Nelly (Cornell Haynes) is not like other rappers out there. Born in Texas , followed by a move to Spain for three years, Cornell Haynes, Jr. a.k.a. Nelly eventually landed in the muddy Missouri, in the city of St. Louis. Growing up with his family in one of the nation's poorest cities surrounded by vacant lots, condemned buildings, drugs and gangs, hip hop was a secondary hobby to survival.
It wasn't until he moved to the suburb of University City with his mom that he became serious about the art of storytelling. Still St. Louis was no musical mecca. Nelly believed his baseball skills would be his best way to pay the bills, entertaining many offers to play professionally. But when the lyrically melodic Nelly hooked up with popular St. Louie group, St. Lunatics, and gained recognition for their high selling "Gimme What You Got", Nelly realized that he had a chance to put St. Louis on the national rap map. "St. Louis is like a time bomb waiting to explode," professes 20 year old Nelly. "No one has accomplished much musically." But that's about to change with Nelly's Universal Records debut, Country Grammar, featuring Nelly's catchy, sing-song flow, along with noteworthy appearances by his St. Lunatics clique and Cash Money Records own Lil' Wayne.
On the title track, "Country Grammar" Nelly cleverly flips the melody of the children's song" Down Down Baby..." while he big ups his hometown on the bouncin' "St. Louie." "I've got a style that's all my own. I'm rappin' the blues. I like to think of my music as a jazz form of hip hop. I don't even really know what I'm going to sound like until I hear the beat." So how does Nelly best describe Country Grammar? "St. Louie is a country part of the U.S. AND THE WAY WE TALK, DRESS, AND OUR ACTIONS ARE ALL COUNTRY," explains Nelly. "I'm trying to get St. Louis noticed. I don't want the city to be overlooked anymore." With the rise of new musical strongholds like Houston and New Orleans, St. Louis will soon be getting lots of press too, thanks to Nelly.