Doing a classic double album in hip-hop is no easy task. 2pac and The Notorious B.I.G., two of the most overrated rappers ever, attempted it and didn't get anything higher than 4 Stars. More recently, Jay-Z and Outkast did it, both getting amazing acclaim in the mainstream, but delivering mediocre albums when compared to some of their previous work. Listening to Jay-Z brag for almost 2 hours in a row isn't fun, and neither is hearing Big Boi and Andre on SEPARATE albums. In my humble opinion, The Wu-Tang Clan were the only set of artists to successfully create a gritty, double-disc album that was enjoyable all the way through. So for somebody who's never made an album past mediocrity, it would be damn near impossible and probably stupid to be attempted by a smart man. As we now know, Nelly isn't a smart man. As I said in my previous review, Nelly has decided to cash in on his incredible mainstream success with teenage girls and released 2 separate albums on the same day, for an incredibly inflated price, as two halves of one whole double album. Perhaps if somebody with proven ability did the same, then we'd get our money's worth. But let's be honest here, how in the hell can somebody like Nelly, who is as good a rapper as I am an ass-kisser, release a double album and expect anybody with an IQ over 30 to buy into his nonsense? Well he did, with SweatSuit.

1. Play It Off f/ Pharrell Williams (2 Stars)
2. Pretty Toes f/ Jazze Pha (1 Star)
3. My Place f/ Jaheim (3 1/2 Stars)
4. Paradise (1 Star)
5. She Don't Know My Name f/ Snoop Dogg & Ron Isley (1 1/2 Star)
6. N Dey Say (2 1/2 Stars)
7. Woodgrain and Leather wit a Hole (1 Star)
8. In My Life f/ Avery Storm and Mase (1 Star)
9. Over and Over f/ Tim McGraw (4 Stars)
10. Nobody Knows f/ Anthony Hamilton (3 1/2 Stars)
11. Die For You (3 Stars)

I don't know if this is some kind of sick joke by Nelly, but "Play It Off" is far from being emotional. This indeed falls into the "song for the ladies" category, but beneath the surface is nothing more than yet another club song, only with a much better beat and actually winds up being catchy. Nelly, as usual, spits his watered-down, mono-syllable lyrics revolving around rap/singing about a girl's body and how it's apparently driving him insane. Not too creative subject matter, although at least for once it's refreshing to hear him NOT brag. The song is poppy and clean, and a bit likable, but it's utter lack of depth and somewhat shallow subject matter completely kill it.

"I used to pride myself on being the other man, But now it's flipped and I don't want you with no other man, Why can't you understand that anything I'm offering, I gave you the world, but you just wanted arguing, From the time I picked you up, until the time I dropped you off again, Even flipped out on me at the mall again, "It's all his fault again" that's what you tellin all ya friends, I ain't pointing fingers ma, I just wanna call again, See how ya day goin', I know they stressin on ya, I know them times get hard that's why I'm checkin on ya, It's yours truly ma, I got little message for ya, Anything he can do, girl I can do better for ya"

Without a doubt the most surprising thing about this album is "Over and Over", which is a good song that features Nelly (obviously) teaming with country singer Tim McGraw. I'm no country fan, but Tim McGraw does his part very well even though he's got a small one (a bridge and the end of the verses). One thing that people should realize immediately is that this song is far from being hip-hop. It's a mixture of pop, R&B, and country, with Nelly singing his verses and Tim backing him. The song follows a slow-tempo formation, with a slow, haunting guitar melody and piano. Surprisingly, this becomes only the second 4 Star rating for a Nelly song in his career, which is quite a milestone in the Big Book of Big D.

Nelly finishes the album off with a dedication to his son and daughter on "Die For You". After a telephone call to his daughter to wish her a happy birthday, the song goes right into one of those annoying southern beats. Nelly needs to realize that he can't hit certain notes, which is why the chorus here is completely whack, and that's if you ignore the idiocy of the writing. The lyrics are unbelievably simple and get annoying, but the song-writing within the song is decent. Nelly basically storytells in a narrative fashion about the birth of his own daughter and his feelings for her (i.e. Eminem). The song gets a high rating because it's unique to hear Nelly do a song about his family and not talk about getting head from his girlfriend, or singing about his car. Nelly actually remains focused, which is something he has seldom done in the past (see "Loven Me"). It's a good song, not great, but it shows that Nelly HAS the ability to produce SOME good music... ehhh... or maybe he just got lucky.