Spring '08 LPs From Madonna, Coldplay, The Roots, Mudcrutch, Elvis Costello

Nelly

Brass Knuckles 6/24

It's been four years — or a millennium in the rap game — since Nelly released his double disc Sweat/Suit, and St. Louis' finest has invited an all-star lineup to his welcome-back party. His fifth album, Brass Knuckles features Fergie on first single "Party People," as well as T.I., Snoop Dogg, Rick Ross, Chuck D, Akon, Lil Wayne and many more guests on productions by Jermaine Dupri, the Neptunes and Polow Da Don. Ciara reportedly pops up on "Stepped on My Js," a "My Adidas"-style song devoted to Nelly's intense love of Nike Air Jordans, but the rapper's dream collaborator — Bruce Springsteen — didn't make the LP. "I was really trying to get the Boss," he tells the AP, "but the Boss is all over the world."