Nelly

Cornell Iral Haynes Jr. (born November 2, 1974), better known by his stage name Nelly, is an American rapper, singer, and actor. He grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, and embarked on his musical career in 1993 as a member of the Midwest hip hop group St. Lunatics. He signed to Universal Records in 1999, releasing his solo debut album Country Grammar in June of the following year. Its title track and follow-up single, “Ride wit Me” (featuring City Spud) both peaked within the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100, while the album peaked atop the US Billboard 200; it remains Nelly’s best-selling album to date, receiving diamond certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). His second album, Nellyville (2002) spawned two consecutive number-one hits, “Hot in Herre” and “Dilemma” (featuring Kelly Rowland), along with the top-five single “Air Force Ones” (featuring Murphy Lee and St. Lunatics).

The same-day dual release of his next albums Sweat and Suit (2004)—bundled into compilation album Sweatsuit (2006)—promptly continued his success; Sweat debuted at number two while Suit debuted at number one, selling approximately 700,000 cumulative copies in their first week on the same chart. His fifth studio album, Brass Knuckles (2008) was supported by the singles “Party People” (featuring Fergie), “Stepped on My J’z” (featuring Jermaine Dupri and Ciara) and “Body on Me” (featuring Akon and Ashanti). His sixth album, 5.0 (2010), delved further into pop; it was led by the single “Just a Dream”—which received triple platinum certification by the RIAA—as well as “Move That Body” (featuring T-Pain and Akon) and “Gone” (featuring Kelly Rowland). His seventh and eighth albums, M.O. (2013) and Heartland (2021), were met with moderate commercial response; the latter marked a full departure from his previous style in favor of country rap.Nelly has won multiple accolades throughout his career, including three Grammy Awards and nine Billboard Music Awards. In 2005, he starred in the remake film The Longest Yard, alongside 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 in 2014, Nelly was ranked as the fourth-best-selling hip hop artist in American music history according to the RIAA, with 21 million albums sold in the United States. In December 2009, Billboard ranked Nelly at number three on the Top Artists of the Decade list for the 2000s.

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