For his next release Nelly wanted to experiment with R&B, but didn’t want to abandon his rap roots; as a compromise to his fans, Nelly recorded two separate albums that were simultaneously released in 2004 - Sweat and Suit. While Sweat was a rap album in the same vein as his earlier work, Suit went off in a slick, groovy R&B direction. Suit and Sweat rose to the 1st and 2nd slots, respectively, of the Billboard 200 the week of their release, making Nelly one of only a handful recording artists to ever cinch the top two spots simultaneously. Sweat and Suit produced a number of hits, including "Flap Your Wings", "My Place", and "Over and Over", a balladic crossover single featuring country superstar Tim McGraw.

Nelly plans to release a fifth album, Brass Knuckles, in late 2008. The album is rumored to be his most diverse release yet, with Akon, Fergie, Mariah Carey, and Bruce Springsteen all scheduled to make an appearance. Two singles from Brass Knuckles have already been released, "Wadsyaname" and "Party People".


From Discogs:

American rapper born on November 2, 1978 in Austin, Texas, and raised in St. Louis, Missouri.

From Lastfm:

Cornell Iral Haynes, Jr. (born November 2, 1974 in St. Louis, Missouri), better known by his stage name Nelly, is an American rapper, singer, actor and entrepreneur signed to Universal and Derrty Records. He has been active since 1993 as a bandmate of the rap group St. Lunatics, and became a hip-hop superstar after the success of his solo release, Country Grammar, in 2000. The album peaked at #1 on the Billboard 200, spawned multiple chart toppers and won three Grammy awards. His second effort, 2002's Nellyville, was equally successful and it included the hits "Dilemma" and "Hot in Herre" and was nominated for five Grammy awards, including Album of the Year. In 2004 Nelly released two albums at the same time, Sweat and Suit, and in September they briefly held the two top spots on the charts. His latest album is Brass Knuckles, released in 2008.

Nelly has been equally active as a businessman; among other ventures, in 2003 he released his own energy drink called "Pimp Juice," and in 2004 he became a minority owner of the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats basketball team. He is also the CEO of Derrty Entertainment, his own company formed in 2003. Nelly has two clothing lines: Vokal (for men) and Apple Bottoms (for women).

From Wikipedia:

Cornell Haynes, Jr. (born November 2, 1974), better known by his stage name Nelly, is an American rapper, singer, actor, CEO, and entrepreneur. He has performed with the rap group St. Lunatics since 1993 and signed to Universal Records in 1999. Under Universal, Nelly made his solo debut in 2000 with Country Grammar, the title track of which was a top ten hit.

With his following albums,Nellyville (2002) and the same-day dual release Sweat and Suit (2004) and compilation Sweatsuit (2006), Nelly continued to generate many chart-topping hits. The rapper's fifth studio album, Brass Knuckles, was released released on September 16, 2008 after several delays. It is Nelly's first album not to be certified platinum. The first official single, "Party People, which features Fergie, was released on March 18, 2008, and peaked at 40 on the US "Billboard Hot 100" and 14 on the "UK Singles Chart". "Stepped on My J'z" which features Ciara and Jermaine Dupri, was released as the second single from the album on June 11, 2008. It peaked at number 90 on the US Hot 100. The third official single, "Body on Me", which features Akon and Ashanti, was released on June 9, 2008 and peaked at number 42 on the US Hot 100 and 17 on the "UK Singles Chart".

He won Grammy Awards in 2003 and 2004 and starred in the 2005 remake film The Longest Yard with Adam Sandler and Chris Rock. He has two clothing lines, Vokal and Apple Bottoms. He has been referred to by Peter Shapiro as "one of the biggest stars of the new millennium", and the RIAA ranks Nelly as one of the best-selling male artists in American music history, with 21 million albums sold in the United States. On December 11th, 2009 Nelly was ranked as the 3rd Top Overall Artist of the 2000-2009 decade by Billboard Magazine.