''Sweatsuit'' is a

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

by American rapper

Nelly Cornell Iral Haynes Jr. (born November 2, 1974), better known by his stage name Nelly, is an American rapper, singer, actor and entrepreneur. He embarked on his music career with the hip hop group St. Lunatics in 1993 and signed to Universal ...

, released on November 22, 2005. The album consists of tracks from his 2004 simultaneous album releases, '' Sweat'' and ''

Suit A suit, lounge suit, or business suit is a set of clothes comprising a suit jacket and trousers of identical textiles worn with a collared dress shirt, necktie, and dress shoes. A skirt suit is similar, but with a matching skirt instead of tr ...

''. The US edition of the compilation also includes four extra tracks, including the single "

Grillz "Grillz" is a song by American rapper Nelly featuring fellow American rappers Paul Wall, Ali & Gipp, and uncredited vocals from American singer Brandi Williams (of the group Blaque). The song was written by Nelly, Jermaine Dupri, Paul Wall, A ...

" featuring rappers Paul Wall and

Ali & Gipp Ali & Gipp was an American hip hop duo which consisted of St. Louis-based recording artist Ali Jones of St. Lunatics and Atlanta-based recording artist Big Gipp (real name Cameron Gipp) of Goodie Mob. They first appeared together on the single ...

, which reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart; along with

The Notorious B.I.G. Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop and particularly gangsta ...

single " Nasty Girl", "Tired" featuring

Avery Storm Ralph Di Stasio (born December 5, 1976), better known by his stage name Avery Storm, is an American singer. Di Stasio grew up in a working-class Italian-American family in New Jersey. After high school, he moved to New York City and signed to Ti ...

, and "Fly Away" from the soundtrack of the 2005 film '' The Longest Yard.'' ''Sweatsuit'' received positive reviews from critics, for containing the highlights from both ''Sweat'' and ''Suit'', praising its material quality. Commercially, the compilation peaked at 26 on the US ''Billboard'' 200, and reached the top 40 in Australia and New Zealand. It has been certified gold by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA), for shipments of 500,000 copies.

Background

While recording material for his third studio album,

originally had the intention of producing one album. Songs were being recorded at a steady pace, with Nelly composing more ideas, to which he established the idea of two albums released simultaneously to house all the tracks. On April 27, 2004, Nelly's representative initially described the upcoming albums as thematically dissimilar, "one is more melodic and party-oriented in the vein of records like " E.I." and "Tip Drill", while the other was described as having a "harder edge". Nelly would release singles accompanied by music videos from both albums. Talking to

MTV News MTV News is the news production division of MTV. The service is available in the US with localized versions on MTV's global network. In February 2016, MTV Networks confirmed it would refresh the MTV News brand in 2016, to compete with the likes ...

, Nelly went on to describe the differences between both albums; their titles of '' Sweat'' and ''

'' were announced on May 27, 2004. He noted ''Sweat'' as "more up-tempo" and "energetic", while characterizing ''Suit'' as more of "a grown-up and sexy vibe ..it's more melodic".

Release

On the same year, the compilation was released in the US on November 22, 2005 and in the UK on May 16.

Reception

Critical

AllMusic's Jason Birchmeier saw ''Sweatsuit'' as an album that combines the highlights of ''Sweat'' and ''Suit'', and one that should have been released initially. Birchmeier went on to criticize the compilation's track sequencing, and described the new songs as "unexceptional." "Nelly – Sweatsuit: Overview" AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved on November 2, 2013. Though he summarized its material as "a solid, well-balanced, smoothly mixed listen," awarding the compilation four out of five stars. RapReviews.com's Steve Juon gave ''Sweatsuit'' an eight out of ten. Juon didn't see the new tracks as reason to purchase the compilation; he saw it as discarding material not targeted towards a

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

audience, to make the compilation more attractive to new buyers who didn't get either ''Sweat'' or ''Suit''. Ultimately, Juon went on to praise Nelly's consistency, confidence and the combination of pop and hip hop within the material.

Commercial

''Sweatsuit'' peaked at number 26 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart, remaining on the chart for twenty-four weeks. The compilation peaked at number 6 and 5 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and Top Rap Albums, respectively. It was certified gold by the

(RIAA), for shipments of 500,000 copies. On the Australian Albums Chart, ''Sweatsuit'' debuted at number 25, peaking at number 24 on the following week. It remained on the chart for ten weeks before dropping out on the week of August 21, 2005. The compilation peaked at number 36 on the New Zealand Albums Chart, dropping off on the following week. On the UK Albums Chart, it peaked at number 41. It was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).

Track listing

;Notes *"My Place" contains a portion of composition from "Isn't It a Shame" by

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of who ...

Labelle and Randy DeBarge's 1982 " I Like It". It samples elements of The Del-Vikings' 1957 " Come Go with Me". *"Heart of a Champion" samples John Tesh' 1990 "

Roundball Rock "Roundball Rock" is a musical score composed by John Tesh and used for '' The NBA on NBC'' from 1990 until 2002. NBC played the theme 12,000 times during their run. Tesh came up with the melody while at a hotel and called his answering machine a ...

". *"Na-NaNa-Na" samples Tupac Shakur's 1996 "

2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted "2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted" is a song by American rapper 2Pac from his fourth studio album, ''All Eyez on Me'' (1996). The song features fellow West Coast rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg and was produced by Dat Nigga Daz. The song was released as a prom ...

". *"Playa" samples Lee Ryda's 1987 "Magnetic Dance 2". *"'N' Dey Say" samples Spandau Ballet’s 1983 " True". *"Grillz" contains interpolations of

Destiny's Child Destiny's Child was an American girl group whose final line-up comprised Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams. The group began their musical career as Girl's Tyme, formed in 1990 in Houston, Texas. After years of limited ...

's 2004 " Soldier" and MC Shan's 1987 "Left Me Lonely".

Personnel

Credits adapted from Allmusic. "Nelly – Sweatsuit: Credits" Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved on November 2, 2013. *Victor Abijaudi – engineer *The Alchemist – audio production, producer *Ali – featured artist, main personnel, rap *Ali & Gipp – performer, primary artist *Kori Anders – mixing *Avery Storm – featured artist, guest artist, main personnel, primary artist, vocals *Big Gipp – guest artist *Biggie – featured artist *Mr. Leslie Braithwaite – mixing *Matt Brauss – brass *Jayson Bridges – audio production, drums, percussion, producer *Sandy Brummels – art direction *Al Byno – engineer *Jasper Cameron – featured artist, main personnel, producer, vocals *Chris Carmouche – engineer *Jason Carson – engineer *Andrew Coleman – engineer *Diddy – featured artist, main personnel, primary artist, rap *Phillip Duckett – producer *Jermaine Dupri – audio production, mixing, producer *Missy Elliott – featured artist, guest artist, main personnel, primary artist, rap *Brian Frye – engineer *Richard "Rip" Gager – guitar *Chris Gehringer – mastering *Gipp – featured artist, main personnel, rap *Harold Guy – assistant engineer *Anthony Hamilton – featured artist, guest artist, main personnel, primary artist, vocals *James D. "Sted Fast" II Hargrove – guitar, producer *Jennifer Havey – A&R *John Horesco IV – engineer, mixing *Jun Ishizeki – engineer *Ronald Isley – featured artist, guest artist, primary artist *Jagged Edge – featured artist, guest artist, main personnel, primary artist, rap *Jaheim – featured artist, main personnel, vocals *King James II – engineer *Jazze Pha – audio production, featured artist, guest artist, main personnel, primary artist, producer, rap *Kim Moore Johnson – vocals (background) *Rajinder Kala – congas *Chip Karpells – engineer, mixing *Debra Killings – bass *Kevin Law – A&R, engineer *Marc Stephen Lee – engineer *Murphy Lee – featured artist, main personnel, primary artist, vocals *Lincoln University Vocal Ensemble – featured artist, main personnel, vocals *Bryan Loss – drums *Lunatics – featured artist *Stephen Marley – featured artist, main personnel, primary artist, vocals *Dan "Thunda Dan" Marshal – engineer, guitar *Brandon "B Don" Matthews – engineer *NDoffene MBodji – assistant engineer *Tim McGraw – featured artist, guest artist, main personnel, primary artist, vocals *Tadd Mingo – assistant engineer, engineer *Mobb Deep – featured artist, guest artist, main personnel, primary artist, rap *Carl Nappa – engineer *Nelly – main personnel, primary artist, vocals *The Neptunes – audio production, producer *Jared Nugent – assistant engineer *Shorty B. – bass, guitar *Snoop Dogg – featured artist, main personnel, primary artist, rap *Nico Solis – engineer *Joe Spiz – art direction, design *St. Lunatics – main personnel, primary artist, vocals *T.I. – featured artist, guest artist, main personnel, primary artist, vocals *Phil Tan – mixing *Richard Travali – mixing *Serge Tsai – engineer *Paul Wall – featured artist, guest artist, main personnel, primary artist, rap *Bruce Waynne – producer *James White – photography *Pharrell Williams – featured artist, guest artist, main personnel, primary artist, vocals

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

*
Sweatsuit
' at Discogs (list of releases) {{DEFAULTSORT:Sweatsuit (Album) 2005 compilation albums Nelly albums Albums produced by the Neptunes Albums produced by Jermaine Dupri Universal Records compilation albums