Nelly's formula has always been rooted in melody, walking the line between rap and R&B, half-singing his way through tracks. You can predecessors of that tendency in the swelling, infectiously sung hooks of Warren G and Heavy D tunes. And Nelly's always been a ladies' man, taking some of his early aesthetic notes from LL Cool J, but to keep people dancing, he's borrowed from the low basslines and jumpy guitar licks of funk acts like Parliament.