Isle of Wight Radio 6:00am - 10:00am Live and Local Podcast - Supporting Live Local Music On The Isle Of Wight Nelly Cornell Iral Haynes Jr. (born November 2, 1974), known professionally as Nelly, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, entrepreneur, investor, and occasional actor from St. Louis, Missouri. Nelly embarked on his music career with Midwest hip hop group St. Lunatics, in 1993 and signed to Universal Records in 1999. Under Universal, Nelly began his solo career in the year 2000, with his debut album Country Grammar, of which the title-track was a top ten hit. The album debuted at number three on the