Country Grammar

This article is about the album. For the song, see Country Grammar (Hot Shit).

Country Grammar
Studio album by Nelly
Released	June 27, 2000 (2000-06-27)
Recorded	Fall 1999 – Spring 2000
Genre	Midwest hip hop
Length	66:35
Label	Fo' Reel, Universal
Producer	Kevin Law (exec.), Jason "Jay E" Epperson, City Spud, Steve "Blast" Wills, Basement Beats
Nelly chronology
Country Grammar (2000) Nellyville (2002)
Singles from Country Grammar
"Country Grammar (Hot Shit)" Released: February 29, 2000 "E.I." Released: October 28, 2000 "Ride wit Me" Released: April 24, 2001 "Batter Up" Released: September 11, 2001

Country Grammar is the debut studio album by American rapper Nelly, released on June 27, 2000.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Entertainment Weekly	(B-)[2]
NME	(9/10)[3]
Q Magazine	[4]
Robert Christgau	(B+)[5]
RapReviews	[6]
Rolling Stone	[7]
The Source	[8]

Commercial performance

The album was a mainstream success. It debuted at #3 on the Billboard 200 and went on to peak at #1 by selling 235,000 copies on its number one week. The album is Nelly's best-selling album to date, selling 8.5 million copies in the United States and is the 10th highest selling album of the decade.^[9] Billboard Magazine also rated the album # 10 on their Top 200 Albums Of The Decade^[10] Nelly signed to Universal Records in 1999, he recorded his debut Country Grammar in 1999 and 2000. He then released the single "Country Grammar (Hot Shit)" at the start of 2000 and the success of the single (#7 on the Hot 100 and #1 Hot Rap Tracks) led to the album debuting at number three on the Billboard 200 in the U.S and later reaching the number 1 spot a few weeks later. On April 24, 2001, Nelly released the single "Ride wit Me", featuring his cousin and fellow St. Lunatic City Spud. The song peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became his highest charting single at that time. The album was certified 9× platinum by the RIAA on April 27, 2004.^[11]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Intro" (featuring Cedric the Entertainer)			1:21
2.	"St. Louie"	Cornell Haynes, Jr., Jason Epperson	Jason "Jay E" Epperson	4:27
3.	"Greed, Hate, Envy"	Haynes, Lavell Webb	City Spud	4:15
4.	"Country Grammar (Hot S***)"	Haynes, Epperson	Jason "Jay E" Epperson	4:47
5.	"Steal the Show" (featuring St. Lunatics)	Haynes, Epperson	Jason "Jay E" Epperson	5:27
6.	"Interlude" (featuring Cedric the Entertainer)			0:33
7.	"Ride Wit Me" (featuring City Spud)	Haynes, Epperson	Jason "Jay E" Epperson	4:51
8.	"E.I."	Haynes, Epperson	Jason "Jay E" Epperson	4:45
9.	"Thicky Thick Girl" (featuring Murphy Lee & Ali)	Haynes, Webb	City Spud	4:34
10.	"For My" (featuring Lil Wayne)	Haynes, Epperson, Dwayne Carter, Jr.	Jason "Jay E" Epperson	4:08
11.	"Utha Side"	Haynes, Epperson	Jason "Jay E" Epperson	4:33
12.	"Tho Dem Wrappas"	Haynes, Epperson	Jason "Jay E" Epperson	4:09
13.	"Wrap Sumden" (featuring St. Lunatics)	Haynes, Epperson	Jason "Jay E" Epperson	4:16
14.	"Batter Up" (featuring Murphy Lee & Ali)	Haynes, Epperson	Steve "Blast" Wills	5:27
15.	"Never Let 'Em C U Sweat" (featuring The Teamsters)	Haynes, Webb	City Spud	4:14
16.	"Luven Me"	Haynes, Webb	City Spud	4:07
17.	"Outro" (featuring Cedric the Entertainer)			0:44

Personnel

Credits for Country Grammar adapted from Allmusic.^[12]

• Nelly – Composer
• Kevin Law – Executive Producer
• City Spud – Producer, Composer
• Kenny Dykstra – Assistant Engineer
• Steve Eigner – Engineer
• Herb Powers – Mastering
• Jason Standard – Mixing
• Richard Travali – Mixing
• Jesse "Corparal" Wilson - Writer
• Donnell Simmons - Writer
• Jamel Aziz - Writer

Charts

Chart (2000)	Peak position
Australian Albums Chart	4
German Albums Chart [13]	45
UK Albums Chart	14
Canadian Albums Chart	7
U.S. Billboard 200	1
U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums	1

Preceded by Now 4 by Various artists

Billboard 200 number-one album August 26 - September 29, 2000

Succeeded by G.O.A.T. by LL Cool J

References

1. ^ Allmusic review
2. ^ Entertainment Weekly review
3. ^ NME review
4. ^ Q Magazine review
5. ^ Robert Christgau review
6. ^ RapReviews review
7. ^ Rolling Stone review
8. ^ The Source review
9. ^ http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/chart_watch/74326/week-ending-jan-30-2011-albums-good-newsbad-news/
10. ^ Chart Watch Extra: The Top 20 New Acts Of The 2000s Chart Watch by Paul Grein
11. ^ "Gold & Platinum - Country Grammar (album)". RIAA. http://riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=Country%20Grammar&artist=Nelly&format=ALBUM&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=&catalogNo=&aSex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2009&sort=CertificationDate&perPage=50. Retrieved 2009-07-04. 
12. ^ Credits: Country Grammar. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2010-09-07.
13. ^ http://musicline.de/de/chartverfolgung_summary/artist/NELLY/?type=longplay