Nelly

Nelly is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur whose two-decade music career has produced three Grammy Awards, two American Music Awards, and over 21 million American record sales — making him one of the bestselling American hip-hop artists of the 2000s. He was born Cornell Iral Haynes Jr. on November 2, 1974, in Austin, Texas. His father Cornell Iral Haynes Sr. was a U.S. Air Force serviceman, and his mother Rhonda Mack was a homemaker. The family relocated multiple times across his childhood between American Air Force bases before settling in University City, Missouri (a St. Louis suburb), in his early teens.

His career-launching breakthrough came across his 1993 founding of the St. Louis hip-hop collective St. Lunatics with childhood friends Kyjuan, Murphy Lee, Ali, and City Spud. The St. Lunatics' 1996 self-released single "Gimme What U Got" sold over 7,000 copies regionally in St. Louis, attracting major-label attention. His 1999 Universal Records signing launched his solo career.

His June 27, 2000 first solo album Country Grammar — released by Universal Records — debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 and subsequently rose to number one. The album sold over 8.4 million copies in the United States and produced the chart hits "Country Grammar (Hot Shit)," "E.I.," and "Ride wit Me." His second album Nellyville (2002) sold over 6.1 million American copies and produced the singles "Hot in Herre" (his first Billboard Hot 100 number-one single, which won the 2003 Grammy Award for Best Male Rap Solo Performance) and "Dilemma" (his second Billboard Hot 100 number-one single, with Kelly Rowland — winning the 2003 Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration).

His subsequent commercial peak across the simultaneous 2004 release of his two albums Sweat and Suit (which sold over four million copies combined) produced his 2005 American hip-hop commercial peak. His 2010s and 2020s career has included his 2014 founding of the Apple Bottoms clothing line, his country-rap-fusion albums (particularly his 2021 album Heartland), and his role as Wendell Lemon on the 2010s ABC TV series The Real Husbands of Hollywood. He has been with country singer Ashanti since 2003 (with multiple breakups).

His name Nelly began as a personally-adopted stage name (originally an English diminutive of Helen). Nelly has been a rare but enduring American boys' and girls' name across the late 20th century.