Nelly

The breakout hit of 2000, Nelly's Country Grammar easily went multiplatinum, fuelled by several hits that established the long-neglected St. Louis scene as a legitimate rap source. With ultracatchy production and nursery rhyme verses, Nelly quickly became a superstar, leading to the debut album by his crew, the St. Lunatics.

Nelly, St. Louis' first major rapper, is quickly becoming the hip-hop heartthrob. Still, he's
more back alley than Backstreet: "Who said pretty boys can't be wild niggas?" he asks on
his hit single, "Country Grammar (Hot Shit)," in which he rhyme-sings about riding around
town in an expensive SUV with an assault weapon. His bad-boy mix contains everything
from militant Five Percent mathematics sublime enough to make Ghostface Killah... More >