Nelly‘s got his Brass Knuckles ready. The rapper is finishing up final touches on his latest LP, set to drop in late June. After working with several artists and producers, Nelly spoke about what it was like to collaborate with some of them and what people can expect from his new material.
One of the new songs is a highly anticipated Polow Da Don produced “Party People,” which features Black Eyed Peas front-woman Fergie.
“Energy,” he told MTV, when asked how he would describe their recent collaboration. “When I talk about energy, you got Nelly and Fergie, you probably got two of the most energetic people on the planet. And it’s a straight rush.”
Usher, Ciara, Akon, Jermaine Dupri, and of course his longtime groupmates The St. Lunatics will all be featured on the album. With so many guests, he actually may add a couple more to the list before it’s all said and done. Two acts that may join the fold are Bruce Springstein and Nelly‘s girlfriend Ashanti.
“I was really trying to get the Boss, but the Boss is all over the world,” he recently told The Associated Press. “It didn’t really work out. I know he’s interested in doing it, and I’m interested in doing it.”
That explains Springstein, but what’s the hold up on a Nelly/Ashanti track for his latest album? The duo have already recorded for Ashanti‘s album on a track called “Switch.”
“It’s about finding the perfect song. It has to make sense. We don’t want to do it just to do it. You wanna make sure you get the song and you’re not just agreeing because you did it [together as a couple]. It’s kind of hard, because you two have a special relationship and sometimes when you work with people that you’re not [as] close to, your ears are open a lot more. It is a little bit [harder], but it’s also easier.”
Nelly‘s Brass Knuckles is set to drop June 24.
