A line on the title cut imagines a town with no cocaine or gunplay.
Unfortunately, drug use and violence reside on numerous tracks. “Roc the Mic” boasts of toting gats, AK-47s and a Smith & Wesson, and stowing victims in the trunk before disposing of the bodies. On the racy pop smash “Hot in Herre,” Nelly coaxes a girl to strip naked and she responds enthusiastically. That song also implies that the whole point of fame is bedding models. It uses the f-word, which appears throughout the project, often as a verb. The rapper calls women “b–ches” and “whores.” On “CG 2” he boasts of a ménage à trois involving twins. Lewd sex also infects “Oh Nelly,” “Pimp Juice,” “#1,” “Dem Boyz” and “Work It.” Marital infidelity rears its head on “Dilemma.” Eight tracks feature drugs or alcohol in the form of Hennessy, chronic, cocaine, blunts, Cristal, rum, herb, weed and more. A running skit finds an aroused man put off by his woman until he picks up a copy of Nellyville to enhance the experience. All he can get is the “clean” version, which she rejects.
Any version of this CD is clearly out of bounds. It is obscene, thuggish, sexually perverse trash. On “Splurge” the artist admits, “They label me a role model ’cause I appeal to teens.” Not that he cares about the damage he’s doing to young fans. Don’t pass through Nellyville.
