Anybody out there who really knows me knows that I have immense respect for a few people in the rap game. These are a select few people who can do no wrong in my eyes from a creative or performance standpoint. My triumvirate includes: Wayne, Kanye and NELLY! I know a lot of people out there just went NELLY —–» WTF IS HE ON! But hear me out…
Let’s look at the facts! Nelly is the biggest selling urban pop artist in the world! Not Wayne, Not Jay, Not Usher »»» NELLY! He’s sold over 35 million records as a solo artist and as a member of the St. Lunatics. He’s responsible for some of the biggest hits of the past decade, unprecidented collaborations and bringing the sing-song flow to the game #Facts! And in fact with all the success Flo-Rida has had I still look at him and say damn…there go Lil Derrty! (Raekwon The Chef voice: Niggas, niggas bit off Nel shit)
I guess my respect for Nelly comes from the fact that he is truly SELF-MADE! No big time producers on his first album, no Jay Z or Diddy to push him to the forefront, main man did it all on his own. He repped for something and somewhere that had no representation and he won BIG! 10+ mil on his 1st album, 8 on his 2nd, 2 mil on a remix album…these were his 1st 3 out the gate! Nobody outside of Eminem has had that kind of immediate success and even he had a failed EP that no one care about first.
The things that Derrty has done in his career are unprecidented! He released two albums in the same week and they debuted 1 and 2. Because of the success of his “Air Force Ones” song and the immediate BOOM that Nike saw in business, they paid him $1Million and let him remake the CB94 shoe in 2003. He would later sign a shoe deal with Reebok as well and appear in an ad campaign with AI! He’s done ads for Got Milk, Ford (including designing his own 5.0 Mustang) and all of his businesses have been extremely successful.
When initially released back in 2003 his male clothing line Vokal caused a retail blackout across the south and midwest. The minute items his stores they were GONE…talk about influence and controlling your market! His female clothing line Apple Bottoms continues to thrive and Pimp Juice sold 1 million cans in its first two months of introduction.
Depsite all his success when people talk about the stars of the game and who has big money Cornell gets left out. His resume is longer than Broad Street and he put on for his city way before Jeezy and Kanye. Nelly is the St. Louis Savior; he created an industry where one didn’t exist. After him there were many, before him there were none…he is the 1.
-The Win
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