Feature

Cornell Haynes Jr., aka Nelly, was born on this date in 1974. Today, the Country Grammar rapper turns 50.

Nelly has put out timeless hits such as “Country Grammar” and “Ride Wit Me,” which became radio darlings, cementing his rightful place on the charts. Not to mention, the STL native’s technical influence is also massively underrated. He is one of the first artists to bring the sing-rapping technique into the mainstream (yes, Bone Thugs did too), which helped influence newer artists after him. It’s possible that 808s-era Kanye West and peak-T-Pain would sound different without Nelly doing the singing sound before them. Drake, Ty Dolla $ign, Kid Cudi share these same attributes as they all come from the sound the “Hot In Herre” rapper helped establish.

Nelly managed to help establish a sound and had a massive cross-over appeal. The fact that he collaborated with peak-NSYNC made him a household name. Sooner than later, kids would sport cartoon band-aids on cheeks right below the eye, imitating the St. Louis legend. When it came to fashion, he was THE guy. Apple Bottoms became a popular brand in the early 2000s, started by the rapper, and later expanded to include women’s and girls’ clothing, perfume, and accessories. The brand was also name-dropped in several popular songs, some of which included: Twista’s “Overnight Celebrity,” MC Jin’s “36-24-36,”, T-Pain’s hook on Flo-Rida’s “Low,” DaCav5’s “Tetris,” and Eminem’s “Shake That.”

The man-made us want gold grills and convinced us through representation that country music was cool. Outside of Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, the Midwest was not making sounds in mainstream rap. Although Kanye West arrived on the scene four years later, Nelly first helped bring light to an area full of potential. Artists like Chingy benefited greatly from Nelly’s success. Chingy opened up shows for Nelly at the beginning of his career, eventually putting him in front of Ludacris to sign up for DTP. St. Lunatic’s own, Murphy Lee, was also the only member of the group to earn a Gold album and single due to Nelly’s popularity.

His popularity is key to his success. With a classic album under his belt in Country Grammar, the project was certified Diamond. Nellyville went 6x multi-Platinum worldwide, the Sweat and Suit albums went Platinum and 3x multi-Platinum, respectively, and the Sweatsuit compilation went Gold.

On July 18 of this year, newlyweds Nelly and his wife Ashanti welcomed their first child, Kareem Kencaide.

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