Nelly

Name	Nelly
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Cornell Iral Haynes, Jr.
Born	November 02, 1974 Austin, Texas, United States
Origin	St. Louis, Missouri, United States
Genre	Hip hop, R&B;, Pop
Occupation	Rapper, singer-songwriter, record producer, actor, entrepreneur
Years active	1993—present
Label	Derrty, Universal Motown
Associated acts	St. Lunatics
Url	www.nelly.net

Cornell Iral Haynes, Jr. (born November 2, 1974), better known by his stage name Nelly, is an American hip hop recording artist, actor, CEO, and entrepreneur. He has performed with the rap group St. Lunatics since 1993 and signed to Universal Records in 1999. Under Universal, Nelly made his solo debut in 2000 with Country Grammar, the title track of which was a top ten hit.

With his following albums, Nellyville (2002) and the same-day dual release Sweat and Suit (2004) and compilation Sweatsuit (2006), Nelly continued to generate many chart-topping hits. The rapper's fifth studio album, Brass Knuckles, was released on September 16, 2008 after several delays.

He won Grammy Awards in 2003 and 2004 and had a supporting role in the 2005 remake film The Longest Yard with Adam Sandler and Chris Rock. He has two clothing lines, Vokal and Apple Bottoms. He has been referred to by Peter Shapiro as "one of the biggest stars of the new millennium", and the RIAA ranks Nelly as one of the best-selling male artists in American music history, with 21 million albums sold in the United States. On December 11th, 2009 Nelly was ranked as the 3rd Top Overall Artist of the 2000-2009 decade by Billboard Magazine.

Musical career

2000–01: Early career and Country Grammar

He was soon signed to Universal Music Group, which released his major label debut Country Grammar in 2000. The success of its title track as a single (#7 on the Hot 100 and #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", and "Batter Up".

2002–03: Nellyville

In 2002, Nelly's second album Nellyville was released, debuting at #1 on Billboard's Top 200 Music Albums ; its lead single "Hot in Herre" was a number-one hit. Other singles included "Dilemma" featuring Kelly Rowland of Destiny's Child, "Work It" featuring Justin Timberlake, "Air Force Ones" featuring Murphy Lee and the St. Lunatics, "Pimp Juice", and "#1".

In 2003 Nelly released . It featured the hit single "Iz U" from the soundtrack to Walt Disney's The Haunted Mansion. The music video for "Tip Drill" became a source of controversy due to perceptions of misogynistic depictions of women. The controversy forced Nelly to cancel an appearance at a bone marrow drive at Spelman College, a historically black college in Atlanta, Georgia. Similar claims of misogyny also surrounded Nelly's single "Pimp Juice". RIAA have certified the album Platinum.

2004–05: Sweat and Suit

On September 14, 2004, Nelly 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. On the 2004 NBC television concert special Tim McGraw: Here and Now, McGraw and Nelly performed the song. A feud with another St. Louis-based rapper, Chingy, came up near the end of the year. Tsunami Aid: A Concert for Hope, a 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake benefit concert special produced by NBC, featured Nelly. 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.

2008: Brass Knuckles

Brass Knuckles was released on September 16, 2008, after several delays, Initial release dates for the album targeted October 16 and November 13. 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. In October 2009, Nelly did an interview with SOHH.com and said that the album was going to be released sometime in 2010. In a interview with Semtex TV, Nelly told reporters that he planned to release the album under the name Nelly. In April 2010, Nelly's cousin Michael Johnson was murdered in Missouri, Nelly said that he delayed releasing the album because of this. Nelly said that guests that were going to be featured on the album were, Sean Paul, T-Pain, Chris Brown, Diddy, Akon, St. Lunatics, T.I., Usher and many more. In May 2010, Nelly confirmed that the title of the album was 5.0. The album is scheduled to be released on November 16, 2010. Nelly is featured on the second single by upcoming artist Mohombi titled 'Miss Me' produced by RedOne.

the St. Lunatics

The group was formed in 2000 and came out with their hit, "Gimmie What U Got" and "Thug Luv for the Homiez". Nelly joined rappers Ali, Murphy Lee, Kyjuan and City Spud to form the group. Free City, recorded with the St. Lunatics, followed in 2001 with the single "Midwest Swing". Their debut album Free City (2001) has sold more than a million units in the United States. In 2009, the St. Lunatics were reportedly working on a new album City Free to be released in the summer of 2009 however the album has been pushed back to November 16, 2010. The first track called "St. Lunatics", was already leaked in early March 2009, other track leaked is "Get Low 2 Da Flo", produced by Play-N-Skillz. . The first official single released from the album is "Money Talks" featuring rapper Birdman. .

Rapping technique

Nelly’s rapping style has been described by Peter Shapiro as using "unforgettable hooks based on schoolyard songs, double-dutch chants, and nonsense rhymes" and has a "Missouri twang" . Allmusic suggests Nelly's style is based largely on where he comes from - "Nelly's locale certainly informs his rapping style, which is as much country as urban, and his dialect as well, which is as much Southern drawl as Midwestern twang" , he generally writes in the studio rather than at home , he normally comes up with a chorus for a song before writing the verses , and he likes to write to the music he will be rapping over . Allmusic also notes his "tongue-twisting" hooks, which are also often sung rather than rapped . Nelly began listening to artists like Rakim, LL Cool J, Run–D.M.C., Outkast, Goodie Mob and Jay-Z. He became convinced that his gift for rap could be parlayed into a career. He has his own style of rap which he likes to describe as a jazz form of hip hop.

Other ventures

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Endorsements and business ventures

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. Nelly later signed a shoe deal with Reebok.

Nelly has done ads for Got Milk and the Ford Motor Company. His energy drink Pimp Juice sold one million cans during the first two months after its introduction in August 2003, and was criticized for its name by black consumer activists. Nelly owns Apple Bottoms, a female clothing line, and Vokal, which caters to men. He was one of the owners of the Charlotte Bobcats, along with Robert L. Johnson and Michael Jordan until Jordan became the new owner in March of 2010.

Nelly played in the Main Event at the 2007 World Series of Poker.

In August, 2010, Nelly started a temporary stint as the afternoon host on WHHL HOT 104.1 in St. Louis. He is taking the place of regular PM drive personality, Stacy Static, who is on pregnancy leave. According STLtoday, the initial ratings for the show are very high. This gig garnered national attention in the Huffington Post and other websites.

On September 28, 2010, Nelly is releasing a fitness DVD entitled Celebrity Sweat, walking viewers through various exercises and weight training techniques.

Philanthropy

Nelly runs the non-profit organization "4Sho4Kids Foundation." The "Jes Us 4 Jackie" campaign began in March 2003 by Nelly and his sister Jackie Donahue after Donahue was diagnosed with leukemia. The campaign attempts to educate African-Americans and other minorities about the need for bone marrow transplants, and to register more donors. Donahue lost her battle with leukemia on March 24, 2005, almost two years after the campaign began.

Film and television career

Nelly film debut came in 2001 in the independent film Snipes as a famous rapper named Prolifik. His big movie role came in the 2005 remake of The Longest Yard starring Adam Sandler and Chris Rock. The soundtrack of the latter includes Nelly's song "Fly Away". In a June 2008 interview with Kiwibox.com, Nelly revealed that he is reluctant to continue his acting career, noting that he does not want to "take away from the culture of acting." In 2008 and 2009, Nelly appeared in episodes of the CBS crime drama .

Discography

;Studio albums

Country Grammar (2000)

Nellyville (2002)

Sweat (2004)

Suit (2004)

Brass Knuckles (2008)

Nelly 5.0 (2010)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Official website

Category:1974 births Category:1990s rappers Category:2000s rappers Category:2010s rappers Category:African American sports executives Category:African American actors Category:Soul Train Music Award winners Category:African American musicians Category:African American rappers Category:African American songwriters Category:Charlotte Bobcats Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Living people Category:Military brats Category:Musicians from Missouri Category:National Basketball Association executives Category:National Basketball Association owners Category:People from Austin, Texas Category:Rappers from St. Louis, Missouri Category:MTV Video Music Awards winners Category:World Music Awards winners Category:American film actors Category:American pop singers Category:American record producers Category:American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters Category:American soul singers Category:Hip hop singers Category:BET Award winners