Songoftheday 2/8/23 - No resident of France but you swear I'm from Paris, hundred-six karats - total? Naw that's per wrist...

 

 

"#1" - Nelly

from the albums Training Day (Original Soundtrack) (2001) and Nellyville (2002)

Billboard Hot 100 peak: #22 (two weeks)

Weeks in the Top-40: 12

 

Today's song comes from St. Louis rapper Nelly, whose debut album Country Grammar had spun off three big crossover hits on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 with "(Hot Sh!t) Country Grammar", "E.I.", and "Ride Wit Me", the latter going as high at #3 in the summer of 2001. Not long after, Nelly's contribution to the soundtrack to the Denzel Washington/Ethan Hawke movie Training Day, "#1", was released as a single on the indie Priority Records. Written by Nelly with producer Waiel "Wally" Yaghnam, the song is a basic brag rap that has the rapper celebrating his success, a change from his previous hits, which had him hyping his common man roots. The best part of the record is the production, with a distinctive Latin-inflected groove that set it apart. However, the title and posturing of the record made some believe it was a knock on KRS-One who had a similar themed track (but in the opposite direction) with "I'm Still Number One" from 1988. That may have tempered the reception of Nelly's single, but nonetheless he was riding high, and "#1" brought him back to the top-40, though not at that numerical position...

"#1" became Nelly's fifth top-40 pop hit (and fourth as a lead artist) in December of 2001, while reaching #20 on Billboard's R&B Singles chart. On the radio, the song went to #13 on the Mainstream Top-40 airplay chart, #19 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay list, and #4 on the dance-oriented Rhythmic format. Internationally, the single made the top-40 in Germany (#16), Australia (#20), Switzerland (#22), and Austria (#35). The Training Day soundtrack, released on September 11th, 2001, peaked at #35 on the Billboard 200 sales tally, and #19 on the R&B Albums list. The song would also appear on Nelly's sophomore effort, Nellyville, which was released a year later.

A second single from the Training Day soundtrack, "Put It On Me" by rappers Dr. Dre and DJ Quik featuring singer Mimi, went to #62 on Billboard's R&B Singles chart. 

As for Nelly, he will be back to the series.

(5/10)

 

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The b-side of the single was another cut from the soundtrack from rapper Roscoe (aka David Brown), "Training Day (In My Hood)", which went harder than Nelly even tried...

 

 

Up tomorrow: Country singer is self-centered.