20th anniversary of Nellyville

[Iverson_64]

That was Jigga's secret weapon his consistency.
If he was the top dog during any era he would get his share of scrutiny, but being able to stay under the radar and keeping up with the times helped him in the long run

The "Illuminati Hov" era of 09-13 lowkey felt like the peak of Jay's crossover popularity.

He was popular af before with his Vol 2 to TBA run obviously but during the other era, Rolling Stone called him the King Of America and I actually heard lots of his songs on public radio stations. I remember hearing Young Forever while taking my cousin to Forever 21 at the mall back in the summer of 2010 and I was pointing out the irony lol.

 

[semicko82]

You right bro! And the thing is, think about how much HEAT, I'm talking quoteables, stuff thats apart of the hip-hop zeitgeist to this day, would have you thinking a lot of them was top billing/charting artist in the early 00's. I mean, you right, who is actually influenced by Nelly other than Murphy Lee?

I think Nelly had an indirect influence on the industry.
Everyone was looking for that rapper that appealed to high school and college aged women. Therefore you got your Chingys and Soulja Boys
As far as the music directly no one was influenced by Nelly

 

[EastsideRio]

As far as the music directly no one was influenced by Nelly

Lil Zane, Bow Wow, ....I guess you could throw T.I. in there

 

[RickyDiBiase]

I think Nelly had an indirect influence on the industry.
Everyone was looking for that rapper that appealed to high school and college aged women. Therefore you got your Chingys and Soulja Boys
As far as the music directly no one was influenced by Nelly

But Soulja got a waaaaay larger influence I think over Nelly.

or does he?

 

[semicko82]

But Soulja got a waaaaay larger influence I think over Nelly.

or does he?

Well I just meant before Nelly, there were no rappers that was directly aimed at that teenage/ college female crowd.

 

[Playaz Eyez]

You right bro! And the thing is, think about how much HEAT, I'm talking quoteables, stuff thats apart of the hip-hop zeitgeist to this day, would have you thinking a lot of them was top billing/charting artist in the early 00's. I mean, you right, who is actually influenced by Nelly other than Murphy Lee?

In a way, Drake lmao. Drake’s target audience is basically peak Nelly and Ja Rule to an extent.

 

[Iverson_64]

Well I just meant before Nelly, there were no rappers that was directly aimed at that teenage/ college female crowd.

LL Cool J and Missy Elliot

 

[↓R↑LYB]

I remember first seeing the Country Grammar video and thinking "Oh this nikka gonna be a star."

Country Grammar is a straight classic, I don't even have to skip a track

 

[semicko82]

LL Cool J and Missy Elliot

Reach

 

[semicko82]

In a way, Drake lmao. Drake’s target audience is basically peak Nelly and Ja Rule to an extent.

I see the Drake and Nelly comparisons on the surface

 

[semicko82]

Another thing Nelly had the street cred to rap about gangsta shyt, but chose the pop rap route.
I always thought that was interesting

 

[Formerly known as...]

First time I saw Nelly was a picture in the last few pages of the Source one day thinking he was going to some wack rapper that nobody would even care about then he BLEW.

Country Grammar and Nellyville back to back were just monsters for him.

 

[CrimsonTider]

I actually feel more this way about Ludacris than Nelly and I think there was even a thread on here about that.

At least Nelly's old music still gets played today in commercials and certain settings as throwbacks.

By contrast, Ludacris's run feels so overlooked and ignored that it almost feels like a conspiracy: Not cited in anyone's top rappers list. No one names him as an influence(DaBaby even disputed that). Rarely considered an ATL legend like TI, Jeezy, Andre, Future, or even Gucci. His hits outside "Move bytch" feel like they "came and went."

On paper, Luda checks many boxes: Sold a lot of albums. Had lots of hits/bangers. Could spit. Had a dope feature run. Lasted a whole decade. Had charisma.

But, in 2022, his legacy is stronger in TV/movies than in hip hop.

Luda got overshadowed by trap music.

 

[JustCKing]

Luda got overshadowed by trap music.

This is probably your best post or one of the best.

When it came to ATL, Ludacris went and mastered every style and flavor that came out of ATL. You wanted that Kast/Organized Noize style, Luda provided "Saturday", which was one of his bigger songs. He came through on Crunk, Crunk n B, Bass. You name it, he did it. Even venturing outside of those style, Luda could drop a crossover record without losing credibility.

Then there was TRAP. He was never able to get on that level and Trap became THE sound. His comical, animated style didn't fit with the more street style of trap and its how T.I. and Jeezy were able to become bigger than Luda commercially and how the legacies of Gucci, T.I., and Jeezy are bigger than Luda's.

 

[Sister Mary Clarence]

I actually feel more this way about Ludacris than Nelly and I think there was even a thread on here about that.

At least Nelly's old music still gets played today in commercials and certain settings as throwbacks.

By contrast, Ludacris's run feels so overlooked and ignored that it almost feels like a conspiracy: Not cited in anyone's top rappers list. No one names him as an influence(DaBaby even disputed that). Rarely considered an ATL legend like TI, Jeezy, Andre, Future, or even Gucci. His hits outside "Move bytch" feel like they "came and went."

On paper, Luda checks many boxes: Sold a lot of albums. Had lots of hits/bangers. Could spit. Had a dope feature run. Lasted a whole decade. Had charisma.

But, in 2022, his legacy is stronger in TV/movies than in hip hop.

I have a massive 3000 plus song playlist I put just about every song I like on. No full albums. Was going through it on shuffle one day and realized that Luda was the artist I have on there the most. It took me off guard, cause like you said, no one really has him in their top 5 yet here I am listening tons of his tracks. Decided at that point he was a personal top 5.

Agreed with the points about trap taking over and Luda being too comical. Shame though, he really deserves his props.