St. Louis rapper Nelly has been in the game for over 10 years. In the last decade he has sold over 40 million records worldwide and has helped a slue of artist reach number 1. Kelly Rowland, Fergie, N Sync, Janet Jackson, Fat Joe and Brian McKnight have all paid $50 grand for 16 bars from the country grammar rapper. With 5 platinum albums and 6 platinum singles Nelly is one of the biggest selling rap artist of all time. Despite lackluster sells of his past efforts he still managed to bank over $1 million from his 2010 single Just A Dream which sold over 3 million digital downloads in the US alone. His net worth today is $70 million in 2013.
38 year old Nelly was born Cornell Iral Haynes, Jr in the heart of Austin Texas but raised in St. Louis Missouri. He was a heartthrob and playboy in high school. His popularity was fueled by his rap group he formed the ST. Lunatics. The group recorded several demos and gained local notoriety with heavy spins on St. Louis Hip Hop stations. The group signed with Universal music and Nelly dropped his solo record Country Grammar first. With his country swagger the label capitalized on his sound and hailed him as the star of the Midwest. The promotion lead to 9 million albums sold worldwide. His career took off immediately with the title track.
He used his popularity to endorse several brands including Sean John, and created his own clothing and accessories line for women Apple Bottoms. The line reached over $70 million in sales per year becoming one of Macy’s largest selling celebrity Brand. He also had a shoe deal with Reebok before endorsing Nike’s Air Force 1’s. In 2003 he started an energy drink brand called Pimp Juice named after his single. The made over $1 million in sales within it’s first month. He currently stars in the BET hit Real Husbands of Hollywood with comedian Kevin Hart and Nick Cannon.
Nelly has dated several women in the entertainment industry including former Murder Inc star Ashanti. He has two children Cornell Junior and a daughter Chanel Haynes.
