Album: Nelly, Brass Knuckles (Universal)

His subsequent silence suggested Nelly may have finally worked out his seam with 2004's over-ambitious Suit and Sweat album pairing.

The lacklustre Brass Knuckles all but confirms this to be the case, for all Nelly's six-pack posturing like LL Cool J on the cover. Despite the legions of heavyweight assistance – all bar one track features guest contributions from the likes of Snoop Dogg, Chuck D, Fergie, Pharrell, R Kelly and, yes, LL Cool J – Nelly's claim to be "back with more fire than Satan" proves largely unfounded: the three singles already taken from the album have tanked, and Brass Knuckles is unlikely to wrest his crown back from Lil' Wayne. It just seems lazy: "LA", with Nelly as an "LA guest" not wanting any "LA stress", as he flits from boudoir to boardroom, is remote and lacking empathy, while the scuffed-trainer outrage of "Stepped On My J'z" seems too puerile an attempt to reacquaint with the street. The best track is "Self-Esteem", an assertiveness seminar whose chorus pointedly satirises the US army's promotional catchphrase.

Pick of the album:'Self-Esteem', 'Party People'