Nelly

Nelly is highly successful rapper and singer who has also embarked on an acting career. He is known for his sporty image and signature band-aids.

Born Cornell Haynes Jr. on November 2, 1974, in Austin, Texas, Nelly was the son of an Air Force officer and spent his first three years on a base in Spain before moving to St. Louis. There, his parents struggled with debt, which put pressure on their relationship and led them to divorce when he was seven. Having moved around, Nelly found it difficult to fit in at school but got around the problem by pouring his energy into sports, proving himself particularly good at baseball. He played with the Pittsburgh Pirates and for a time considered a major league career, but still more powerful was his love of music, and he became determined to be successful as a rap artist. While still in high school, Nelly formed the St. Lunatics, who enjoyed local popularity with their single “Gimme What Ya Got.” When a major record deal failed to appear, Nelly decided to go solo. St. Lunatics member City Spud was later jailed and Nelly wears trademark band-aids on each cheek as a sign of solidarity.

Nelly's solo gamble paid off. His distinctive Southern, Mid-Western style, which is also known as jazz hip-hop, helped him to stand out. Nelly was offered a contract by Universal, with whom he recorded the album Country Grammar. An instant hit, it not only made him a star, but the album received two Grammy nominations and has since been certified seven times platinum. Despite this success, Nelly stuck by the St. Lunatics and worked with them on their début album Free City, which enjoyed modest success. He then went on to release a second solo album, Nellyville, which was another huge hit that launched the best-selling single “Dilemma,” a duet with Kelly Rowland of Destiny's Child.

Nelly's musical success didn't keep him so busy as to pull him away from sports entirely, as he was frequently seen in clothing promoting local St. Louis teams. In 2003, he released the single “Air Force Ones,” which several radio stations refused to play because it contained product placement for Nike sneakers. Together, Nelly and Nike launched a limited edition Air Derrty sneaker, and Nelly later signed a promotional deal with Reebok. He also has his own clothing lines, called Vo'Kal Clothing for men and Apple Bottoms for women. Nelly also promotes the sports energy drink Pimp Juice. With a portion of the profits from his success, Nelly has invested in the Charlotte Bobcats basketball team, along with Robert L Johnson and Michael Jordan.

Alongside his music career, Nelly has also found time to star in two movies. He co-starred in Snipes with Sam Jones III, Schooly D., and Zoe Saldana; and then returned to the big screen in The Longest Yard also starring Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, and Burt Reynolds. Nelly has composed music for Bad Boys II with Martin Lawrence, Will Smith, and Joe Pantoliano; and XXX with Vin Diesel, Asia Argento, and Samuel L Jackson.

Family life has not always been easy for Nelly, a single father of two children, Chanel and Cornell.

In 2001 his beloved sister Jackie contracted leukemia. Nelly launched the Jes Us 4 Jackie campaign to try and find her a matching bone marrow donor. He was unsuccessful, and Jackie died in 2005. Since then, he has continued his campaigning work, emphasizing the importance of donation particularly among under represented black and ethnic minority groups. He has recently been romantically linked to fellow singer Ashanti, and fans eager to know more can look forward to his appearance in a planned reality TV show.

YUDDY