Cornell Haynes Jr., or more commonly known as Nelly, born in Austin, Texas on November 2, 1974) is a successful American Hip Hop artist who rose to fame in 2000.
A self-described " army brat," Nelly spent the first few years of his life living in Spain before moving to St. Louis, Missouri. Nelly's parents divorced when he was eight years old. Nelly admitted he used to get into a lot of fights but by the time he started high school he was into baseball instead. Although he had a promising baseball career, he decided to try his hand at music instead, forming the St.