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David Watkins

Nelly

Sweat / Suit (Universal)

He's sold 30 million, has his own clothing range and has joined Ice T and Fat Joe in developing his own soft drink - the ludicrously named Pimp Juice.

Naturally, St Louis rapper Cornell 'Nelly' Haynes has now decided that the time is ripe to hit us with two albums at once.

The moment this happens to an artist is usually the moment their ego has got the better of them - and that's saying something for a rapper. Look what happened to Guns 'N Roses after the double whammy of Use Your Illusion I & II.

Somewhere between the 30  songs there was a classic album - unfortunately buried somewhere in a bloated exercise of self importance.

The same goes for Nelly, whose Sweat and Suit combines sparkling moments and tired mediocrity in equal measure. Credit where credit's due, however - it's the legion of producers on board who provide  the sparkle.

Nelly is pretty much a standard rapper, whose lyrics barely rise from the usual hooting on about girls, how great he is, how great his crew is and how much he loves his child - and how much he loves to party ('Sex in the city/ Sex in the country/ Sex in the zoo directly behind the monkeys' he screams on Na-Na Na-Na).

Of the two discs, Sweat is probably the most adventurous. Flap Your Wings is excellent by virtue of The Neptunes and their habit of making songs inside out. With its hissing percussion and wobbly synthesiser, it's destined for classic status.

Tilt Ya Head Back, a duet with Christiana Aguilera built around Curtis Mayfield's Superfly also could never  fail. And anyone still haunted by the memory of PM Dawn should avoid the Spandau Ballet-bolstered N Dey Say - even though, secretly, it has to be said that the guitar lick still works a treat.

It's just a shame about having to wade through the other pedestrian  pop stuff. Nelly could have made something truly fantastic if only he'd had an editor.



Nelly