Nelly Biography
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Nelly
(born November 2, 1978) is an American hip-hop
artist. Born Cornell Haynes Jr. in Austin, Texas, he
spent the first few years of his life living in
Spain before moving to St. Louis, Missouri. He first
came to mainstream audiences with Country Grammar
(2000) and released Free City with his St. Louis
crew the St. Lunatics in 2001. Country Grammar
turned out to become a mainstream success that set
the stage for his breakthrough album, Nellyville.
Nellyville established him as one of the most famous
rappers in the early 2000s, with an image of being
equal parts handsome boy-next-door and tough gangsta.
From the beginnings of his pop 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 shoutouts to
billionaires Bill Gates and Donald Trump.
The 2002 single "Hot in
Herre" (see also quote in Nudity) was also tremendously popular, as was
its follow-up, "Dilemma," which featured vocals by Kelly Rowland of
Destiny's Child.
At the 45th annual Grammy
Awards Nelly recieved two Grammys for Best Male Rap Solo Performance and
shared a Grammy with Kelly Rowland for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration.
In early 2003, Nelly
released the controversial single, "Air Force Ones". MTV, MTV2, and VH1
refused to air the video due to product placement for the popular
sneakers of the same name. BET, however, played it.
The following year in 2004
Nelly won his third Grammy this time for his number one hit single
"Shake Ya Tailfeather". On September 14, 2004, Nelly released two
albums, Sweat and Suit. Suit, an R&B-oriented album, debuted at #1 on
the Billboard albums chart and Sweat, a rap-oriented album, debuted at
#2 on 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. Nelly is part owner of
the NBA expansion team Charlotte Bobcats with BET founder Robert Johnson
as of 2005.
Even though Nelly's albums
are classified as "Rap," he performs his lyrics in a singsong fashion,
creating some confusion as to whether he's actually a singer or a
rapper. A similar issue exists with Ja Rule.
Nelly used to be seen
always with a white bandage on his left cheek, which he no longer wears.
It was in rememberance of his brother who was in jail at the time.
* * * *
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URL of Original Article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelly
Date Article Copied:
July 11, 2005
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