Did You Know...

In November 1974, Nelly was born Cornell Haynes in St. Louis, Missouri. His parents divorced when he was only eight years old, and in 1993, he and his mother relocated to the St. Louis suburb of University City. Nelly started high school and began to concentrate more on music and rhymes. He also had dreams of becoming a major league baseball player. He and his high school friends put together a musical group called the St. Lunatics. They self-released their first album, called Gimme What You Got, which sold over 10,000 copies. Although the St. Lunatics were a very popular local group, they had difficulty finding a major record deal. As a group, they decided that Nelly would have a better chance making it on his own. Despite his success, Nelly considers himself a part of the group and still records with them.

Going out on his own paid off for Nelly, who, in 1999, signed a recording deal with Universal Records. He was only 19 years old. His first album, Country Grammar, was released in 2001. It reached number one on the billboard charts that summer. Nelly's next big singles 'Ride Wit Me' and 'Hot In Herre' both topped the charts. At the time of Nellyville's release (his second album) Nelly held the number one spot on ten different billboard charts. In 2003, he released his third album, Da Derrty Version: The Reinvention.

On top of all this recording, Nelly has become quite the entrepreneur. He has his own clothing line called Vokal. Nelly also started a non-profit organization called 4sho4kids. This organization is for kids with developmental disabilities and children born with drug addictions. Despite this, Nelly still has time to tour all over the world. He has had concerts in the United States, Canada, and Europe and has performed with Puff Daddy, Cedric the Entertainer, the Teamsters, and King Jacob.