Birthday: November 1974
Nelly's Early Years
Nelly spent his early years in
Spain and moved to St. Louis, Missouri for elementary school.
Nelly's parents divorced when he was eight years old. Nelly admitted he used to get into
a lot of fights but by the
time he started high school he was into baseball instead. Nelly's passion for
baseball helped
keep him out of trouble. In 1993 Nelly left his gritty St. Louis neighborhood and settled in the suburban area of
University City. Nelly continued
to work on his baseball skills and formed a rap group called the
St. Lunatics with school pals Kyjuan Ali, Murphy Lee
and his little brother City Spud. Two years later Nelly and crew released a 12-inch single called
Gimme What Ya Got,
which sold almost 10,000 copies. Nelly continued with the Lunatics while playing shortstop in the
St. Louis Amateur Baseball
Association. At the time, it looked as though Nelly would be a professional baseball player.
Nelly's Big Break
The St. Lunatics managed to put out another song called
Who's The Boss, which became a local
hit. The song helped their reputation locally but didn't grab the interest of record companies. The frustrated St. Lunatics
decided to try their luck in Atlanta and teamed up with Kula who was managing Mase at that time. Eventually they realized
Nelly would have a better chance of
scoring a record deal on his own. So with Kula, 19 year-old Nelly attracted Universal
Records exec Kevin Law in 1999. Nelly's career was off like a rocket with the release of his song
Country Grammar,
which
 |
| Courtesy of Fox |
borrows the hook from the children's song
Down,
Down, Baby. On June 6, 2000, Nelly released his first full-length album - also called
Country Grammar. The album
managed to sneak past
Eminem and
Britney to the number one spot on the Billboard charts on August 26, 2000
Nelly Keeps The Hits Coming
With the release of the song
Ride Wit Me Nelly the rapper has secured his spot
as a popular
rap artist who's known as much for his
signature low-riding pants as he is for his music. Nelly's second album
Nellyville
was a huge hit and his third album,
Da Derrty Versions: The Reinvention, which is out in November of 2003, is bound
to be as huge. Tell your 'rents not to worry - there's a clean version of Da Derrty Versions available too.
Nelly - Did U Know
Nelly's real name is Cornell Hayes Jr.
Nelly has his own clothing line called Vokal.
Nelly had a million dollars worth of stuff stolen from his room at the Aladdin Hotel, Las Vegas in 2003.
Nelly Says...
"I'm a product of hip-hop. That's all I listen to what I grew up on, besides what my parents had going
on in the house. It's definitely hip-hop first and everything else is just distant."
Nelly Keeps The Hits Coming
With the release of the song Ride Wit Me Nelly the rapper has secured his spot
as a popular rap artist who's known as much for his signature low-riding pants as he is for his music. Nelly's second album Nellyville
was a huge hit and his third album, Da Derrty Versions: The Reinvention, which is out in November of 2003, is bound
to be as huge. Tell your 'rents not to worry - there's a clean version of Da Derrty Versions available too.
Nelly - Did U Know
Nelly's real name is Cornell Hayes Jr.
Nelly has his own clothing line called Vokal.
Nelly had a million dollars worth of stuff stolen from his room at the Aladdin Hotel, Las Vegas in 2003.
Nelly Says...
"I'm a product of hip-hop. That's all I listen to what I grew up on, besides what my parents had going
on in the house. It's definitely hip-hop first and everything else is just distant."
Nelly Keeps The Hits Coming
With the release of the song Ride Wit Me Nelly the rapper has secured his spot
as a popular rap artist who's known as much for his signature low-riding pants as he is for his music. Nelly's second album Nellyville
was a huge hit and his third album, Da Derrty Versions: The Reinvention, which is out in November of 2003, is bound
to be as huge. Tell your 'rents not to worry - there's a clean version of Da Derrty Versions available too.
Nelly - Did U Know
Nelly's real name is Cornell Hayes Jr.
Nelly has his own clothing line called Vokal.
Nelly had a million dollars worth of stuff stolen from his room at the Aladdin Hotel, Las Vegas in 2003.
Nelly Says...
"I'm a product of hip-hop. That's all I listen to what I grew up on, besides what my parents had going
on in the house. It's definitely hip-hop first and everything else is just distant."
