Nelly & The St Lunatics Album: “Free City [PA]”

Description :

St. Lunatics: Nelly, Murphy Lee, Kyjuan, Ali, City Spud (rap vocals). Additional personnel includes: Brian McKnight (vocals); Cardan, Penelope (rap vocals); Amber Tabares, Little Rock, Donneash Ferguson (spoken vocals); Steve Eigner (guitar); Bashiri Johnson (percussion). Producers: Jason "Jay E" Epperson, Lavell "City Spud" Webb. Engineers: Steve Eigner, Duro, Gimel "Young Guru" Keaton. Recorded at Electric Lady Studios, Sound On Sound Recordings and Unique Studios, New York, New York. It's a testament to the collective spirit of the St. Louis rappers that even after one of their members (Nelly) managed to snag a record deal before they did, and subsequently became a multi-million selling hip-hop star, they continued working. It's even more heartening to see that Nelly is still a member of the group, but FREE CITY isn't just a star's side-project, St. Lunatics are a real group, and all the members contribute equally. Sure, Nelly brings his instantly recognizable (at least it should be, after all the airtime he's gotten) style to the table, and even makes reference to the after-effects of his huge success. But he's not the dominant voice; each of the St. Lunatics has his own sound, and when they come together they create a sound that is the compound result of working together towards a common goal. While they're capable of the occasional trenchant social observation, St. Lunatics generally avoid gritty thug scenarios in favor of a celebratory, party atmosphere that makes FREE CITY enjoyable on its own terms, regardless of the inherent star power.

This CD is definitely one of my all time favorites. I bought this CD on a whim, after hearing them on a few of Nelly's tracks. I figured, it couldn't be that bad. But yeah, they were better than good. I actually like this CD more than Nelly's combined. After hearing this CD, i wonder why they picked Nelly to put out first. So here we go with the track by track reviews:

First let me say - the MBD Skits aren't necessary - but they're real & a little funny.

"Let Me In Now"- Sounds like an extension of Country Grammar (the single). Not my favorite. Too much mediocre Nelly in this one. The woman randomly screaming doesn't help. 3.5/5.

An extremely talented crew! This is good stuff! They are creative, fresh, and new; nothing recycled (not that that is always bad--too much recycling gets old). I am very impressed by the skills of these young performers. Thank-you St. Lunatics and whoever else had part in putting out a clean/edited version.

The St. Lunatics (Ali, Kyjuan, Nelly, Murphy Lee, and City Spud) definately hit it big with this one. From groupies, haters, to girls who like to shake alot and Mad Baby Daddies, this album will make you move. Individuality stands out on this record, with members, Ali, Nelly, and Murphy Lee having solo tracks on the album, and Kyjuan lacing the tracks with his laid back lyrics makes the album more worth it. The title "Free City" is in dedication to City Spud who is unforunately incarcerated, but does have production and shows up on a couple of tracks on the album. The Lunatics bring in such artist as Penelope, Brian Mcknight, and Cardan who laces the up-tempo track "Love You So", they even give you a little comedy with the "Mad Baby Daddy" skits. This isn't Nelly & The St. Lunatics this is the St. Lunatics, every member holds there own on this record. With Kyjaun opening up the summer track "STL" which is a promising hit, Murphy Lee putting it down with is clever rhymes on "Scandalous, Ali giving you a deep voiced groove on "BoomDBoom, and Nelly giving you a dance type vibe on "Here We Come". This is definately an album that hip-hop fans would want to pick up.