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From the Archives

October 13, 2000

Hip-Hop's Heartland Hero

Rap's biggest new star is a twenty-one-year-old former baseball prospect (and former drug dealer) from St. Louis with a quick wit and a language he calls Country Grammar. Just don't ask him to take his jewelry off during sex
September 14, 2000

Nelly Puts St. Louis Rap on the Map

Talking slang, St. Louis and baseball with Nelly

Recordings and Reviews

Brass Knuckles

Combining Will Smith's friendliness with St. Louis slang and a down-home drawl, Nelly has mastered his own brand of crossover appeal. On his fifth album, he mostly sticks to that pop-rap formula, cranking his distinctly melodic flow to hyper-speeds and playing the good-natured hedonist on cuts like...

2008 RS: 3of 5 Stars

Sweat

2004

Suit

2004

Nellyville

2002

Country Grammar (Explicit)

2000

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Photos

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Links

Nelly Official Site

Biography

Under the name Nelly, St. Louis rapper Cornell Haynes Jr. became one of the decade's hottest stars by honing two hip-hop fundamentals, both of which are often forgotten when the bling starts to sing. First, he kept it real by keeping it local, proving yet again that hip-hop is the world's biggest pop style because it's the most proudly parochial. Equally important, he matched his "back there" with...

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