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Nelly
Background information
Birth name Cornell Haynes Jr.
Born November 2, 1974 (1974-11-02) (age 32)
Flag of Texas Austin, Texas, USA
Origin St. Louis, Missouri
Genre(s) Hip hop, R&B
Occupation(s) Rapper
Years active 1995 to present
Label(s) Fo' Reel, Derrty Ent., Universal Records
Associated
acts St. Lunatics, Ashanti, Kelly Rowland
Website http://www.nelly.net/main.html
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 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.
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
Albums
* 2000: Country Grammar
* 2002: Nellyville
* 2003: Da Derrty Versions: The Reinvention
* 2004: Suit
* 2004: Sweat
* 2005: Sweat / Suit
* 2005: Sweatsuit
* 2007: Brass Knuckles
Singles
* 2000: "Country Grammar (Hot Shit)"
* 2000: "E.I."
* 2001: "Ride wit Me" (featuring City Spud)
* 2001: "Batter Up" (featuring Murphy Lee & Ali)
* 2001: "#1"
* 2002: "Hot in Herre"
* 2002: "Dilemma" (featuring Kelly Rowland)
* 2002: "Air Force Ones" (featuring Murphy Lee, Ali, & Kyjuan)
* 2003: "Work It" (featuring Justin Timberlake)
* 2003: "Pimp Juice"
* 2003: "Iz U"
* 2004: "My Place" (featuring Jaheim)
* 2004: "Flap Your Wings"
* 2004: "Tilt Ya Head Back" (featuring Christina Aguilera)
* 2004: "Over and Over" (featuring Tim McGraw)
* 2005: "N Dey Say"
* 2005: "Errtime" (featuring King Jacob & Jung Tru)
* 2005: "Fly Away"
* 2005: "Grillz" (featuring Paul Wall, Ali & Gipp)
* 2007 "Cut It Out"(featuring Pimp C,&Sean P)
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
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