After four years of seemingly disappearing from music, minus a few guest appearances, Nelly is back in the studio and preparing to release his fifth album, Brass Knuckles.

With claims of album scheduling conflicts and other delays, the St. Lunatic is currently scheduled to release the upcoming effort on June 24th.  According to Billboard, Nelly is still creating tracks for the album but is expected to collaborate from artists including Ciara, Lil Wayne, Snoop Dogg, Akon and LL Cool J.

In a previous interview with Rap-Up TV from last August, Nelly explained the significance of the album’s title.

“It was the best way I could explain how hard I was gonna hit you.  It’s crazy,” Nelly said in the interview.

While not going in to full-detail at the time, Nelly confirmed producers Jermaine Dupri and Pharrell as key people working on tracks.  He also said the album would feature a handful of new producers.

Brass Knuckles will be Nelly’s follow-up to his simultaneously released ’04 albums, Sweat and Suit, which combined for a total of 4.4 million sold copies in the US, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Reported by Cyrus Kyle Longhorne