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.