MAIN Art & ... Pop Culture Pop Music Nelly

Born Cornell Haynes Jr. in St. Louis, Missouri on November 2, 1978, the rythmic rapper with the original style grew up in nearby suburban University City.

As a teenager,Nelly's interests turned to baseball and rap when he and a group of friends formed the St. Lunatics who scored a local hit with Gimme What You Got. However, it was Nelly's solo efforts that caught the attention of Universal Records, which released his debut album, Country Grammar, in 2000.

The album was a mainstream success and remained on the top of the album charts for seven weeks, setting the stage for the 2001 release of his second album featuring his St. Louis crew, the St. Lunatics, and featuring the hit single, Midwest Swing.

The following year, he topped 10 different Billboard charts with his Nellyville album and its lead single, Hot in Herre followed by Dilemma which featured vocals by Kelly Rowland from Destiny's Child.

Nelly's career continues to stay hot with a string of hits most recently including the slow jam, My Place; the club hit, Flap Your Wings; and Tilt Ya Head Back featuring Christina Aguilera.

Most recently, Nelly has agreed to participate in a reality TV show with cameras following his every move to chronicle "the day-to-day life" of the rapper.

Offstage, Nelly runs the nonprofit foundation 4 Sho 4 Kids, and has participated in campaigns for bone marrow registration in honor of his sister, Jackie Donahue, who died in March after a long battle with leukemia.

NELLY - The official site with news, bio, photo gallery, video and music clips, tour schedule, mailing list sign-up, online bulletin board.

MTV.com - Nelly - News, biography, photo gallery, audio and video clips, music downloads.

Nelly on LAUNCH - News, discography, photos, video and audio clips, biography, and links to lyrics and related sites.

Nelly Lyrics - Photo and complete lyrics for songs featured on Country Grammer and Nellyville.

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