Nelly Music Videos, Ringtones, Pictures and Photos including One & Only, Body On Me, Stepped On My J'z, Party People, Wadsyaname, Grillz, Dilemma, Number 1, Batter Up Music Videos on Blastro

Nelly

Though St. Louis might not be the epicenter of the Midwestern rap scene (that honor would arguably go to Chicago, home to Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco, and Eminem), Nelly has proven time and time again that the Gateway City isn’t to be taken lightly. With four albums and nine top ten hits to his name, the melodic and playful Nelly is easily St. Louis’ most visible rapper. He rose to prominence in the early 1990’s as a member of the rap collective St. Lunatics (Ali, Murphy Lee), scoring a solo deal with Universal records in 1999.

Nelly’s freshman release Country Grammar (2000) took the world by storm, spearheaded by the uncannily catchy single "Country Grammar (Hot Shit)", which features a melodic and almost nonsensical chorus set to the tune of "Roller Coaster", a children’s handclap song. Other notable tracks from Country Grammar include "Ride wit Me" and "Batter Up", which both charted in the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100. The album has since sold a staggering 14.8 million units worldwide - not bad for his first try.

Eager to follow up the success of his debut album, Nelly released his second record Nellyville two years later in 2002. Though the album didn’t sell quite as well as his first, it was far from a sophomore slump: to date, it has sold a more-than-modest 11.6 million copies. Hits from Nellyville include "Number 1", "Hot in Herre", "Dilemma", and "Work It", which features an appearance by Justin Timberlake.