50 Fun Facts About Nelly

Nelly's trademark band-aid of the early 2000s sat on which part of his face in his music videos?

Left cheek is where the strip sat, just under his eye, and so many fans copied the look that it became a style craze of the era.

What first put the famous band-aid on Nelly's face, before it turned into a tribute to a friend?

A basketball injury came first: the strip covered a cut he picked up playing hoops with friends, and he simply kept wearing it after the cut had healed.

Nelly kept wearing his band-aid as a tribute to which jailed member of his group St. Lunatics?

City Spud was in prison during Nelly's rise, so Nelly wore the strip to show him love while he was locked up. Spud raps a verse on "Ride wit Me" but missed its video.

In Nelly's "Dilemma" video, his co-star famously types a text message into which unlikely kind of program?

A spreadsheet on her Nokia 9210 Communicator is where she types it. The scene is remembered as the Microsoft Excel text, and Excel's official Twitter account replied when she admitted not knowing the program.

Which Destiny's Child singer duets with Nelly on "Dilemma", his second straight number one of 2002?

Kelly Rowland sings the hook on a ballad that knocked Nelly's own "Hot in Herre" off the top of the Hot 100 and went on to spend ten weeks there.

Which country singer shares the split-screen video for Nelly's 2004 ballad "Over and Over"?

Tim McGraw sings the hook of the regret-filled duet, which topped the charts in Australia, Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom and reached number three in the US.

Nelly's debut single "Country Grammar" borrows its melody from which children's clapping game?

Down Down Baby gave the song its singsong melody and chorus, an early taste of the schoolyard-chant style that made Nelly's hooks so easy to remember.

Nelly played inmate Earl Megget opposite Adam Sandler in which 2005 remake of a Burt Reynolds film?

The Longest Yard put Nelly on a prison football team that takes on the guards, and its soundtrack carried two of his own singles, "Errtime" and "Fly Away".

Nelly is forever tied to St. Louis, but in which city was the rapper, a military kid, actually born?

Austin, Texas, is his birthplace: his father served in the Air Force. As a teenager he moved with his mother from St. Louis to suburban University City.

Nelly wears his band-aid on the cover of which 2002 album, his second, which opened at number one?

Nellyville carries the strip right on its cover, and the look took off during the album's promotional run. The record sold 715,000 copies in its first week.

In which city was Nelly recording his second album when he first put the famous band-aid on?

Miami is where it started, by Nelly's own account: he was in town recording when he got whacked in the face and covered the mark with the strip.

The St. Lunatics member honored by Nelly's band-aid was serving a ten-year sentence for which crime?

Robbery charges followed a 1999 holdup in which the victim was shot and survived. He got ten years as a first-time offender, just as Nelly was making his debut album.

Which actress copied Nelly's hat, bandana and band-aid to perform "Dilemma" on Lip Sync Battle in 2016?

Olivia Munn began the number dressed as Nelly, then pulled off the hat, bandana and strip mid-song to play his duet partner instead.

What is Nelly's birth name, which a fast-food chain put on its menu as a celebrity meal in 2021?

Cornell Haynes Jr. is the name he was born with; the other three belong to fellow rappers T.I., Lil Wayne and Snoop Dogg.

Before music took over, a teenage Nelly had hoped to turn professional in which sport?

Baseball was the plan until he moved to University City as a teenager and turned to writing rhymes. He has stayed a devoted St. Louis Cardinals fan.

Which R&B singer did Nelly meet at the 2003 Grammy Awards, date for a decade and reunite with in 2023?

Ashanti and Nelly split around 2013, got back together ten years later and welcomed a son in July 2024.

Nelly began the Jes Us 4 Jackie donor campaign after his sister was diagnosed with which illness?

Leukemia was the diagnosis, and the 2003 campaign set out to teach African Americans and other minorities about marrow transplants and to register more donors.

Which fellow St. Louis rapper opened for Nelly on tour in 2002, then feuded with him until a 2006 truce?

Chingy fell out with Nelly after signing to Ludacris's label straight after the tour, and the two traded songs before a cousin of Nelly's helped broker peace.

Which rock band headlined the 2001 Super Bowl halftime show at which Nelly made a guest appearance?

Aerosmith shared top billing with a boy band in a show titled "The Kings of Rock and Pop", with Nelly, Britney Spears and Mary J. Blige joining in.

Nelly drives a Pontiac Trans Am in his desert-road "Ride wit Me" video, inspired by which 1977 film?

Smokey and the Bandit set the template: Nelly takes the Trans Am while Ali drives a big rig full of passengers. The clip won Best Rap Video at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards.

Nelly's hit "Ride wit Me" borrows from the 1982 song "I Like It" by which family group?

DeBarge members earned writing credits on the hit, which began life in 1999 as one of four demo songs Nelly shopped around to record labels.

Nelly's label said he would ruin his career by joining the 2002 "Girlfriend" remix by which boy band?

NSYNC got two brand-new Nelly verses for the single version, which reached number five and turned out to be the group's last top-ten hit.

Nelly guests on "Where the Party At", the biggest Hot 100 hit for which R&B group?

Jagged Edge spent five weeks at number three with the track, which earned a nomination in the Grammys' then-new Best Rap/Sung Collaboration category.

Which production team gave Nelly "Hot in Herre", which was also their own first Hot 100 number one?

The Neptunes, Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, built the beat, and the single spent seven weeks on top before Nelly's own follow-up replaced it.

Nelly's "Hot in Herre" builds its go-go groove on the 1979 single "Bustin' Loose" by which musician?

Chuck Brown earned a co-writing credit for the borrowed groove. The track also folds in pieces of a Neil Young song and Nancy Sinatra's cover of a Rolling Stones tune.

Which soul singer, whose ballad Nelly's "Dilemma" borrows from, plays a neighbor's mother in its video?

Patti LaBelle plays the mother of Nelly's love interest, and her song "Love, Need and Want You" supplies the melody the duet is built around.

Which pop singer joins Nelly on "Work It", whose Playboy Mansion video has a Hugh Hefner cameo?

Justin Timberlake and Nelly play tennis at the mansion in the clip. The single stalled at number 68 on the Hot 100 but reached number seven in the UK.

Nelly's 2001 single "#1" led the soundtrack of which Denzel Washington film, whose plot its video follows?

Training Day gets a full homage in the video, where Nelly plays both the rookie cop and the corrupt veteran, with rock guitarist Joe Perry sitting in.

Which veteran rapper traded diss records with Nelly in 2002 and urged fans to boycott his new album?

KRS-One released "Ova Here" and called for a boycott after Nelly answered him on a "Roc the Mic" remix. The feud fizzled once the album became a hit and both rappers moved on.

Nelly's "Shake Ya Tailfeather" with P. Diddy and Murphy Lee came from which 2003 film's soundtrack?

Bad Boys II gave Nelly his third Hot 100 chart-topper, and the song went on to win the Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group.

Nelly's "Iz U", heard in Disney's The Haunted Mansion, samples the theme of which long-running TV show?

The People's Court theme drives the beat of the film tie-in, whose video has Nelly inherit a mansion, throw a house party and face down a ghost he also plays.

Nelly's 2004 albums Sweat and Suit, one up-tempo and one smoother, reached stores in which unusual way?

On the same day was the plan once a single album's worth of songs kept growing. Suit entered the Billboard chart at number one and Sweat at number two.

Which pop singer joined Nelly for "Tilt Ya Head Back" at the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards?

Christina Aguilera shares the single, which rides a sample of Curtis Mayfield's "Superfly" and went top ten in Australia, Denmark, New Zealand and the UK.

Nelly's 2005 single "N Dey Say" samples the ballad "True" by which British band?

Spandau Ballet songwriter Gary Kemp picked up a writing credit as a result, and the single went top 20 in the UK, Ireland, Australia, Finland and New Zealand.

Which rapper joins Ali & Gipp as a guest on "Grillz", Nelly's Hot 100 number one about jeweled teeth?

Paul Wall trades verses on the Jermaine Dupri production, which samples Destiny's Child's "Soldier" and spent two weeks at number one.

Which singer joins Nelly on "Party People", a 2008 track first meant for her own debut album?

Fergie had planned the song for The Dutchess with a different rapper, until producer Polow da Don played the beat for Nelly, who claimed it on the spot.

Nelly's 2003 venture Pimp Juice, named after one of his own songs, was which kind of product?

An energy drink bearing the name sold a million cans in its first two months, even as activists criticized what it was called.

Nelly's 2013 remix sent the hit "Cruise" back into the Hot 100 top ten for which country act?

Florida Georgia Line had already slipped off the chart when the remix lifted the song to number four. Nelly later teamed up with them again for his own single "Lil Bit".

On which TV competition did Nelly and pro partner Daniella Karagach finish in third place in 2020?

Dancing with the Stars took Nelly all the way to the season 29 final, where he placed behind winner Kaitlyn Bristowe and runner-up Nev Schulman.

Which comedian co-created Real Husbands of Hollywood, the BET parody where Nelly played himself?

Kevin Hart fronted the spoof of reality shows about celebrity wives, and Nelly stayed in its main cast from 2013 to 2016.

Which women's denim brand did Nelly help launch in 2003 with a model search televised on VH1?

Apple Bottoms grew from jeans into perfume and accessories, and it was name-checked in hit songs such as Flo Rida's "Low".

Nelly was a part-owner of the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats until which legend bought majority control in 2010?

Michael Jordan became majority owner in March 2010; before that Nelly had held a stake in the team alongside him and BET founder Robert L. Johnson.

Which fast-food chain's 2021 Keep It Real Meals included one sold under Nelly's real name?

Burger King built the order around a Whopper, small fries and a small Sprite, part of a push to mark dropping 120 artificial ingredients from its menu.

Nelly's 2015 single "The Fix" with Jeremih reworks "Sexual Healing", a 1982 hit by which soul singer?

Marvin Gaye's classic was cleared smoothly because Nelly and producer DJ Mustard shared a publisher, which signed off on every reference before release.

Which lead single from Nelly's 2010 album 5.0 became his biggest chart hit in five years?

Just a Dream peaked at number three, and Nelly denied the popular theory that the ballad was about a famous ex, calling it simply a song anyone could relate to.

Which 2011 Nelly single was written as a sequel to "Dilemma", with the same duet partner?

Gone was first titled "Dilemma p.2", but Nelly dropped the sequel label, fearing the new duet could never live up to expectations.

Nelly's limited-edition 2003 Nike sneaker was a retro remake of which NBA great's signature shoe?

Charles Barkley's old model came back under a one-year deal, the year after Nelly scored a hit single about another of the brand's sneakers.

Which rapper joins Nelly and Pharrell Williams on "Get Like Me", the second single from his 2013 album M.O.?

Nicki Minaj was a later addition: Nelly and Pharrell had recorded the track as a two-man collaboration about a year before the album was finished.

Years before his womenswear label, which men's clothing brand did Nelly launch back in 1997?

Vokal arrived three years before Nelly had an album out, so the streetwear brand was already up and running when his debut made him famous.

Nelly performed at the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show remembered for which headliner's wardrobe malfunction?

Janet Jackson headlined a show in which Nelly rolled onto the stage in a car to perform "Hot in Herre" alongside P. Diddy.