Nelly
Nelly
Cornell Iral Haynes, Jr., known professionally as Nelly, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, entrepreneur, investor, and occasional actor from St. Louis, Missouri. Nelly embarked on his music career with Midwest hip hop group St. Lunatics, in 1993 and signed to Universal Records in 1999. Under Universal, Nelly began his solo career in the year 2000, with his debut album Country Grammar, of which the title-track was a top ten hit. The album debuted at number three on the Billboard...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionRapper
Date of Birth2 November 1974
CityAustin, TX
CountryUnited States of America
Imagine blocks and blocks of no cocaine, blocks with no gun play.
Nobody living average, everybody jang-a-lang. Nobody living savage, everybody got change.
Proceed to not smoke weed around the seed.
Off in the coupe, spreadin' the loot with my family and friends, and my closest of kin.
Righteous willin, the only thing supreme swimmin'.
I try not to name too many labels - not because it's not cool, but because it starts getting political.
I was slinging whatever I could get my hands on. Whether it was chronic, whether it was crack.
Hip-hop is more than music, it's a culture. It's bigger than hit songs.
How many people out there really set a budget?
I love New York for being New York. I love L.A. for being L.A. But when it comes home, I'm a Midwest, South type of dude. I like open roads, I like to drive, and it may not be as fast, but it's definitely a place where you get to appreciate a lot more. Not saying that you don't up here, but that's not what I'm accustomed to.
I think rappers are the fall guy because some of us don't have the wits to point the finger back. The thing is when you take a whole generation and whip them out, string the mothers out and put the fathers in jail - the reason I know respect is because my father is the mediator between me and my grandfather. I'm the mediator between my son and my father because I'm old enough to understand where my father is coming from and young enough to understand what my kid is trying to do. When you whip out the mediator the kids run wild and the old people are scared of them.
I wasn't a kid when I came out. Soulja Boy was 16. I'm saying that when he came out he was a kid so it was naturally a show for him. It's not about the music right away. It's a show for him. Not that he's not putting enough effort into his music, but how much effort can a 16 year old put into his music because as you mature and get older even the songs he's doing now has evolved and he's looking back.
Your hater is your future fan in a way. Cause when it's different they don't really take to it at first, but after you look back on it you get a chance to reflect on it.
If you're fortunate to get a first album that sells 10 million you have nowhere to go but down. I'm just going to be honest and your measuring stick is so high that haters are licking their chops because you can't do nothing but fail.