Nelly
Cornell Iral Haynes Jr.[3] (born November 2, 1974),[3] better known by his stage name Nelly, is an American rapper, singer, and actor. He grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, and embarked on his musical career in 1993 as a member of the Midwest hip hop group St. Lunatics. He signed with Universal Records in 1999 as a solo act to release his debut studio album, Country Grammar (2000) in June of the following year. Its namesake lead single and follow-up, "Ride wit Me" (featuring City Spud) both entered the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100, while the album peaked atop the Billboard 200 and received diamond certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[4] His second album, Nellyville (2002) spawned two consecutive Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles, "Hot in Herre" and "Dilemma" (featuring Kelly Rowland), along with the top-five single, "Air Force Ones" (featuring Murphy Lee and St. Lunatics).
For other uses, see Nelly (disambiguation).
Nelly
- Rapper
- singer
- songwriter
- actor
- entrepreneur
1993–present
Ashanti (2003–2014, 2023–present)
4 (2 biological, 2 adopted)
- City Spud (half-brother)
- Yomi Martin (cousin)
The same-day dual release of his next albums Sweat and Suit (2004)—bundled into compilation album Sweatsuit (2005)—promptly continued his success; Sweat debuted at number two while Suit debuted at number one, selling an estimated 700,000 combined units in their first week. His fifth studio album, Brass Knuckles (2008) was supported by the singles "Party People" (featuring Fergie), "Stepped on My J'z" (featuring Jermaine Dupri and Ciara) and "Body on Me" (featuring Akon and Ashanti). His sixth album, 5.0 (2010), delved further into pop; its lead single, "Just a Dream" received triple platinum certification by the RIAA and was followed by "Move That Body" (featuring T-Pain and Akon) and "Gone" (featuring Kelly Rowland). His seventh and eighth albums, M.O. (2013) and Heartland (2021) were met with moderate to lukewarm commercial response and mixed reviews—the latter was released by Columbia Records and marked a full departure from his previous styles in favor of country rap.[5]
Nelly has won multiple accolades throughout his career, including three Grammy Awards and nine Billboard Music Awards. He has been referred to by Peter Shapiro as "one of the biggest stars of the new millennium",[6] and in 2014, Nelly was ranked as the fourth-best-selling hip hop artist in American music history according to the RIAA,[7] with 21 million albums sold in the United States. In December 2009, Billboard ranked Nelly at number three on the Top Artists of the Decade list for the 2000s.[8] Outside of recording, he starred in the 2005 sports film, The Longest Yard alongside Adam Sandler and Chris Rock. He launched the clothing line Vokal in 1997 and the line of womenswear, Apple Bottoms in 2003. His record label imprint, Derrty Entertainment was launched as a joint venture with Motown also in the latter year, although it has been largely inactive.
Life and career
1974–2000: Early life and start of career
Cornell Iral Haynes Jr. was born on November 2, 1974, in Austin, Texas, the only son of Cornell Haynes and Rhonda Mack. His father served in the Air Force for much of his childhood and when he was seven, his parents divorced.[9] As a teenager, Haynes moved with his mother from St. Louis, Missouri, to University City, a St. Louis County suburb. While in high school, Nelly formed the St. Lunatics with his friends Ali, Murphy Lee, Kyjuan, Slo Down, and his half brother City Spud. The group enjoyed moderate local popularity with their single "Gimme What Ya Got" in 1996.[10] Despite being popular in Missouri and the surrounding areas, the group struggled to achieve success outside of St. Louis. The rest of the group agreed to let Nelly go solo after a major record deal failed to appear.[11] Later in 1999, Nelly was signed to Universal Music Group by A&R Kevin Law.[12] Law told HitQuarters that Nelly was largely disliked by the label when he first signed, with the feedback he received from his colleagues on the rapper's music being "extraordinarily negative".[12] Nelly was unusual for being a rapper from the Midwest at a time when hip-hop was dominated by the East Coast, West Coast and the South. The label used this to their advantage by branding him as a star of the Midwest, hoping to inspire pride in the people of St Louis and the surrounding regions.[12] Despite the negative feedback he received from the label, his debut single, "Country Grammar (Hot Shit)", was a success, peaking at number 7 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and UK singles chart.[13][14] Recognizing Nelly's potential, the label began to change their mind and allowed work to begin on his debut album. The label decided to do a solo record with him first and then reunite him with the St. Lunatics the following year.[12]
2000–2003: Breakthrough with Country Grammar and Nellyville
The label released his debut album, Country Grammar, in 2000. The success of its title track as a single (number 7 on the Hot 100 and No. 1 Hot Rap Tracks) led to the album debuting at number three in the Billboard 200 in the U.S. Other singles from the album included "E.I."; "Ride wit Me", featuring City Spud; and "Batter Up", featuring the St. Lunatics.[11] The album was certified 9× platinum by the RIAA on April 27, 2004.[15] Nelly performed as a special guest in the Super Bowl XXXV halftime show.[16]
In 2002, Nelly's second album, Nellyville, was released, debuting at No. 1 on Billboard's Top 200 Music Albums;[17] its lead single "Hot in Herre" was a number-one hit. Other singles included "Dilemma", which featured Kelly Rowland and sold over 7.6 million records worldwide,[18] "Work It" featuring Justin Timberlake, "Air Force Ones" featuring Murphy Lee and the St. Lunatics, "Pimp Juice", and "#1".[11] This album was highly successful and was certified 6x multi-platinum on June 27, 2003.[19] "Hot in Herre" won the Grammy Award for Best Male Rap Solo Performance in 2003.[20] In 2003, Nelly released Da Derrty Versions: The Reinvention, which featured the hit single "Iz U" from the soundtrack to Walt Disney's The Haunted Mansion. The music video of a Tip Drill Remix became a source of controversy due to perceptions of misogynistic depictions of women. The controversy forced him to cancel an appearance at a bone marrow drive at Spelman College, a historically black college in Atlanta.[21] Similar claims of misogyny also surrounded his single "Pimp Juice".[22] RIAA has certified the album as Platinum. For the Bad Boys II soundtrack album, Nelly contributed the single "Shake Ya Tailfeather" featuring Diddy and Murphy Lee. Another number-one hit, "Shake Ya Tailfeather", won the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group.[20]
2004–2008: Continued success; Sweat, Suit, and Brass Knuckles
Nelly performed in the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show, his second time performing in a Super Bowl halftime show.
On September 14, 2004, he released two albums, 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. From Suit, the slow ballad "Over and Over", an unlikely duet with country music star Tim McGraw, became a crossover hit.[23] On the 2004 NBC television concert special Tim McGraw: Here and Now, McGraw and Nelly performed the song.[24] A feud with another St. Louis-based rapper, Chingy, came up near the end of the year.[25] Tsunami Aid: A Concert for Hope, a 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake benefit concert special produced by NBC, featured Nelly.[26] In the winter of 2005 came Sweatsuit, a compilation of tracks from Sweat and Suit with three new tracks. "Grillz", produced by Jermaine Dupri, was a number-one hit. To date both albums have sold over 5 million units in the United States.
Brass Knuckles was released on September 16, 2008, after several delays.[27] Initial release dates for the album were October 16[28] and November 13.[29] Its original lead single was "Wadsyaname", a ballad-oriented track produced by Ron "NEFF-U" Feemstar and sampling the piano riff from "All My Life" by K-Ci & JoJo.[28][29] Nelly later confirmed that "Wadsyaname" was never going to be on Brass Knuckles. He recorded "Party People",[28] featuring Fergie and produced by Polow da Don, which turned out to be his first official single off the album.[27] "Stepped on My J'z" was the next single, produced by Jermaine Dupri; it features Dupri and Ciara. Next was "Body on Me", produced by Akon which features Akon and Ashanti. Nelly appeared on Rick Ross's third single, "Here I Am" featuring label mate Avery Storm.
Personal life
Nelly dated singer Ashanti from 2003 to 2013 after meeting at the 2003 Grammy Awards.[71] The two began dating again in 2023.[72] In December 2023, it was reported the couple were expecting their first child together.[73] Nelly has two children from previous relationships: a son named Cornell Hayes III, and a daughter named Chanelle.[74] Nelly also has two adopted children from his stepsister Jaqueline Donahue, who died on March 25, 2005, after a battle with leukemia.[75] Nelly has been a longtime fan of the St. Louis Cardinals of the MLB,[76] he was also a longtime fan of the former St. Louis Rams during their tenure in St. Louis from 1995 to 2015.[77] Following their relocation back to Los Angeles in 2016; he still expressed his support for the team, even attending their appearance at Super Bowl LVI in 2022.[78][79]
Philanthropy
Nelly runs the non-profit organization 4Sho4Kids Foundation.[96] He and Jackie Donahue, his sister began the Jes Us 4 Jackie campaign in March 2003 by Nelly after Donahue was diagnosed with leukemia. The campaign attempts to educate African Americans and other minorities about the need for bone marrow transplants; it also tries to register more donors. Donahue died of leukemia on March 24, 2005, almost two years after the campaign began.[97]
In 2006, Nelly started hosting a “White and Black Ball” in his hometown of St. Louis as a fundraiser to collect funds for scholarships.[98] He has sent two students to college every year for over a decade, and set up a scholarship fund named after Michael Brown was shot and killed.[99]
In 2010, Nelly endorsed Do Something's Tackle Hunger campaign. In a public service announcement he filmed for the cause, he challenged teens to fight hunger by collecting one million pounds of food for the holiday season.[100]
Legal issues
Misdemeanor drug-offense conviction (2015)
In April 2015, the Tennessee Highway Patrol conducted a traffic stop of Nelly's Prevost tour bus because of non-conforming U.S. Department of Transportation and International Fuel Tax Association stickers. He, a bus driver, and four other people were on board. After a state trooper said that he smelled marijuana, the troopers searched the bus and said that they found drug paraphernalia and marijuana, as well as a substance that they initially believed to be methamphetamine and several handguns.[101][102] He was initially booked into the Putnam County Jail and was released on bail.[101]
Nelly was initially charged with felony drug possession, simple possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.[101] However, after further testing proved that the seized substance was not methamphetamine, the felony charge was dropped.[102] In December 2015, the case was resolved when he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor possession of marijuana and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia and was sentenced to one year of probation.[102] Nelly entered a diversion program,[102] in which the misdemeanor convictions were cleared from his record after 11 months.[103]
Rape arrest (2017)
On October 7, 2017, Nelly was arrested in Auburn, Washington, a southern Seattle suburb, on suspicion of second-degree rape after a woman alleged that he invited her onto his tour bus earlier that morning and raped her.[106][107] Nelly was booked into a Des Moines, Washington, jail[106] and released from custody without charge.[107] He denied wrongdoing; his attorney said that the accusation was "clearly false".[107] On December 14, it was revealed Nelly would not be charged in the case because the alleged victim declined to cooperate.[108] He also filed a countersuit claiming defamation.[109] Both lawsuits were dropped after the parties reached a settlement in 2018.[109]
By the end of January 2018, Nelly was again accused of sexual assault after a gig at the Cliffs Pavilion in Westcliff-on-Sea, England, at the end of 2017. There was also an additional allegation of assault reported at the time.[110] It was reported in 2019 that he had reached a settlement with the woman who was at Cliffs Pavilion.[111]
Studio albums