Cornell Iral Haynes Jr., better known by his stage name Nelly, is an American rapper and singer. Raised in St. Louis, he embarked on his musical career with the southern hip hop group St. Lunatics in 1993 and signed to Universal Records in 1999. Under Universal, Nelly began his solo career in the year 2000, with his commercial debut album Country Grammar, of which the featured title track and the single "Ride wit Me" were top 10 hits. The album peaked at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, and became Nelly's best-selling album to date, selling over 8.4 million copies in the United States. His following album Nellyville produced the number-one hits "Hot in Herre" and "Dilemma", along with the top five single "Air Force Ones".
Country Grammar is the debut studio album by American rapper and singer Nelly. It was released on June 27, 2000, by Universal Records. The production on the album was handled by Jason "Jay E" Epperson, with additional production by C-Love, Kevin Law, City Spud, Steve "Blast" Wills and Basement Beats. Nelly contributed to all lyrics on the album, with Epperson and City Spud also contributing. The album introduced a unique St. Louis sound, and introduces Nelly's vocal style of pop-rap singalongs and Midwestern, Missouri twang. It was supported by four successful singles: "Country Grammar ", "E.I.", "Ride wit Me" and "Batter Up". Its lead single, "Country Grammar ", peaked at number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and UK Singles Chart. Its second single "E.I." peaked at number 16 on the Hot 100, number 12 on the UK Singles Chart and number 11 on the ARIA Singles Chart. "Ride wit Me" peaked within the top five on the Hot 100, ARIA Singles Chart, Irish Singles Chart and UK Singles Chart. The album's fourth and final single, "Batter Up" featuring St. Lunatics members Murphy Lee and Ali, achieved moderate chart success.
St. Lunatics was an American hip hop group formed in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1993. The group consisted of childhood friends Nelly, Ali, Murphy Lee, Kyjuan, City Spud, and Slo Down.
Torhi Harper, better known by his stage name Murphy Lee, is an American rapper, best known as a member of the hip hop group St. Lunatics. His debut album, Murphy's Law, peaked at number 8 on the Billboard 200 music chart in October of 2003. It was released on September 23, 2003 and was certified gold on November 17, 2003. It featured the single from the Bad Boys II Soundtrack "Shake Your Tailfeather".
"Air Force Ones" is a song by American rapper Nelly, from his second album Nellyville. It was released on November 4, 2002, and features fellow St. Lunatics rappers Kyjuan, Ali and Murphy Lee. The song was the third top 5 hit from Nellyville on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 3. Its video, whose exteriors were shot at the SE corner of Delmar and Westgate in University City, Missouri, featured St. Louis professional athletes Marshall Faulk, Torry Holt, D'Marco Farr, Ray Lankford, and Ozzie Smith, and hip hop artists Big Tymers and WC.
Da Derrty Versions: The Reinvention is a remix album by American rapper Nelly, released on November 25, 2003.
"Shake Ya Tailfeather" is a song recorded by American rappers Nelly, P. Diddy and Murphy Lee. It was released in 2003 from the Bad Boys II Soundtrack. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, giving Nelly his third number one on the chart, Lee's first and P. Diddy's fifth, making Diddy a rapper with the most number one hits on the chart at the time, before surpassed by Drake. The song was also included on Lee's debut album, Murphy's Law. The song won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group at the 2004 Grammy Awards.
Varick D. Smith,, better known as Smitty, is an American rapper and hip-hop ghostwriter from Little Haiti, a neighborhood in Miami, Florida.
La Bella Mafia is the third studio album by American rapper Lil' Kim, released on March 4, 2003, by Atlantic Records. The album debuted at number five on the US Billboard 200, was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for selling one million copies in the United States.
"Welcome to Atlanta" is a 2002 hip hop song by Jermaine Dupri featuring Ludacris. It was released in 2002 as the second single released from Dupri's 2001 album Instructions and also appeared as a hidden track on Ludacris' second album, Word of Mouf. The song praises Dupri and Ludacris's hometown of Atlanta, Georgia. It samples "Five Minutes Of Funk" by Whodini, as well as "Do It Baby" by The Miracles.
Derrty Entertainment is a record label founded by rapper Nelly who is the CEO. The president of the label is Ali. Derrty is a division of Motown. In recent years, the label has collaborated with So So Def, Star Trak and Sho'Nuff.
Heavy Starch is the debut studio album by American rapper Ali of St. Lunatics. It was released on April 30, 2002, via Universal Records. The album features guest appearances from fellow St. Lunatics members Kyjuan, Murphy Lee, & Nelly, St. Louis Alumni, Ms. Toi, Kandi Burruss, Toya, and Waiel "Wally" Yaghnam. Its first single was "Boughetto" featuring Murphy Lee.
Kinfolk is the only studio album by American hip hop duo Ali & Gipp, consisting of Ali Jones of St. Lunatics and Big Gipp of Goodie Mob. It was released on August 14, 2007 through Universal Motown. Production was handled by DJ Speedy, Stee, The Trak Starz, T-Wayne, Dallas Austin, Jay E, Jasper Cameron, Jermaine Dupri, Nitti and Trife. It features guest appearances from Nelly, Murphy Lee, Avery Storm, Big Rube, Bun B, CeeLo Green, Chocolate Tai, David Banner, Jasper Cameron, Juvenile, Kyjuan, LeToya Luckett, Lloyd, Tamala Jones and Three 6 Mafia. The album peaked at number 174 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart.
Bad Boys II: The Soundtrack is the soundtrack to Michael Bay's 2003 action-comedy film Bad Boys II. It was released on July 15, 2003 through Bad Boy Records. The album peaked at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 324,000 units in the first week, becoming one of few soundtracks to reach the position. On August 21, 2003, the Recording Industry Association of America certified the album platinum with over one million units shipped.
The discography of American rapper and record producer Sean Combs consists of five studio albums, one remix album and seventy-two singles – including thirty-three as a lead artist and thirty-nine as a featured artist.
American rapper and singer Nelly has released eight studio albums, two compilation albums, one remix album, three extended plays, two mixtapes, 49 singles, three promotional singles and 48 music videos. He was also a member of the hip hop group St. Lunatics, which included fellow rappers Ali, City Spud, Murphy Lee, and Kyjuan. Nelly has sold a total of 21,815,000 albums in the US as of June 2014, making him the fourth bestselling rap artist in the country.
Jason Lee Epperson, known professionally as Jay E, is an American record producer, entrepreneur and DJ. He is a co-founder of the production team Basement Beats. Jay E rose to fame as the producer of rapper Nelly's multi-platinum 2000 album Country Grammar which has sold more than 10 million copies worldwide. He has produced songs for Murphy Lee, St. Lunatics, Justin Timberlake, E-40, Cedric the Entertainer, Lil Wayne, Ron Isley, Three 6 Mafia, and Hilary Duff. He is credited as one of the producers of St. Louis hip hop, a style characterized by hip hop mixed with soul, rhythm and blues and pop music. Billboard magazine, in the December 2000 issue, listed Jay E at No. 16 of the Top 100 Producers and No. 19 of the Top 100 R&B/Hip Hop Producers of 2000.
American record producer Jermaine Dupri has released several music videos, working with various directors. He has also been featured in several music videos, making cameo appearances for other prominent recording artists. Dupri also presented the Lifetime talent show, The Rap Game making it his television production.
The Source Presents: Hip Hop Hits, Volume 6 is the sixth annual music compilation album to be contributed by The Source magazine. Released December 10, 2002, and distributed by Def Jam Recordings, Hip Hop Hits Volume 6 features eighteen hip hop and rap hits. It went to number 31 on the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart and number 35 on the Billboard 200 album chart.
The Source Presents: Hip Hop Hits, Volume 7 is the seventh annual music compilation album to be contributed by The Source magazine. Released December 9, 2003, and distributed by Def Jam Recordings, Hip Hop Hits Volume 7 features fifteen hip hop and rap hits. It went to number 49 on the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart and number 86 on the Billboard 200 album chart.
