Nelly is one of the hottest young rap\hip hop artists today and his song Country Grammar has become somewhat of an anthem for teens everywhere.  Nelly, born Cornell Haynes, Jr., spent his early years in Spain and moved to St. Louis, Missouri for elementary school.  His parents divorced when he was eight years old.  Nelly admitted he used to get into a lot of fights but by the time he started high school he was into baseball instead.  In 1993 Nelly left his gritty St. Louis neighborhood and settled in the suburban area of University City.  He continued to work on his baseball skills and formed a rap group called St. Lunatics with school pals Kyjuan Ali, Murphy Lee and his little brother City Spud.

Frustrated, the Lunatics headed temporarilly for Atlanta, where they came under the wing of then-Mase manager, Kula.  Eventually, Kula and the group conculded that Nelly would have better luck seeking a record deal on his own, with the idea that, afterwards, he could champion the Lunatics.  Sure enough, with Kula's help, Nelly attracted teh attention of Universal Records executive Kevin Law in 1999, who would sign the 19 year old to a contract. 

From that launching point, success for Nelly came with starter ling speed.  Recorded nearly a year ago, the single "Country Grammar" generated a buzz in Nelly's home town.  Taking its melodic hook from the children's song, "Down Down Baby", the single soared to the top of the billboard charts soon after it official release on February 29, 2000.  On June 6th, that success is followed, by the release of Nelly's full-length debut album, which sported the same title as the single.  Having debuted at number 3 on the billboard charts, the album nudged past Britney Spears and Eminem to assume the # 1 spot on the charts on August 26th.  Remarkably, the accomplishment marked the first instance in which an artist raised and residing in St. Louis could claim title to the number 1 album in America.