Nelly went to Spain with his father, Air Force Man Cornall Haynes Sr., until he was 3 years old, then moved to St. Louis. Nelly's folks struggled financially and split up when he was 7. As the youngest child in the neighborhood he grew up getting into trouble with the big kids. As a result he ended up moving around to live with various family members. He dreamed of playing pro baseball. In high school he formed a group called the St. Lunatics. The group consisted of him and some of his friends (Kyjuan, Murphy Lee, Slo Down, City Spud, and Ali) from high school. Nelly began listening to artists like Rakim, LL Cool J, Run-DMC, OutKast, Goodie Mob, and Jay-Z. He became convinced that his gift for rap could be parlayed into a career. He has his own style of rap which he likes to describe as a jazz form of hip-hop. The first song that Nelly and the St. Lunatics made was Gimmie What You Got. The song "Gimmie What You Got" sold 7,000 units regionally and dominated airwaves, rising to the number one spot on St. Louis' number one hip-hop station. After that song the St. Lunatics encouraged Nelly to go solo and he did. He signed a record deal with Universal Records.


His first solo album, "Country Grammar", debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 40. Nelly and "Country Grammar" were nominated for two 2001 Grammy Awards--Best Rap Album and Best Rap Solo Performance. On July 18, 2001, it was certified 7x platinum. "Ride Wit Me", off the "Country Grammar" album, was nominated for three 2001 MTV Video Music Awards--Best Male Video, Best Rap Video, and Viewer's Choice. [27 June 2000] Performed "Walk This Way" with Aerosmith and 'NSync at the 2001 Super Bowl Halftime Show. His trademark chants include "E.I., E.I.!" (which means "Yes, bring it on!") and "Uh-oh, uh-oh!" Has three tattoos: "Lunatic" (above his navel), a human heart appearing to emerge from his chest (upper left chest), and five playing cards and dice (right arm). Nelly's "Ride Wit Me" was named Best Rap Video of 2001 at the MTV Video Music Awards. [6 September 2001] Won Favorite New Male Artist at the 2001 Blockbuster Entertainment Awards. Named one of People Magazine's "Breakthrough Stars of 2001". Won the 2002 American Music Award for "Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Artist" "Hot in Herre" was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 7 weeks, followed immediately by "Dilemma" (featuring Kelly Rowland), which was #1 for 10 weeks. "Dilemma" was the first ever rap song to stay at #1 for 10 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100. Nelly is tied with Sir Elton John for the most consecutive weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 by a male solo artist. Featured in Teen People's "25 Hottest Stars Under 25" issue in 2001 and 2002 Won the 2003 American Music Award for "Fan's Choice" and received 4 other nominations. When his sister Jackie Donahue needed a bone marrow transplant, Nelly helped her begin the Jes Us 4 Jackie campaign to raise awareness of the need for more bone marrow and blood stem cell donors. With this campaign, Nelly and Jackie hope to enroll more donors, especially among black Americans and other minority groups. His older sister, Jackie Donahue, lost her 3-year battle with leukemia in March 2005, she was 31 years old.