3 Ways Nelly Has Put On For St. Louis
Nelly is getting his flowers. The 46-year-old St. Louis product will be honored at the upcoming 2021 BET Hip Hop Awards on Oct. 5 with the “I Am Hip Hop” award for his 22 years in the music business and to say he’s deserving is an understatement.
Nelly’s singles are the soundtrack to a lot of people’s adolescence, with hits like “Hot in Herre,” “Dilemma” (feat. Kelly Rowland), “Country Grammar,” “Ride Wit Me,” “Just a Dream,” among others living forever in movies, commercials and other forms of pop culture.
From being one of the eight hip-hop artists in history in the “Diamond Club,” the exclusive group of people who’ve sold a minimum of 10,000,000 units, and the fourth best-selling rap artist in American music history, to successfully crossing over to country music and influencing a generation to wear Apple Bottom Jeans, Air Force Ones and band aid patches under the eyelids, Nelly’s service to hip hop is monumental. It’s no coincidence Billboard ranked Nelly the number three Top Artist of the Decade.
With all Nelly has accomplished, however, how he puts on for his hometown of St. Louis deserves mention as well. When you think of St. Louis rap, there aren’t many names that will precede the Grammy award winner and he has been consistent with ensuring he pays his community back.
With the biggest night in hip hop coming on Oct. 5, here are the times he showed love to his birth city.
Forever Repping
Since exploding onto the scene in 2000, Nelly has always made certain to put St. Louis first. "I felt like as long as I stay in St. Louis the light will stay in St. Louis," he says in Budweiser Made in America Doc "I felt like if I left St. Louis then the light would possibly leave," he continued.
The “Country Grammar” music video featured hundreds of people from the St. Louis neighborhoods, which, in turn, inspired local rappers like Tef Poe and Nick Menn to pursue a rap career.
In fact, the entirety of Country Grammar was St. Louis through and through. St. Louis' Cedric the Entertainer added his comedy to the album's skits, production talent consisted of then-unknown local talents, like Jason "Jay E" Epperson, not to mention the looks Nelly gave to his St. Lunatics crew.
Country Grammar was as organic and homegrown rap project as they come and in turn, has led to the success of other mainstream St. Louis rappers, such as Chingy and Jibbs and even Smino, today.
No wonder former Mayor Francis Slay recognized Nelly by proclaiming May 13, 2001 to be Nelly Day in St. Louis.
RELATED: 10 Facts About Nelly
Philanthropy
Nelly also puts on for his city out of pocket. The “All in My Head” rapper began hosting a “White and Black Ball” in St. Louis to fundraise for educational scholarships, which, for more than a decade, has got two students into college every year.
Furthermore, he runs the non-profit 4Sho4Kids Foundation in honor of his sister Jackie Donahue, who died in 2005 from leukemia and has the Jes Us 4 Jackie fundraising campaign that educates minorities about the need for bone marrow transplants and donors.
Nelly also set up a fund named after Michael Brown, the 18-year-old fatally shot by a police officer in a St. Louis suburb, that helps teens selected by Mike Brown’s family through college.
The move was not only instrumental in each childs’ life individually, but helped make systematic and cultural changes to the Ferguson community. Nelly also endorsed the Tackle Hunger campaign by Do Something and filmed a public service announcement challenging teens to collect food to help fight hunger.
Nelly’s St. Louis twang and presence continues and will also forever keep St. Louis on because of how immersed he is in pop culture.
He’s part-owner of the Charlotte Bobcats with Michael Jordan, has done sports commentary with Fox Sports, and wasa regular on Nellyville and Real Husbands of Hollywood. And we can’t forget his big screen debut in the Adam Sandler and Chris Rock hit remake The Longest Yard in 2005 and Reach Me with Sylvester Stallone in 2014.
From being featured in Got Milk? advertisements and his likeness used in NBA Street Volume 2, to endorsements from Bud Light, Burger King, Lays and others, St. Louis will always have a beacon of light behind it.
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