Archived from the original on 2008-09-20. Retrieved 2008-09-25. Vibe. Accessed September 24, 2008
16. ^{[permanent dead link‍]}
17. "Nelly Regains Cool with Taylor Swift's Help". Billboard. Retrieved 2010-11-12.
18. "Brass Knuckles (Edited) (With 2 Exclusive Tracks) - Walmart.com". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2011-09-02.
19. "Nelly Brass Knuckles JAPAN CD 2Bonus Mint W OBI 36 1 - eBay". Archived from the original on 2012-10-25. Retrieved 2011-09-02.
20. "Brass Knuckles by Nelly on Apple Music". iTunes. January 2008.
21. "Australiancharts.com – Nelly – Brass Knuckles". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
22. "Ultratop.be – Nelly – Brass Knuckles" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
23. "Nelly Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
24. "Lescharts.com – Nelly – Brass Knuckles". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
25. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Nelly". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
26. "ブラス・ナックルズ" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on April 15, 2023. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
27. "Charts.nz – Nelly – Brass Knuckles". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
28. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
29. "Swisscharts.com – Nelly – Brass Knuckles". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
30. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
31. "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
32. "Nelly Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
33. "Nelly Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
34. "Nelly Chart History (Top Rap Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
35. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2008". Billboard. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
36. "American album certifications – Nelly – Brass Knuckles". Recording Industry Association of America.