| NET WORTH: | $35.8 Million |
|---|---|
| Source of Wealth: | Rapper, Songwriter, Entrepreneur, Actor |
| Born: | November 2, 1984 |
| Age: | 46 |
| Children: | 2 |
| Birth Name: | Cornell Iral Haynes Jr. |
| Height: | 5ft. 8in. (1.73m) |
Cornell Iral Haynes Jr. is an American rapper, songwriter, entrepreneur, and actor. He is known by his stage name "Nelly", and his chart-topping hits. He ranks as the fourth best-selling rap artist in the American music history by RIAA and was ranked by Billboard as the number three Top Artist of the Decade (2000s).
Early Life
Nelly was born on November 2, 1984 in Austin, Texas. His parents, Cornell Haynes and Rhonda Mack. His father was serving in the Air Force and when he was seven years old, his parents divorced. Nelly moved to University City, Missouri with his mother, where he formed the hip hop group "St. Lunatics", with friends Murphy Lee, Ali, Kyjuan, Slo'Down, and his half brother City Spud. The group gained popularity in Missouri and in the surrounding areas with their single "Gimme What Ya Got". Nelly decided to launch his solo career after the group was not able to score a major record deal and signed to Universal Music Group in 1999.
Career
Nelly was disliked by the label when he first signed. The label changed their mind and decided to work on his debut album, and decided to record solo with Nelly. His debut single opened an opportunity for St. Lunatics to join the label and reunite together as a group a year later.
His debut album "Country Grammar" was released by the label, which peaked at number 7 on Billboard Hot 100 and UK Single Chart, and remains the best-selling album to date. The album was certified 9 times platinum on April 2004 by RIAA. His second album "Nellyville" was released in 2001 at number 1 on Billboard's Top 200 Music Albums where its lead single "Hot in Herre" was a number-one hit and won the Grammy Award for Best Male Rap Solo Performance in 2003. The album was certified 6 times multi-platinum on June 2003 and other singles including "Dilemma" featuring Kelly Rowland, sold more than 7.6 million records worldwide. Nelly also won the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group after contributing the single "Shake Ya Tailfeather", for the Bad Boys II soundtrack album.
Nelly released two albums, "Sweat" and "Suit" on September 14, 2004, which debuted at number one and number two on the Billboard albums chart. In November 16, 2010, Nelly released the album "5.0", with its single "Just a Dream" as Nelly's highest-charting song since his 2005 single "Grillz". He released his first ever solo mixtape entitled "O.E. MO", which stands "On Everything MO", and on November 2, 2012, he released his second mixtape entitled, "Scorpio".
In 2020, Nelly released a song in collaboration with Florida Georgia Line, entitled "Lil Bit".
Nelly owns two clothing line "Apple Bottoms", which is a female clothing line and "Vokal" for men.
Legal Issues
In April 2015, Nelly's Prevost tour bus was pulled down by the Tennessee Highway Patrol and searched the bus after a state trooper noticed that Nelly smelled marijuana. The officers found marijuana, several handguns, drug paraphernalia, and what they believe to be methamphetamine. Nelly was arrested and was initially booked to Putnam County Jail. He was released in bail and charged with felony drug possession, simple possession of marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia. The felony was dropped after it was proved that the substance found is not methamphetamine. In December 2015, Nelly pleaded guilty to misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia and marijuana.
It was reported in 2016 that the IRS filed a $2.4 million tax lien against Nelly due to unpaid taxes.
In 2017, around October Nelly was arrested in Auburn, Washington on suspicion of rape after a woman reported that Nelly invited her to his tour bus and raped her. He denied wrongdoing and his attorney stated that the accusation was "false". Nelly was released from custody without charges.
Personal Life
In 2014, Nelly dated Shantel Jackson, Floyd Mayweather's ex. Nelly runs a non-profit organization 4Sho4Kids Foundation. Nelly started the Jes Us 4 Jackie campaign in March 2003, after her sister Jackie was diagnosed with leukemia, and to help educate African Americans about the need for bone marrow transplant. His sister Jackie lost her battle with leukemia on March 24, 2005.
Nelly made a public service announcement for the Tackle Hunger campaign in 2010, and challenged teens to fight hunger by collecting one million pounds of food, for the holiday season.
Net Worth
With Nelly's "Country Grammar" album that sold over 10 million copies worldwide and his other paid endorsements and businesses, he has an estimated net worth of $35.8 million as of today 2020.
