Nelly: Why Everybody's Talking About Hip-Hop Newcomer

Jet, July 30, 2001

They don't call Missouri the Show-Me-State for nothing. Hip-hop newcomer Nelly hails from St. Louis and has been showing out as a rapper since he first hit the music scene last year.

His solo debut album, Country Grammar, has sold more than 7 million copies and is inching its way toward 10 million. When the album's title track was released, it sold 1 million copies in the first week and went on to sell 2 million copies in less than a month! The song's catchy, jump-rope rhyme of Down Down Baby made people have a good time with the tune, just like rap music back in the day.

So when Nelly's second single, E.I., hit radio airwaves, the twenty-something rapper hit music lovers with another dose of fun. All across the country he had people chanting the E.I. catchy hook "Ohhh! Ohhh!" Even now, a year later, he has people chanting "Ohhh! Ohhh!" all over again with his performance on the group Jagged Edge's chart-topping tune Where The Party At?

Yes, Nelly has everybody talking. His fun, party raps have crossed musical boundaries and made him the first rap pop sensation from the Midwest and the first person in music history to put St Louis on the map as a hip-hop performer.

And his appeal doesn't stop just there. Last year at the World Music Awards ceremony in Monaco, he was named the World's Best-Selling New Artist. He's even so well-liked that in St. Louis there was "Nelly Day" at Busch Stadium, home of the St. Louis Cardinals.

"I don't sound like anyone," explains Nelly, the father of the St. Louis rap style. "I've got a style that's all my own. I'm rappin' the blues. I like to think of my music as a jazz form of hip hop."

The St. Louis flavor of rap that Nelly brings to the table is what he defines as "swing," a jazzy form of hip hop. It has won over the masses at a record pace, even earning him a spot alongside Aerosmith, Britney Spears and N' Sync, as one of the half-time performers at this year's Super Bowl.

And though the accolades keep coming, not everyone is singing Nelly's praises. Some have criticized him as "not a true rapper" or for being "a gimmick." But Nelly takes it all in stride and understands that "playa hatin" might go with the territory.

"If you sell so many records, you're not considered keeping it real or doing what you're supposed to do," he explains. "I don't know anyone who gets in the game and says, `I don't want to sell any records. I don't care, I'm just gonna keep it real.' Who's saying that? A lot of times the people who are complaining are the ones who can't get it started or are not where they want to be in life ... I don't trip off of it because I know where it's coming from. It lets me know I'm doing something right."

Cornell Haynes Jr. got his start as a rapper in 1993 as a part of the St. Louis-based rap group, the St. Lunatics. The group did well back home with the song Gimme What Ya Got. But when it was time to sign a national record deal, the group felt it best that Nelly do a solo album first. "It was easier for one of us to get one foot in the door instead of five. At the time we just needed something to run with."

The timing couldn't have been better. He says the industry was ready to embrace a new sound. "Just the way hip hop was evolving, I think people were open-minded about someone new [coming from a place not known for rap] and were willing to give me a shot. It was just the timing. Now we're opening doors for others to come out like in Kansas City and Indianapolis and other cites that have been overlooked for a long time."

The St. Lunatics is comprised of Nelly, Robert "KyJuan" Cleveland, Tohri "Murphy Lee" Harper, and Corey "Slo Down" Edwards. The group's fifth member, Lavell "City Spud" Webb, is serving time. The group dedicates its debut album, Free City, to Spud. Prior to Spud's incarceration, he produced Nelly's third hit song Ride Wit Me, as well as performed a verse on the song with Nelly. Spud also produced Groovin' Tonight, a mellow rap song which features the smooth vocals of soul-crooner Brian McKnight. The song will also appear on McKnight's upcoming album superhero.

McKnight is a fan and friend of Nelly's and was more than happy to do the song with the group. "Nelly is different and is doing something that no one else is doing. He mixes rap, R&B and pop in a way that everybody can enjoy," McKnight told JET.

St. Louis native comedian-actor Cedric "The Entertainer" of "The Steve Harvey Show" made an appearance on Nelly's debut album. When the group first began, Cedric allowed them to perform at his shows. Back then, Cedric says he knew the world would be talking about them one day. "The Lunatics brought a fun energy to the stage. Nelly was just that one with the charisma ... the women love him and he has his own sense of fashion and style."

Cedric concludes it's not hard to see why everybody's talking about Nelly. "He's selling something kind of different ... good times, good fun. Nelly's a very good writer as well as a rapper. He uses a combination of words and phrases and metaphors. His humor and personality that's what caught on. He mixes fun and humor."