Song #41: Nelly feat. Jermaine Dupri and Ciara - "Stepped On My J'z"

Song #41: Nelly feat. Jermaine Dupri and Ciara - "Stepped On My J'z" (2008)

Brass Knuckles

"When you know you got a pair that ain't nobody got (body got), you can't hold 'em back on me, you gotta rock (gotta rock)."

I remember bored one summer day, not being able to find anything on TV whatsoever, and finally just settled on watching an episode of Access Granted on BET, after about ten solid minutes of being unable to find anything tolerable. It just so happens that the show was known for profiling the making of popular music videos and, that particular day, they were showing the making of Nelly's latest video "Stepped On My J'z," from his long-delayed album Brass Knuckles.

At this time, I was reviewing music on iTunes, so I needed to stay relevant with new albums, new singles, and new artists, so I felt that it was nice that I just so happened to stumble upon the making of one of the videos from one of my longtime favorite rappers. Nelly didn't disappoint with "Stepped On My J'z," a song I now credit as my second favorite song by him only behind "Ride Wit Me" (number ninety-three on "The One-Hundred Songs of Steve Pulaski").

"Stepped On My J'z," in addition to Nelly, features Jermaine Dupri and Ciara, and concerns the popular Air Jordan line of shoes. The song, right from the beginning, is a boastful, bombastic song about Nelly rocking his latest line of Air Jordans and discussing getting his first scuff on the shoes, to which the song gets its title and its chorus from. Interjected in the middle of the video is a scene I thought was meaningless when I first saw it, but realize it's a direct ode to Spike Lee's masterwork Do the Right Thing (among other little nods to Lee's work, which exist in the video). At the time, I had no idea who Spike Lee was or what relevance the little thirty second clip had, but now, I look forward to it whenever I rewatch the video.

After Nelly's breakneck verse, we get a more relaxed vibe from Dupri, who lists numerous different kinds of Jordans and brings up a valid point as to how shoes, or any clothing for that matter, can increase your confidence and your identity moreso than you could ever imagine. Then we have Ciara, who comes in unexpectedly and provides us with a dance number in the song. We conclude with one last visit from Nelly, who delivers probably the strongest flow and delivery in any song I have yet to hear from him in such a small amount of time.

"Stepped On My J'z" is a pretty ridiculous song about a certain "first world problem," however, the fact that the song works so well and manages to be so complete is the reason it's on this list in the first place. It took its bizarre, and admittedly trivial idea, and ran with it nicely, making for a thoroughly entertaining and memorable song, and one of my favorite music videos of the last decade.

Give "Stepped On My J'z" a listen (and a watch), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1m57sikS-s