Despite the
emergence of New Orleans as a rap hot spot during the '90s, few new voices have
emerged from non-traditional hip-hop locales. But with a single ("Country
Grammar") making major noise and a style that puts a somewhat new twist on
the bounce sound, rapper Nelly is staking a claim on the hip-hop landscape for
St. Louis, Mo.
Being the first artist to bust out of his city, however, has been both a
blessing and curse for Nelly. "I think being the first from here to hit big
made things a lot harder, because everyone is skeptical," he explains.
"People are skeptical. The fans hear our music and ask, 'Where's that
from?' The industry is obviously skeptical, because it took us this long to get
the deal."
The "us" to which Nelly often refers are the St. Lunatics, a four-man
crew that the 20-year-old MC has been down with since high school. "We been
rapping since '93 or '94. And we've been throwing ourselves at labels since '96,
telling them, 'Check this out, check this out.' We were just looked over,"
Nelly sighs. "But I think right now in the rap game it's about new sh-t,
and it's about different sh-t. So it's easier because my sound is new, and it's
fresh, and nobody's ever done it, and it's from somewhere that nobody ever
expected."
Nelly says the six long years it took for him to get his record deal gave him
time to refine his "country grammar," a lyrical style that draws on
St. Louis's unique slanguage. "My outlook on my music has been the same
over the years," Nelly says. "But just like anything, you mature and
you look at things differently when you get older. We have a different sound, a
unique sound. We were trying to find that sound over the years and get
comfortable on the mic. Because when you're on the mic, it's got to be natural.
There's nothing you can turn off and on. It ain't nothing you can fake. It's got
to be natural."
As the years passed, record labels finally began scouring cities other than L.A.
and New York in search of new talent, and that's when Nelly got his break.
"It's to the point that, with a lot of the success of people outside the
West and East Coasts, people are expanding and opening up their minds, and the
rap game has just expanded so much that you see different opinions, different
views," he declares.
Despite the fact that Nelly is enjoying his newfound success, he stresses that
life experience has taught him to keep things in perspective. "Being where
I'm from, you can never be too sure about things," he cautions.
"There's always a lot of promises and a lot of hope, but when you're from
here, a lot of things seem to fall through. So I'm still at that point where I
don't know if I've made it yet. That's why I still don't see this as a career,
because I know I'm hot right now, but there's a lot more to this. I'm just five
percent into it, and I've got, like, 95 percent to go."