Nelly

St. Louis, Missouri rapper Nelly (of the St. Lunatics clique) dominated MTV and radio in late 2000 with his debut COUNTRY GRAMMAR, which featured irresistible hooks, a danceable tempo, newly styled bounce beats different from the New Orleans-based No Limit output, and, perhaps most importantly, Nelly's own photogenic, confident appeal. Pushing a party atmosphere is nothing new in commercial hip-hop, but Nelly delivered the product with country twang-inflected lyrics full of St. Louis regionalisms, hence "country grammar." The distinctive MC would prove no flash in the pan, notching top-selling albums and radio hits (most notably, the club banger "Hot in Herre") throughout the '00s.

• pop
• hip hop/rap