All of the tracks on the tedious 'Brass Knuckles' bar one are collaborations with artists more talented than Nelly himself. But the plethora of superstar talent does little to disguise the St Louis slugger's insipid rap-by-numbers approach and abysmal production qualities. Besides smacking of insecurity. Like LL Cool J (who also has a guest slot), he seems to have spent more time in the gym than polishing his mic skills.

Highlights are few and far between — just two tracks can stand up to being put on repeat. 'Step On My Js' may be a puerile and clichéd marking out of the turf but it's supported by a hypnotic beat and an inspired couple of verses from lyrical leprechaun JD. And if you can look past the moralising and enjoy the consummate ability of Public Enemy's Chuck D, the musical affirmation 'Self-Esteem' is a playlist shoo-in, drenched in '70s funk and catchphrase chorus.

Of the rest, Ashante and Akon compete to bring off the catchier sex-drenched hook on 'Body On Me', completely drowning out their less-accomplished peer. Opener 'U Ain't Him' sees Nelly trying to bring off some gangster menace in tandem with Rick Ross but really, he should know better. Even Black-Eyed Pea Fergie has more grit on club stomper 'Party People'.

The down-tempo 'Lie', featuring Nelly's St Lunatics posse has such an atrocious chorus, it almost transcends itself. "She said you tried to f**k her/ She's a motherf***ing lie/ Boy please, no way, whatever, not me, yeah you". And it's painfully obvious that the rapper just doesn’t have it in him to hang with Snoop Dogg on the West Coast praise hymn 'LA'.

If Nelly had any hope of reclaiming top pop-rap spot from Lil' Wayne and Young Jeezy, this is definitely not going to do it. Buy it to hear Chuck D again, Ashante and even LL, but whatever you do, don't buy this expecting anything remotely resembling quality hip-hop.