5 Things We Learned About Nelly At His ‘M.O.’ Listening Session

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It’s been an interesting turn of events for Nelly. After several years off the scene and a couple of false starts St. Louis rapper played his new album “M.O.” for an eager crowd of journalists at Jungle City Studios in NYC. Through bites of Bon Chon chicken and a bunch of banging beats, here are a few things we learned about the Midwest swinger through his seventh LP.

1) Nelly Still Knows How To Party

There are plenty of things you can critique about Nelly. But his ability to pack the dance floor with his sing-songy flow isn’t one of em. The time away from the game hasn’t deaded his talent for inspiring the two-step.

Example: “Rick James” featuring T.I.

2) He Hasn’t Forgotten What Got Him Here

Plenty of artists switch their styles up when they’ve been out of the limelight for a bit. But that’s normally a swift ticket to a full on fail. Nelly hasn’t done anything to alienate his original fanbase. If you liked him then, you’ll like him now.

Example: “Give U Dat” featuring Future

3) He Still Has Got Pull

When you go away for a while (Nelly’s last album was 2010’s “5.0”), the phone quits ringing. And in Hip-hop, people stop answering the calls. But with guest slots from top-notch cats like T.I. Nelly Furtado, Future, 2 Chainz, Trey Songz and others, it seems like that’s not a problem Nelly has.

Example: “Get Like Me” featuring Nicki Minaj & Pharrell Williams

4) He Isn’t Afraid to Stretch Out Musically

How soon we forget, Nelly is the same cat who decided he was going to make, arguably the 1^st successful Hip-Hop country western song. So an album with everything from dirty south trap beats to Miami music to fist pump to shouldn’t surprise anyone.

Example: “Headphones” featuring Nelly Furtado

5) He Knows What He Has To Do

Hip-Hop fans are notoriously fickle with a side of A.D.D. Plenty of rappers lose it completely trying to find the formula that’s gonna get them back to the mainstream. But Nelly approaches the game with swag of a veteran. A veteran that just happens to have sold an obscene amount of albums all over the world. Case closed.

Example: “100K” featuring 2 Chainz