Nelly

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For other uses, see Nelly (disambiguation).
Nelly

Cornell Haynes Jr. (born November 2 1974)[1] is a rapper and singer from St. Louis, Missouri in the United States, who experienced popularity in the early 2000s. Best known by his stage name Nelly, he is one of the best-selling pop-rappers of all-time, with over forty million albums sold worldwide. He has also achieved three number ones in the United Kingdom (four including his vocal contribution to "Nasty Girl" by Notorious B.I.G.), four U.S. Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles, and three Grammy Awards.

Personal background

Born in Austin, Texas, but raised in St. Louis, Missouri, Nelly's accent exhibits a great deal of influence from this Midwestern upbringing, as his midwest twang mixed with a southern drawl is a result of growing up in the hybrid southern-midwest city of St. Louis. Nelly also spent part of his first years in Spain while his father was in the U.S. Military. Raised in suburban University City, Nelly formed the St. Lunatics with his friends in the surrounding area. After much frustration and failed attempts, it was suggested that Nelly would have a better shot at success as a solo act, to gain recognition first as a soloist and then bring in the rest of his group, the St. Lunatics in the time to come. He was soon signed by Universal Music Group. His unique Midwest/Southern style still shines through and he continues to proudly acknowledge his St. Louis roots.

In 2001, Nelly's sister Jacqueline "Jackie" Donahue was diagnosed with leukemia. In 2003, Nelly and Jackie started the Jus Us 4 Jackie campaign, a search for a bone marrow donor. Although the search was unsuccessful for Jackie, (she died March 24 2005 of complications from leukemia when she was thirty-one) the foundation was able to find matches for others, including two children from Jackie's hometown of St. Louis. Nelly has continued charity work related to this illness in her memory.

Music career

Nelly first came to mainstream audiences with the song, "Country Grammar" (2000) and released Free City with the St. Lunatics in 2001. Country Grammar established him as one of the most successful rappers of the early 2000s with the help of an image one part handsome boy-next-door and one part tough gangster. From the beginning of his hip hop career, the lyrics of "Country Grammar" explored this dichotomy, posing the question: "Who says pretty boys can't be wild niggaz?" and containing references to gun violence and drug use while also sending shout outs to billionaires Bill Gates and Donald Trump, as well as fictional serial killer Hannibal Lecter. The album Country Grammar, debuted at number one on the Billboard Top 40. Nelly and Country Grammar were nominated for two 2001 Grammy Awards--Best Rap Album and Best Rap Solo Performance. On July 18 2001, it was certified 7x platinum. "Ride wit Me", from the Country Grammar album, was nominated for three 2001 MTV Video Music Awards--Best Male Video, Best Rap Video, and Viewer's Choice; the album won the Best Rap Video award. Nelly was also named "Best New Artist" at the first Annual BET Awards in 2001. Other recognitions in 2001 include winning the Favorite New Male Artist award at the 2001 Blockbuster Entertainment Awards and being named one of People's "Breakthrough Stars of 2001".

In 2002, his second album, Nellyville, debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 714,000+ units. It stayed at nuumber one for three weeks. After only a month, it was certified triple platinum. "Hot in Herre" was number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks, followed immediately by "Dilemma", featuring Kelly Rowland of Destiny's Child, which was number one for ten weeks. "Dilemma" was the first ever rap song to stay at number one for ten weeks on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2002 he also won the American Music Award for "Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Artist", as well as winning six Billboard Music Awards (Artist of the Year, Male Artist of the Year, Male Hot 100 Artist of the Year, Male R&B/Hip-Hop Artist of the Year, Rap Artist of the Year, and Rap Track of the Year for "Hot in Herre") and receiving nominations in 8 other categories. "Weird" Al parodied Nelly's Hot in Herre; Nelly liked it so much he donated clothes to Al and his band to wear on stage while performing the song.

In early 2003, Nelly released the controversial single, "Air Force Ones". MTV, MTV2, MuchMusic, and VH1 refused to air the video due to product placement for Nike's popular sneakers of the same name. BET, however, played it. (Nike and Nelly agreed on a one-year deal in 2003 to release a limited-edition sneaker called the "Air Derrty" which was a retro remake of Charles Barkley's signature sneaker the Nike Air Max2 CB '94 which was released on June 13 2003 at select NIKE town stores and was limited to 1,000 pairs. He later made a deal with Reebok, stating, “I’ve always been into sneakers and throughout my career I’ve always wanted to have a signature pair of sneakers that truly reflect my personal style. It made the most sense for me to partner with Reebok because they fully understand and respect the culture of sports, music and entertainment.” [citation needed]

At the 2003 Grammys, he received two awards; one for Best Male Rap Solo Performance, and another shared with Kelly Rowland for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. He also won the 2003 American Music Award for "Fan's Choice" and received four other nominations.

In the following year, 2004, he won his third Grammy for Murphy Lee's number-one hit single "Shake Ya Tailfeather" from the Murphy's Law CD. "Shake Ya Tailfeather" featured Nelly and P. Diddy. On September 14 2004, Nelly released two albums simultaneously, Sweat and Suit. Suit, an R&B-oriented album, debuted at number one on the Billboard albums chart, and Sweat, a rap-oriented album, debuted at number two in the same week. From the Suit album, the slow ballad "Over and Over", an unlikely duet with country music star Tim McGraw, became another crossover hit. Nelly performed the song with McGraw on the latter's CBS Television concert special in 2004. In 2005, he released Sweatsuit, a U.S-only compilation album consisting of tracks from Sweat and Suit, as well as three new tracks including "Grillz", which he scored another number-one hit with.

Nelly's entire song catalogue – including hits he has co-written with Tim McGraw and 'N Sync – is published by BMG Music Publishing.

Nelly feuded with rapper KRS-One. During the feud, Nelly used the angle that KRS-One was past his prime. KRS-One called Nelly out for being a bubble gum pop artist, and Nelly rebutted by naming KRS-One a hypocrite. This feud was even referenced by rapper Chino XL in his song "B-Boy". In it, Chino XL states "Nelly battling KRS-One, we gotta stop him! What's next? Beyoncé battling Rakim?"

In 2005 Nelly recorded a song with Eurovision Song Contest star Alsou. The song, called "Wish I Didn't Know", was never officially released, but was leaked and now can be found online.

In 2005 Nelly was featured on the Notorious B.I.G.'s song Nasty Girl.

In 2007 Nelly was featured on R. Kelly's CD Double Up on a song called "Tryin' to Get a Number".

In 2007 Nelly also contributed to Ashanti's track "Switch", the first official single from her new album The Declaration to be released on October 23rd, 2007.

In 2007 Nelly also is featured on T.I.'s "T.I. Vs. T.I.P." album on a song called "Show It To Me".

Acting career

Nelly featured in the 2005 remake of The Longest Yard with Adam Sandler and Chris Rock. The film debuted at number three at the American box office behind Star Wars Episode III and Madagascar (the latter of which also stars Chris Rock) and became MTV Films' most successful release grossing over a hundred million U.S. dollars in the U.S. alone.

Nelly's first film was called "Snipes" with Zoë Saldaña. Because of a lack of adequate funds, the film was never widely released in cinemas, but has since made a VHS and DVD release, and can be ordered through major retailers. The film has also been featured on BET. It was filmed very early in the St. Lunatic member's career.

Personal life

Since mid-2003, Nelly has been dating Ashanti, but she has denied reports that they were engaged. Nelly currently has two children: a daughter, Chanel, born February 27 1994, and a son, Cornell III, nicknamed Trey, with his high school sweetheart.

It was recently estimated that Nelly was in the top 100 of the wealthiest hip hop entertainers. He and Jermaine Dupri tied at tenth place both worth sixty million U.S. dollars.[2]

Nelly appeared in many Celebrity All-star games

Business endeavors

Nelly was part of a clothing line created with cousin Yomi Martin called Vokal.[1] Vokal was actually a prototype line started by another St. Louis Businessman. Nelly and his crew have often had its logo featured prominently on their clothing in music videos and public appearances. Vokal, in its earliest stages can be seen on various people in Nelly's video for "Country Grammar", including the small children dancing. What once started as a means of funds and support for the St. Lunatics, the line later grew into a million dollar business venture for Nelly years later. The line has since slowed down and can now mainly be found on the Internet. More recently, Yomi Martin has said that Vokal will make a full launch once again near the end of 2007.

He also has a clothing line for women called Apple Bottoms which has gained national notoriety and success for Nelly with millions in sales and a successful year in 2006.

Nelly is also a co-sponsor of the non-carbonated sports energy drink, Pimp Juice. Nelly is also part owner of the NBA expansion team Charlotte Bobcats with B.E.T. founder Robert L. Johnson and NBA legend Michael Jordan.

Two of Nelly's songs were featured in General Motors different commercials that premiered during Super Bowl XLI. The songs were E.I. and Hot In Herre. The commercials are now regularly played.

Controversy

Nelly met controversy for his creation of the music video "E.I." (Tipdrill remix), widely known as just "Tipdrill". The song is found on Da Derrty Versions. The video depicts women performing various sexual acts, and is labeled pornography by many groups. The video was played many times on BET: Uncut.

See "Tip Drill".

He has been recently criticized by Huey, saying that Nelly has made no contribution to St. Louis hip-hop, and has even put a stop to fellow St. Louis rappers' careers.

Discography

Main article: Nelly discography

Albums

Singles

Featured Singles

Grammy awards

Career Stats

  • Career wins: 3
  • Career nominations: 11
Year Category Genre Title
2003 Best Rap/Song Collaboration Rap "Dilemma"
2003 Best Male Rap Solo Performance Rap "Hot in Herre"
2004 Best Rap Performance By a Duo or Group Rap "Shake Ya Tailfeather"

Notes

  1. ^ http://www.stlouiswalkoffame.org/inductees/nelly.html St. Louis Walk of Fame Date of Birth:November 2 1974
  2. ^ http://panachereport.com/website%20channel%20documents/hip%20hop%20gallery/2006RichestInHip-Hop.htm

External links
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