Cornell Iral Haynes, Jr. (born November 2, 1974), better known by his stage name Nelly, is an Grammy Award

Grammy Award

A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...

 winning American rapper and actor

Actor

An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...

. He has performed with the rap group St. Lunatics

St. Lunatics

The St. Lunatics are a hip hop group from St. Louis, Missouri formed in 1995. The group consists of Nelly, Ali, Murphy Lee, Kyjuan and City Spud. Former member Slo'Down left the group after a dispute.- Career :...

 since 1993 and signed to Universal Records

Universal Records

Universal Records was a record label owned by Universal Music Group, and it is now owned by Manny Patino and Michael Jackson, and operated as part of the Universal Motown Republic Group.-History:...

 in 1999. Under Universal, Nelly began his solo career in 2000 with his debut album Country Grammar

Country Grammar

Country Grammar is the debut studio album by American rapper Nelly, released on June 27, 2000.- Reception :- Commercial performance :...

, the title track of which was a top ten hit. The album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200

Billboard 200

The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...

and went on to peak at number one.