''M.O.'' is the seventh

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by American hip hop recording artist

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 ...

. The album was released on September 30, 2013, by

Republic Records Republic Records is a New York City–based American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). It was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially an ...

, as the follow up to his sixth album, '' 5.0'' (2010). The album is preceded by the release of its lead single, "

Hey Porsche "Hey Porsche" is a song by American rapper Nelly, released as the lead single from his seventh studio album '' M.O.'' (2013).

", released on February 19, 2013, and reached number forty-two on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

. " Get Like Me", featuring

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated flow in her rapping, alter egos and accent ...

and

Pharrell Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973) is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. Alongside close colleague Chad Hugo, he formed the hip hop and R&B production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom he ...

, premiered online on June 18, 2013, and was officially released on July 2, 2013, as the album's second single. The album features

guest appearance In show business, a guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a musician or actor) in an event such as a music record or concert, show, etc., when the performer does not belong to the regular band, cast, or other p ...

s from Nicki Minaj, Pharrell,

Future The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently ...

, T.I., Daley,

2 Chainz Tauheed K. Epps (born September 12, 1977), known professionally as 2 Chainz (or Tity Boi), is an American rapper. Born and raised in College Park, Georgia, he initially gained recognition as one-half of the Southern hip hop duo Playaz Circle, al ...

Trey Songz Tremaine Aldon Neverson (born November 28, 1984), known professionally as Trey Songz, is an American R&B singer and rapper. His debut album, '' I Gotta Make It'', was released in 2005 through Atlantic Records. His follow-up album, ''Trey Day'', ...

Fabolous John David Jackson (born November 18, 1977), better known by his stage name Fabolous, is an American rapper. Raised in Brooklyn, he first gained recognition while still a senior in high school, when he performed live on American music executive ...

Wiz Khalifa Cameron Jibril Thomaz (born September 8, 1987), better known by his stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. He released his debut album, ''Show and Prove'', in 2006 and signed to Warner Bros. Records in 200 ...

Florida Georgia Line Florida Georgia Line is an American country music duo founded in 2010 by Tyler Hubbard of Georgia and Brian Kelley of Florida, both of whom are vocalists and songwriters. Their 2012 debut single " Cruise" broke two major sales records: it was ...

Nelly Furtado Nelly Kim Furtado (; ; born December 2, 1978) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. Furtado has sold over 40 million records worldwide making her one of the most successful Canadian artists. She first gained fame with her trip hop-inspired deb ...

and

Yo Gotti Mario Sentell Giden Mims (born May 19, 1981), known professionally as Yo Gotti, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record executive. In 1996, Gotti released his debut album ''Youngsta's On a Come Up'' under the alias Lil Yo. He went on to re ...

Background and recording

On July 3, 2011, Nelly made a public announcement on ''

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now'' * Current era, present * The current calendar date Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 A ...

'' that he was recording a new album. On January 10, 2012, it was announced that Nelly would be working with producer

Dr. Dre Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper and record producer. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and previously co-founded, co-owned, and ...

on new music, presumably for his seventh studio album. On January 15, 2012, Nelly announced via

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

that he was working with singers

Chris Brown Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. According to '' Billboard'', Brown is one of the most successful R&B singers of his generation, having often been referred to by many contempo ...

and producer Noel "Detail" Fisher on his new album. On July 3, 2012, he announced that the album would be titled ''M.O.''. In August 2012, in an interview with ThisIs50.com, Nelly confirmed that

Akon Aliaune Damala Badara Akon Thiam (; born April 16, 1973), known mononymously as Akon, is a Senegalese-American singer, record producer, and entrepreneur. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of " Locked Up" (featuring Styles P) ...

and the St. Lunatics will appear on the album. On August 10, 2012, Nelly posted a photo on

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

of himself and producer Mike Will Made It in a recording studio working on new material for the album. On July 7, 2013, it was announced that the album would be released on September 30, 2013. On September 4, 2013, the album cover was released. On September 10, 2013, the final track listing was released revealing

s on the album from

, T.I., Daley,

and

. In September 2013, during an interview with ''

Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

'' Nelly spoke about why he titled the album ''M.O.'', saying: "First of all, I’m excited that I get a chance to do a seventh album. aughs.Also, being 14 years later ince Country Grammar was released being able to do a lot of great things in 14 years and represent somewhere that a lot of people don’t get to represent, especially in the music business and definitely in the hip-hop game. I stand for the Midwest. That’s why the album’s titled ''M.O.'', ‘cause I’m still holding it down like that. My friends and family all call me Mo, so it’s kind of like really representing where I’m from and me at the same time."

Singles

On July 3, 2012, Nelly announced via Twitter that the title of the album's first promotional single would be "Marry Go Round". The Da Internz-produced track features Chris Brown and premiered in full online on July 4, 2012. On February 19, 2013, the album's first single "

Hey Porsche "Hey Porsche" is a song by American rapper Nelly, released as the lead single from his seventh studio album '' M.O.'' (2013).

" was released. On March 1, 2013, the music video was released for "Hey Porsche". On July 2, 2013, the album's second single " Get Like Me" featuring

and

was released. On July 31, 2013, the music video was released for "Get Like Me" featuring Pharrell and Nicki Minaj. On September 2, 2013, the album's third single "Heaven" featuring Daley was released. On October 3, 2013, with the album in stores, Nelly appeared on ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...

'' to perform the Pharrell-produced song, "Rick James" alongside T.I. In December 2013, "Rick James" will be sent to urban contemporary radio in the United States as the album's fifth single.

Critical reception

''M.O.'' was met with generally mixed reviews from

music critic ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of mus ...

s. David Jeffries of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

gave the album three out of five stars, saying "Even if Nelly had his most successful single in years with 2010's "Just a Dream," his defining numbers go back over a decade before this 2013 release, with "Country Grammar" landing in 2000 and the massive "Hot in Herre" dropping in 2002. The serene and smooth "Just a Dream" was also an odd duck for the party-time rapper as he always seemed more comfortable popping bottles and dropping drawers, so the semi-sweet ''M.O.'' splits the difference, dropping "Just a Dream" sequels like the uplifting "Heaven" with Daley, and the less-successful "Headphones" with Nelly Furtado, a rap-by-numbers "we need something that sounds like

B.o.B Bobby Ray Simmons Jr. (born November 15, 1988), known professionally as B.o.B, is an American rapper and record producer. Raised in Decatur, Georgia, Simmons was signed to Jim Jonsin's Rebel Rock Entertainment imprint in 2006. Two years late ...

's '

Airplanes An airplane or aeroplane (informally plane) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and wing configurations. The broad spectr ...

'" track." Chris Mench of '' XXL'' gave the album an M, saying "In the end, ''M.O.'' simply fails to excite or innovate. It’s a serviceable enough album, one that may have been good if it had been released in 2004. However, not only does it not break new ground, but it has a pervasive sense of playing catch-up. It’s as if Nelly knows he’s lost the public’s ear and is trying desperately to get it back. Unfortunately for him the album fails to do so, and ''M.O.'' remains a disappointment for a rapper who was once among the most recognizable entities in hip-hop." Caryn Ganz of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' gave the album two out of five stars, saying "Nelly's seventh album opens strong with a brilliantly chill Nicki Minaj cameo on a gloriously narcotic Pharrell track ("Get Like Me") and a characteristically romantic turn from Future ("Give U Dat"), but wraps weakly with a jangly jam featuring country duo Florida Georgia Line and a cheesy ballad with Nelly Furtado." Rick Florino of

Artistdirect ARTISTdirect is an American online digital media entertainment company. Overview Founded in 1994, it owns several websites, including artistdirect.com and artistdirectinterviews.com. These websites are a group of affiliate websites offering mul ...

gave the album five out of five stars, saying "''M.O.'' ebbs and flows with dynamics rarely seen in hip-hop. That's what makes it such a well-rounded listen overall. Ultimately, it's a milestone for Nelly, and that's saying a lot. He's not stopping anytime soon either."

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number 14 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart, with first-week sales of 15,000 copies in the United States. This was the lowest first week sales of Nelly's career. In its second week, the album sold 5,000 more copies. In its third week, the album sold 3,000 more copies bringing its total album sales to 23,000.

Track listing

Notes * (*) signifies a co-producer * The track order is sequenced differently on physical and digital releases.

Chart positions

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:M.O. 2013 albums Nelly albums Republic Records albums Albums produced by Pharrell Williams Albums produced by Detail (record producer) Albums produced by J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League Albums produced by Andrew Roettger