I wanna know what his girlfriend knows by Alicia

He's earnin interest while he's sleepin, man, now who fucks wit him?

Jack and I recently went on a little bit of a shopping spree, and while on our consumer bender, we stumbled upon Nelly's new album, "Brass Knuckles." (We also got T.I.'s new "Paper Trail." Jackie will allegedly review it this week. Don't hold your breath.)

"Brass Knuckles" doesn't deviate from Nelly's standard formula: Fly beats, big name guest appearances, simple messages. And, as always, it works. Nelly doesn't get all deep, trying to tell us about all this complex emotional bull. I don't care about your psyche, Nelly. And he doesn't care to tell me. He's still singin' about sneakers, babes and cash. I like it!

Jack and I are huge fans of "Lie," featuring Nelly's crew, the St. Lunatics. In it, Nelly's chick accuses him of cheating and he denies it pretty believably. With a poppy backbeat. St. Lunatic Kyjuan raps,

Really don't know her, I seen her on MySpace / Looked at her page, all I seen was my face
Her username read "Kyjuan fo' life" / With videos and pictures, set up so right
The only bad thing is she writes me all night / Sayin shit like, "The 'Tics is so tight"
She ends with I love you, that starts the big fight / Baby, I can't control what she types

The St. Lunatics know how to identify with the social-client generation. On the other hand, in "Self Esteem," Nelly can't help but get a lil political:

They say I'm old enough to go to war / But I ain't old enough to play in the NBA no more
Now you tell me, what's wrong with that? / I pledge allegiance all the way to Iraq
But ain't nobody pledgin to me when I get back / Tell my Uncle Sam he wrong for that

The beat on this song isn't so great, but it's interesting to hear Nelly lyrically venture outside parties and relationships. Celeb appearances include Fergie, Snoop Dogg, Ashanti, T.I., and Pharrell. Among many others. Oh yeah, and can't forget L.L. Cool J. But let's look at something other than Nelly's rhymes. Let's look at ... his album jacket. I don't know where Nelly's been or what he's been up to since the last time I bought an album of his (2005's "Sweat/Suit," a double disc). But he looks so fine. He is JACKED. Nelly's always been sexy, especially since he took that Band-Aid off, but I would have dropped $13.99 on the album art alone.

See for yourself.

DAMN.

The only disappointment is "Stepped on My J'z," in which Nelly revisits the world of footwear with another rap about sneakers. It's a letdown after 2002's "Air Force Ones." ... But that's the worst I can say about the album. Nelly's forgiven anything with photos like that on the CD jacket. Nelly delivers, as usual. This album is like a sugar fix -- you're down, you're craving a quick fix to pick you up. He's like a lollipop. Mmmm. Call me, Nelly.

Listen to:
Track 5. Lie f/St Lunatics
Track 10. Let It Go Lil Mama f/Pharrell
Track 13. Who Fucks Wit Me f/ Avery Storm