It looks like everybody’s favorite St. Louis rapper is ready to make a comeback in 2010. Following the release of 2008’s Brass Knuckles, Nelly has a new album in the works. The Derrty Ent. CEO has been holed up in the studio with acclaimed producer Jim Jonsin, the mastermind behind hits like Lil Wayne’s “Lollipop” and Beyoncé’s “Sweet Dreams.”

“We’ve done a few songs so far. Nelly’s great, he’s really super talented,” Jonsin told staging-rapup.kinsta.cloud about working with the “Hot in Herre” MC on his sixth studio album. “I just know he looks pretty anxious about dropping [it] within the next couple of months for sure.”

So what can fans expect from the new project? For starters, a throwback with a modern twist: the tentatively-titled “Dilemma (Part 2)” is a nod to his chart-topping 2002 collaboration with pal Kelly Rowland.

“I did the track with [songwriter] Rico Love and Nelly had this melody idea,” Jonsin revealed about the song’s sequel. “I’ve worked with Kelly and I’ve heard her sound, and that kind of triggered me to call and put her in the studio.”

The hitman believes “Part 2” could be bigger than the original. “It came out really amazing. It’s similar in that it’s musical and it has a great melody. But the sound is a little different, a little newer.”

In the new decade, Jonsin plans to take his production in a different direction, which music fans will hear on Nelly’s project and others. “I want to challenge [artists] more and bring back more melody in music,” he said. “I think everything should just be more edgy and harder for this year.”

–Arianna Davis