Ex found the chorus of 'E.I.' to contain the vocal style of rapper The Notorious B.I.G. ' Ride wit Me' is a rap and pop crossover that samples DeBarge's 1982 song ' I Like It', and its lyrics feature Nelly introspecting. Rolling Stone journalist Kris Ex found the song's lyrics to depict Nelly 'riding around town in an expensive SUV with an assault weapon'. In the album's self-titled track, Nelly's vocals are slurred and slow, and are a 'smooth, slippery-fast instrument' with ' reggae inflections'. Much of Country Grammar 's tracks are bass-heavy, that are primarily Southern hip-hop based and minimalistic. Peter Shapiro described Nelly's vocals as using 'unforgettable hooks based on schoolyard songs, double-dutch chants, and nonsense rhymes'. 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.'. Much of Nelly's rap style draws from his origins, as it contains Southern drawl with Midwestern, Missouri twang, that incorporates both country and urban styles. Creative direction was handled by Sandra Brummels, with design and photography done so by BENTO Design and Jonathen Mannion, respectively. Management was provided by Tony Davis and Courtney Benson, with legality handled by Todd Rubenstein. Mastering was performed by Herb Powers, with A&R directed by Kevin Law and Coordinated by Craig Yoskowitz. Kenny Dystra provided recording assistance and Jason Standard assisted in mixing. All songs on Country Grammar were recorded by Steve Eigner, and mixed by Rich Travali. Lunatics in 1999, with Universal releasing the former's debut album, Country Grammar, in 2000. 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. Frustrated by the lack of attention from record companies, the group formed the consensus to allow Nelly to pursue a solo career, with the rest possibly releasing their own solo albums. Along with some high school friends- Ali Jones, Torhi Harper, Kyjuan and Lavell Webb-Nelly formed the group St. It was there where he discovered rap artists synonymous within the city in his teenage years, Nelly moved to University City, where he shifted his aspirations from becoming a baseball player to producing stories and rhymes. In his early years, Nelly frequently moved locations within the US, before residing in the city of St. 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). Its commercial success secured Nelly's status as one of the most successful hip hop acts of the 2000s decade. In 2016, Country Grammar became the ninth hip hop album to be certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting shipment of 10 million copies in the US. The album was certified three times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ) and Music Canada (MC), denoting shipments of 45,000 and 300,000 copies, respectively. It peaked in the top five on the New Zealand Albums Chart and Australian Albums Chart, as well as the top ten on the Canadian Albums Chart and Dutch Albums Chart. It topped the US Billboard 200 chart for five consecutive weeks, and the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart for six consecutive weeks.

The album's fourth and final single, 'Batter Up' featuring Murphy Lee and Ali, achieved moderate chart success.Ĭountry Grammar received positive reviews, with critics praising Nelly's vocal style and the album's production. 'Ride wit Me' peaked within the top five on the Hot 100, ARIA Singles Chart, Irish Singles Chart and UK Singles Chart. 'E.I.' charted at number 16, number 12 and number 11 on the Hot 100, UK Singles Chart and ARIA Singles Chart, respectively. Its lead single, 'Country Grammar (Hot Shit)', peaked at number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and UK Singles Chart. It was supported four successful singles: ' Country Grammar (Hot Shit)', ' E.I.', ' Ride wit Me' and ' Batter Up'. Louis, Midwestern sound, and introduces Nelly's vocal style of pop- rap singalongs and Midwestern, Missouri twang. Nelly contributed to all lyrics on the album, with Epperson and City Spud also contributing. 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. It was released on June 27, 2000, by Universal Records. Country Grammar is the debut studio album by American rapper Nelly.

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