Prompted by heavy flow of Cornell pride streaming out of AMST 2001: First American University, Ezra and A.D.  once again ascended to East Hill this week.  Luckily, this Sun reporter had his seance kit on hand, and was able to snag a brief interview on the upcoming S.A. elections, Nelly, Buffalo Street Books and much, much more.

The Berry Patch sends our intrepid reporters to get the real scoop on Slope Day '11 headliner Nelly.

After more than a decade of hip-hop stardom, Nelly has become a cultural icon over the course of his career.

Hip hop artist Nelly will headline the annual Slope Day concert on May 6, a Slope Day Programming Board executive board member confirmed in an e-mail to The Sun.

Nelly’s Brass Knuckles hits hard with that swagger and energy fans expect from the leader of the St. Lunatic family. Backing up his own vocals — and backing up his backup with shouts and chants — Nelly never lets the listener’s ears fall asleep.

Enlisting heavy hitters like LL Cool J, Chuck D and Snoop Dogg, Brass Knuckles runs the gamut of hip-hop history and geography. Nelly gives us the Midwest swang, along with songs like “LA” that sweats West Coast g-funk from the heat of Snoop and Nate Dogg, and “Chill” which sounds like it fell out of a G-Unit album.

Brass Knuckles could have packed a little more punch and a lot more originality. Energetic as he is, Nelly has basically had the same flow since he taught us the correct form of country grammar.