Country Grammar is the debut studio album by American rapper 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. The album
introduced a unique Saint Louis, Midwestern sound, and introduces Nelly's
vocal style of pop-rap singalongs and Midwestern, Missouri twang.
The album produced four successful singles: "Country Grammar", "E.I.",
"Ride wit Me" and "Batter Up". Its lead single, "Country Grammar", peaked at
number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 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. "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
final single, "Batter Up" featuring Murphy Lee and Ali, achieved moderate
chart success. Country Grammar received positive
reviews, with critics praising Nelly's vocal style and the album's production.
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. 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. The album was
certified three times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of New
Zealand and Music Canada, denoting shipments of 45,000 and 300,000 copies,
respectively. As of May 17, 2015, Country Grammar has
sold 8.6 million copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan, ranking it as the
ninth best-selling rap album of all time in the United States. It was certified
nine times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, making
it one of the highest certified albums in the US history. 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, largely in part to the success
of Country Grammar and his follow-up album Nellyville.
Background and production In his early years, Nelly frequently
moved locations within the US, before residing in the city of St. Louis. 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.
Along with some high school friends—Ali Jones, Torhi Harper, Kyjuan and Lavell
Webb—Nelly formed the group St. Lunatics in 1993. 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. 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. 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. Mastering was performed by Herb Powers,
with A&R directed by Kevin Law and Coordinated by Craig Yoskowitz.
Management was provided by Tony Davis and Courtney Benson, with legality
handled by Todd Rubenstein. Creative direction was handled by Sandra
Brummels, with design and photography done so by BENTO Design and Jonathen
Mannion, respectively. Composition
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. 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.". Peter Shapiro described Nelly's
vocals as using "unforgettable hooks based on schoolyard songs, double-dutch
chants, and nonsense rhymes". Much of Country Grammar‍‍ '​‍s tracks are
bass-heavy, that are primarily Southern hip-hop based and minimalistic. In the
album's self-titled track, Nelly's vocals are slurred and slow, and are a
"smooth, slippery-fast instrument" with "reggae inflections". Rolling Stone
found the song's lyrics to depict Nelly "riding around town in an expensive SUV
with an assault weapon". "Ride wit Me" is rap, pop crossover, that samples
composition from DeBarge's 1982 "I Like It", and its lyrics feature Nelly
introspecting. Rolling Stone found the chorus of "E.I." to contain the vocal
style of rapper The Notorious B.I.G.. "Luven Me" samples "Don't Stop" and
"Whatever You Want" from bands One Way and Tony! Toni! Toné!, respectively. NME
interpreted "Luven Me" as a "virtual rewrite" of rapper Tupac Shakur's 1995
"Dear Mama". Singles
"Country Grammar" was released as the album's first single on February 29,
2000 in the US. The song was written by Nelly and Jason "Jay E" Epperson, and
produced by the latter. Its lyrics are based off the children clapping game
Down Down Baby. "Country Grammar" peaked at number seven on the US Billboard Hot
100 and the UK Singles Chart. It also reached number ten and twenty on the
Canadian Hot 100 and ARIA Singles Chart, respectively. The song was certified
gold by the Recording Industry Association of America and Australian
Recording Industry Association. The second single, "E.I.", was written by
Nelly and Epperson and produced by the latter. It reached number sixteen on the
Hot 100, number eleven on the UK Singles Chart and number twelve on the ARIA
Singles Chart. It was certified gold by the ARIA.
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, number four on the ARIA Singles Chart, Irish Singles Chart, number five
on the Dutch Singles Chart and number seven on the Norwegian Singles Chart. It
was certified gold by the RIAA and platinum by the ARIA. "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 and number nineteen on the ARIA Singles Chart.
Critical reception Country Grammar was well received by
music critics. NME lauded the album, praising Nelly's utilization of vocal
characteristics from other rap artists, including Tupac Shakur and Cypress Hill.
The magazine 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". NME closed their review declaring Country
Grammar as "album of the year". Giving the album a B–, Entertainment
Weekly‍‍ '​‍s David Browne wrote the album demonstrates that "tiresome rap
topics" are not restricted to "the coasts". Though what salvages the album
is Nelly's "smooth, slippery-fast" voice, which contains "reggae
inflections". Browne describes the album's content as minimalistic, with
"introspective moments" such as "Ride wit Me".
In Robert Christgau's Consumer Guide review, he wrote that Nelly presents an
"easy mix of N.O. Bounce, Cleveland thug harmony, and L.A. tweedle-twaddle",
noting Nelly's heavy accent which makes his hedonism more accessible. People
noted that Nelly implements his own "laid-back charm" to Country
Grammar‍‍ '​‍s southern hip hop. Despite Nelly showing "limited thematic
vocabulary" he articulates escapism to compensate for this. 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.". 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.
Rolling Stone explained that the album's "liquid bass bumps" interlopes 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 comedian Redd Foxx.
At the 2001 Soul Train Music Awards, Country Grammar earned Nelly the award
for Best R&B/Soul or Rap New Artist. Nelly was nominated for four awards at
the Online Hip-Hop Awards, for Favorite Music Video, Song of the Year, Album of
the Year and Outstanding Graphic Design for his official website. He won the
awards for Song of the Year and Artist of the Year.
Commercial performance Country Grammar entered the Billboard
200 on the week of July 15, 2000, at number 3, selling 235,000 copies. The
album remained within the top ten 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. Entertainment Weekly put the album's sales down to its support by its
lead single, "Country Grammar", as well as the lack of releases from other music
artists during that period. The album sold 235,000 copies again the following
week, continuing to stay atop the Billboard 200. Country Grammar topped US
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart for six consecutive weeks. On October 30, 2000,
the album had sold three million copies, and was certified three-times platinum
by the Recording Industry Association of America, denoting shipments of three
million copies. On June 29, 2002, Country Grammar had sold 7.7 million
copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The album was certified nine-times
platinum by the RIAA on April 27, 2004, denoting shipments of nine million
copies. As of June 2014, Country Grammar had sold 8,561,000 copies in the United
States. Country Grammar entered the New Zealand
Albums Chart on the week of September 24, 2000, at number 5. 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. It stayed on the chart for
forty-two weeks before dropping out. The album was certified three times platinum
by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand for shipments of 45,000
units. On the Australian Albums Chart, Country Grammar debuted at number 45. It
re-entered the chart five times, and reached its peak at number 4 on the week
of October 7, 2001. The album remained on the chart for thirty-three weeks, and
was certified three times platinum by the Australian Recording Industry
Association. Country Grammar reached at number 7 on the Canadian Albums Chart,
and stayed on the chart for twenty-five weeks before dropping out. It was
certified three times platinum by Music Canada, denoting shipments of 300,000
copies. On the Dutch Albums Chart, the album peaked at number 8.
On the UK Albums Chart, Country Grammar reached at number 14, and stayed on it
for thirty-one weeks. It was certified gold by the British Phonographic
Industry, for shipments of 100,000 units. The album peaked within the top
thirty on the Belgian Albums Chart, Finnish Albums Chart and Danish Albums
Chart. It reached at number 45 on the German Albums Chart, remaining on it for
forty-three weeks. It peaked on the Swiss Albums Chart and French Albums
Chart at number 90 and number 109, respectively. Country Grammar topped the
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums year-end chart in 2000.
Legacy Country Grammar‍‍ '​‍s success cemented
Nelly's position as one of the most successful hip hop acts of the emerging
decade. 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". 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". Nelly's success helped in making St.
Louis more notable for emerging hip hop acts, increasing the city's general
reputation. 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. It is one of the highest certified albums in the US history,
being certified nine times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of
America. 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.
The latter album went on to sell 6,488,000 copies in the US.
Track listing All songs were written by Nelly,
additional writers listed below. Notes
"Ride wit Me" contains a portion of composition from DeBarge's 1982 "I Like
It". "Batter Up" contains a portion of
composition from Primal Scream's "Movin' on Up".
"Luven Me" samples elements from One Way's 1984 "Don't Stop". It also samples
elements from Tony! Toni! Toné!'s 1990 "Whatever You Want".
Personnel Credits adapted from liner notes.
Steve Eigner – recording Kenny Dykstra – recording, assistant
Rich Travali – mixing Jason Standard – mixing, assistant
Herb Powers – mastering Kevin Law – A&R directing
Craig Yoskowitz – A&R coordinating Tony Davis – management
Courtney Benson – management Todd Rubenstein – legal
Sandra Brummel – creative directing BENTO Design – design
Jonathen Mannion – photography Charts
Certifications Release history
See also List of number-one albums of 2000
List of number-one R&B albums of 2000 References
External links Country Grammar at Discogs