Grade: B-
St. Louis rapper Nelly recruits an all-star supporting cast to sing his sticky hooks and add punch to his oddly melodic flow on “5.0,” Nelly’s mainstream “comeback” album. While Nelly was never one of the hardest hip-hop artists out there, he spends most of “5.0” teetering between aiming for street credibility — “1000 Stacks” — and regaining commercial viability — “Nothing Without Her.” With Keri Hilson, T.I. and T-Pain singing the best hooks on Nelly songs since at least 2003, Nelly has regained some relevance in hip-hop while still remaining a dumbed-down version of the genre’s best artists.