Country Grammar is the debut studio album by American rapper and singer Nelly. It was released on June 27, 2000, by Universal Records. The production on the album was handled by Jason "Jay E" Epperson, with additional production by C-Love, Kevin Law, City Spud, Steve "Blast" Wills and Basement Beats. Nelly contributed to all lyrics on the album, with Epperson and City Spud also contributing. With the album's release, Nelly and his “St. Lunatics” crew cemented the St. Louis sound firmly amongst other southern hip hop artists in the year 2000, such as Juvenile, Trina, Ludacris, OutKast, Three 6 Mafia and UGK. Country Grammar also introduced the world to Nelly's unique musical style of pop-rap and radio “singalongs” with a Missouritwang. It was supported by four successful singles: "Country Grammar (Hot Shit)", "E.I.", "Ride wit Me" and "Batter Up". Its lead single, "Country Grammar (Hot Shit)", peaked at number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and UK Singles Chart. Its second single "E.I." peaked at number 16 on the Hot 100, number 12 on the UK Singles Chart and number 11 on the ARIA Singles Chart. "Ride wit Me" peaked within the top five on the Hot 100, ARIA Singles Chart, Irish Singles Chart and UK Singles Chart. The album's fourth and final single, "Batter Up" featuring St. Lunatics members Murphy Lee and Ali, achieved moderate chart success.
In 2016, Country Grammar became the ninth hip hop album to be certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA),[2] denoting shipment of 10 million copies in the US. Its commercial success secured Nelly's status as one of the most successful hip hop acts of the 2000s decade. On Billboard's decade-end chart, Nelly ranked as the third most successful act of the 2000s decade, due largely to the success of Country Grammar and his follow-up album Nellyville (2002).
Background and production
In his early years, Nelly frequently moved locations around the United States, before residing in the city of St. Louis, Missouri.[3] It was there where he discovered rap artists synonymous inside the city. In his teenage years, Nelly moved to University City, a suburb of St. Louis, where he shifted his aspirations from becoming a baseball player to producing stories and rhymes.[3] Along with some friends from high school: Ali Jones, Torhi "Murphy Lee" Harper, Kyjuan and Lavell "City Spud" Webb, Nelly formed the group St. Lunatics in 1993.[3] Frustrated by the lack of attention from record companies, the group formed the consensus to allow Nelly to pursue a solo career, while Ali and Murphy Lee released their own solo albums.[3] Nelly produced demos, which were sent to national labels, eventually gaining attention from Universal Records who signed a record deal with Nelly and the St. Lunatics in 1999, with Universal releasing the former's debut album, Country Grammar, in 2000.[3][4] All songs on Country Grammar were recorded by Steve Eigner, and mixed by Rich Travali. Kenny Dystra provided recording assistance and Jason Standard assisted in mixing.[5]Mastering was performed by Herb Powers, with A&R directed by Kevin Law and Coordinated by Craig Yoskowitz.[5] Management was provided by Tony Davis and Courtney Benson, with legality handled by Todd Rubenstein. Creative direction was handled by Sandra Brummels, with design done by BENTO Design and photography done by Jonathen Mannion.[5]
Composition
Much of Nelly's rap style draws from his origins, as it contains Southern drawl with Midwestern,[6]Missouri twang,[7] that incorporates both country and urban styles.[6] In conjunction, Nelly approaches a pop-rap singalong vocal style, which AllMusic's Jason Birchmeier notes present within Country Grammar's tracks including "Ride wit Me" and "E.I.".[8]Peter Shapiro described Nelly's singing and rapping as using "unforgettable hooks based on schoolyard songs, double-dutch chants, and nonsense rhymes".[7] Much of Country Grammar's tracks are bass-heavy,[9][10] that are primarily Southern hip-hop based and minimalistic.[11] In the album's self-titled track, Nelly's vocals are slurred and slow,[12] and are a "smooth, slippery-fast instrument" with "reggae inflections".[9]Rolling Stone journalist Kris Ex found the song's lyrics to depict Nelly "riding around town in an expensive SUV with an assault weapon".[10] "Ride wit Me" is a rap and pop crossover[12] that samples DeBarge's 1982 song "I Like It",[5] and its lyrics feature Nelly introspecting.[9] Ex found the chorus of "E.I." to contain the vocal style of rapper The Notorious B.I.G.[10] "Luven Me" samples "Don't Stop (Ever Loving Me)" by One Way and "Whatever You Want" by Tony! Toni! Toné!.[5] Steve Sutherland of NME interpreted "Luven Me" as a "virtual rewrite" of rapper Tupac Shakur's 1995 "Dear Mama".[12]
Written by Nelly and Epperson and produced by the latter, "Ride wit Me" was released as Country Grammar's third single. The track features City Spud, and reached number three on the Hot 100, the highest-charting song from Country Grammar in the US. It also peaked at number three on the UK Singles chart,[14] number four on the ARIA Singles Chart,[20]Irish Singles Chart,[20] number five on the Dutch Singles Chart and number seven on the Norwegian Singles Chart.[20] It was certified gold by the RIAA and platinum by the ARIA.[18][19] "Batter Up" was released as the fourth and final single from the album. It features Murphy Lee and Ali, and was written by Nelly, Epperson and Steve "Blast" Wills, while being produced by Wills. "Batter Up" peaked at number eight on the Belgian Singles Chart (Flanders) and number nineteen on the ARIA Singles Chart.[20]
Country Grammar received acclaim by music critics. Steve Sutherland lauded the album in his review for NME, praising Nelly's utilization of vocal characteristics from other rap artists, including Tupac Shakur and Cypress Hill.[12] Sutherland described the album as a "rarity", noting stand-out tracks such as the "seductive rap/pop crossover" "Ride wit Me", while likening "Batter Up" to "DMX with a humour infusion".[12] He closed his review declaring Country Grammar as "album of the year".[12] While writing that Country Grammar demonstrates that "tiresome rap topics" are not restricted to "the coasts", Entertainment Weekly'sDavid Browne highlighted Nelly's "smooth, slippery-fast" voice, as well as the album's "appealingly minimalist tracks" and "introspective moments" such as "Ride wit Me".[9]
In The Village Voice, Robert Christgau wrote that Nelly presents an "easy mix of N.O. Bounce, Cleveland thug harmony, and L.A. tweedle-twaddle", finding that Nelly's heavy accent makes his hedonism more accessible.[26]People noted that Nelly implements his own "laid-back charm" to Country Grammar'ssouthern hip hop, and that while he shows "limited thematic vocabulary", he articulates escapism to compensate for this.[11]AllMusic's Jason Birchmeier praised the album's "tongue-twisting" self-titled track as "infectious", noting other tracks to contain the same elements, including "Ride wit Me" and "E.I.".[8] Birchmeier wrote that the album transcends regional styles such as southern hip hop to appeal to rap-pop audiences, while praising producer Jason "Jay E" Epperson's contribution to the album.[8]
Reviewing Country Grammar for Rolling Stone, Kris Ex wrote that the album's "liquid bass bumps" interlope well with Nelly's "wordplay-heavy sing-song rhyme-flow", while declaring Country Grammar to be "the best thing to come out of St. Louis" since comedianRedd Foxx.[10] At the 2001 Soul Train Music Awards, Country Grammar earned Nelly the award for Best R&B/Soul or Rap New Artist.[27] Nelly was nominated for four awards at the Online Hip-Hop Awards, for Favorite Music Video, Song of the Year (both for "E.I."), Album of the Year (for Country Grammar) and Outstanding Graphic Design for his official website.[28] He won the awards for Song of the Year and Artist of the Year.[29]
Commercial performance
Country Grammar entered the Billboard 200 on the week of July 15, 2000, at number 3, selling 235,000 copies.[30][31] The album remained within the top 10 for several weeks before topping it on the week of August 17, 2000, selling 235,000 copies and passing 1.5 million in sales that week.[32][33]Entertainment Weekly put the album's sales down to its support by its lead single, "Country Grammar (Hot Shit)", as well as the lack of releases from other music artists during that period.[32] The album sold 235,000 copies again the following week, continuing to stay atop the Billboard 200.[34]Country Grammar topped US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart for six consecutive weeks.[35] On October 30, 2000, the album had sold three million copies, and was certified three-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting shipments of three million copies.[36] On June 29, 2002, Country Grammar had sold 7.7 million copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.[37] On July 21, 2016, the album was certified Diamond by the RIAA, denoting shipment of ten million copies in the US.[38]
Country Grammar entered the New Zealand Albums Chart on the week of September 24, 2000, at number 5.[39] It reached its peak at number 3, for twenty-eight weeks after its debut on the chart, where it remained there for two non-consecutive weeks.[39] It stayed on the chart for forty-two weeks before dropping out.[39] The album was certified Triple Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ) for shipments of 45,000 units. On the Australian Albums Chart, Country Grammar debuted at number 45.[40] It re-entered the chart five times, and reached its peak at number 4 on the week of October 7, 2001.[40] The album remained on the chart for thirty-three weeks, and was certified Triple platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA).[40]Country Grammar reached at number 7 on the Canadian Albums Chart, and stayed on the chart for twenty-five weeks before dropping out.[41] It was certified Triple Platinum by Music Canada (MC), denoting shipments of 300,000 copies. On the Dutch Albums Chart, the album peaked at number 8.[42]
According to Billboard, as of 2022, Country Grammar is one of the 15 best-performing 21st-century albums without any of its singles being number-one hits on the Billboard Hot 100.[45]Country Grammar's success cemented Nelly's position as one of the most successful hip hop acts of the emerging decade.[46][36][37]Vibe emphasized Nelly's expeditious fame, writing that the rapper debuted without the benefit of "guest spots or Pen and Pixel produced teasers on his CD cover".[4] The magazine continued to note the rapper's absence of being associated with a notable group, "he just came out and sold two million records in less than a month".[4] Nelly's success helped in making St. Louis more notable for emerging hip hop acts, increasing the city's general reputation.[4][36]Country Grammar experienced commercial success, topping the US Billboard 200 chart for five weeks in 2000, eventually going on to sell over 9 million copies in the US, making it the ninth best-selling rap album of all time in the country.[47] It is one of the highest certified albums in the US history, being certified ten times platinum[2] by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Nelly ranked third on the Billboard 2000–2009 decade-end chart, due to the success of Country Grammar as well as his follow-up album Nellyville (2002).[48] The latter album went on to sell 6,488,000 copies in the US.[49]
Country Grammar was ranked as the 85th best album of all time on the Billboard Top 200 Albums of All Time.[50]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Nelly (Cornell Haynes, Jr.), additional writers listed below
For the 20th anniversary of the album, Nelly performed the entire album live at MelodyVR. On February 19, 2021, the rapper released the album Country Grammar Live alongside a documentary film, Country Grammar – A St. Lunatics Story.[51]
