In the first half of the decade, Nelly was it in terms of hip-hop. Back then, Nelly was one of the genre's most innovative artists, bringing hip-hop further in the mainstream dominance. In 2002, he spent a cumulative 17 weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100, more than any artist that year. One of his chart-toppers was "Hot In Herre".
The other was "Dilemma".
His duet with Destiny Child's Kelly Rowland spent an amazing 10 weeks at #1, further solidfying him as chart royalty, and he deserved it. The song, which sampled a Patti LaBelle hit, stills sounds current 6 years later. His rap on the song is slick and reveals a sensitive side to the man who commanded listeners to take their clothes off. Kelly Rowland sounds great on the record, proving that Beyonce wasn't the only big talent in their group. The song's groove was perfect, and the hook is infectious (don't pretned you weren't singing it). Many songs from that year were disposable, yet if this was re-released, it would be a hit once again.
The success of the song had a serious effect on how hip-hop was received by mainstream. Soon, 50 Cent and Kanye West took to the airwaves, a path definitely made easier by "Dilemma". The song also showed the industry that collaborations with other genre artists were successful. Songs like "Over and Over" (Nelly and Tim McGraw), "Promiscuous", "Homecoming" and even SexyBack" were in someway affected by this song's smash success.
Rating: 8.5/10
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