Nelly: Nellyville

By RUSSELL BAILLIE

(Herald rating: * * * )

On second offering after breakthrough debut Country Grammar, pop-rap king Nelly isn't about to fiddle with the formula that sold eight million albums last time around.

His songs come powered by those sing-song raps as infectious and macho as army call-and-response marching chants, while his overall approach tries to balance his gangsta pout, his ladies' man libido and his anointment by MTV.

The latter brings collaborations with Destiny's Child Kelly Rowland on the squiffy ballad Dilemma and an unwise one with N'Sync's Justin Timberlake on the tepid Michael Jackson-ish Work It.

This does step outside its comfort zone occasionally on Pimp Juice (Nelly does Superfly), Roc The Mic-Remix (Nelly goes back to the old skool) and Say Now (Nelly does guitar rock ballad). But as it wanders from the vibrant, spiky sex-funk of the single Hot in Herre [sic] to CG2's revisit of Country Grammar, it offers few surprises. It sounds as if Nellyville is a nice place to visit but ...

Label: Universal