Nelly: I'm The Only Rapper From My Era To Gain Success Without A Co-Signer

[Wacky D]

It's not fair to say Luda had a co-sign because he was signed to Def Jam South and say Nelly did it all on his own when he was signed to Universal, like that was some indy label.

Luda was not on anybody's shyt or radar until he dropped his own music. The first major single from Back For The First Time featured a no name in Shawnna, not someone like Foxy Brown or Lil' Kim. To me, he has the same claim as Nelly from that time period.

No. It's not the same. Read my post above.

Ludacris was PUSHED AS THE FLAGSHIP of def jam south, was indoctrinated in to hip-hop culture via def jam and was already treated as a staple on def jam before his album dropped. His debut album release had a huge promo rollout as well.

Meanwhille, Nelly was just someone who just-so-happened to be signed to universal. There's no cultural significance to that. Also, He was one of like 15 other rap acts who were randomly coming soon in that 2-page universal ad. His biggest look was being part of that monthly source article series with Lady luck and some bul named lil buddy I think.....and chit, I'm not even sure that Nelly was apart of that. It might have been somebody else. Lol.

Either way, Nelly basically came out of nowhere with a cheap hood video that would've been relegated to BET Uncut, if it dropped a few years later. The single exploded organically twice over and manifested into an iconic crossover smash. The E.I. video was another cheap hood video that they prolly shot around the same time and it got darn near the same results.

You absolutely cannot compare Nelly to ludacris. Luda was a signature def jam artist upon arrival. His rollout was bigger than jarule's in 2000, and he would've stayed ahead if it wasn't for Lil Mo being added to "put it on me".

 

[GPBear]

Foh he was in the st lunatics

he’s making it sound like he had nobody with him and he did everything on his own

 

[Regular_P]

It's not the same. Read my post above.

Ludacris was PUSHED AS THE FLAGSHIP of def jam south, was indoctrinated in to hip-hop culture via def jam and was already treated as a staple on def jam before his album dropped. His debut album release had a huge promo rollout as well.

Nelly was just so.eone who just-so-happened to be signed to universal. There's no cultural significance to that. He was one of like 15 other rap acts who were randomly coming soon in that 2-page universal ad. His biggest look was being part of that monthly source article series with Lady luck and some bul named lil buddy......and chit, I'm not even sure that Nelly was apart of that. It might even been somebody else.

Either way, Nelly basically came out of nowhere with a cheap hood video that would've been relegated to BET Uncut, if it dropped a few years later. The sing exploded organically twice over and manifested into an iconic crossover smash. The E.I. video was another cheap hood video that they prolly shot around the same time and it got darn near the same results.

You absolutely cannot compare Nelly to ludacris.

The fukking label folded by 2003.

You're not gonna discount Universal as a label pushing Nelly while propping up Luda. That's just disingenuous nonsense.

 

[Wacky D]

The fukking label folded by 2003.

You're not gonna discount Universal as a label pushing Nelly while propping up Luda. That's just disingenuous nonsense.

What does that have to do with anything?

I see that you're wasting my time. Just admit you weren't around back then and keep it moving.

Nelly wasn't pushed like that until AFTER he exploded. If you were cognizant, you would know that Nelly selling out the gate the way he did, was a shocker. That's the opposite of ludacris' entrance. There's articles and newsclips in real-time that you can search out, which will tell you the same thing, kiddo.

 

[O.Red]

Lunatics had underground music and they were shopping for a deal.

He tried to get signed by layzie bone. Layzie listened to his demo and called him a biter. Hence, why we never got any collabos from them.

Universal picked him up. He was part of that new talent iniative that they had. He could've easily ended up as a trivia question for magazine junkies like some of those other dudes in those adds like say Genoveese if the country grammar song didn't blow up like it did.

One of the greatest stories in hip-hop history.

Nikka said Genovese

I ain't seen that name since the Napster days

 

[Regular_P]

What does that have to do with anything?

I see that you're wasting my time. Just admit you weren't around back then and keep it moving.

Nelly wasn't pushed like that t until AFTER he exploded. If you were cognizant, you would know that Nelly selling out the gate the way he did, was a shocker. That's the opposite of ludacris' entrance.

I was there. I bought the Country Grammar single on CD before the album came out. Nobody's saying Nelly didn't come out of nowhere. That doesn't mean Luda didn't as well. Both of them had major labels pushing them.

 

[Kyle C. Barker]

They had a platinum album in 99 didnt they?

Yeah the hot Boyz had a platinum album in 1999 but Juvie's popularity carried them because the album he dropped in 1998 went plat multiple times over.


That's just how it looked to me from an east coast perspective

 

[Wacky D]

Nikka said Genovese

I ain't seen that name since the Napster days

These young buls don't know nothing about that.

I was there. I bought the Country Grammar single on CD before the album came out. Nobody's saying Nelly didn't come out of nowhere. That doesn't mean Luda didn't as well. Both of them had major labels pushing them.

You may have been around but you clearly weren't cognizant.

And you're changing your argument up on the sly, cuz you know you pump-fakin.

There was no major push for Nelly until AFTER he exploded. There's plenty of articles and newsclips from real-time that you could search out. His promotion was actually playing catchup to his record sales for a good six months.

Ludacris on the other hand, had a big ass rollout for his chit before his debut album dropped and he was already indoctrinated as one of the faces of def jam before it dropped as well. He didn't f*ckin come out of nowhere.

 

[Wacky D]

Yeah the hot Boyz had a platinum album in 1999 but Juvie's popularity carried them because the album he dropped in 1998 went plat multiple times over.


That's just how it looked to me from an east coast perspective

Juvenile is the only one who could dispute this. This should be the debate, but for some reason, people want to push for some ludacris.

Juvenile didn't have a cosign but the difference is, Juvenile was moreso apart of a unit.

400 degreez didn't move those units in 98. It only went gold, maybe platinum via the south. But it exploded nationally to 5 mil in '99 thru 2000 after "back that thang up". By that time, BG had bling bling and the Hot Boys were dropping all pretty much simultaneously.

Plus, Juvenile came off like a novelty rapper with that HA song. I didn't give him a serious look until BG came out with "cash money is an army". BG is the reason they got the national deal in the first place as well.

So yea, Juvenile didn't have any cosigns either, but he would be chittin on his squad if he was to throw his name in the hat. He was Jordan, BG was his pippen. Mannie was Horace/rodman, baby & slim were coach phil. Turk and Wayne were kukoc, Kerr, BJ and them.

Meanwhile, Nelly was '01 Iverson, 07 LeBron. Going to the Finals with respectable utility guys playing their roles in the background(st lunatics)

Nelly is gonna win the pissing contest.

 

[DatNkkaCutty]

Who co-signed juvenile?

Jay-Z cosigned Juvy, when NY was on top.

Juvy and Cash Money may have been poppin regionally (and on some ppls radar in the NE), but Jay, X, and NY in general were still top dogs. Jay and X had the streets in 98'. When Jay hopped on that remix, whether it got burn down south or not, he legitimized him to the east coast.

 

[Wacky D]

Jay-Z cosigned Juvy.

This is when NY had it. Juvy and Cash Money may have been poppin regionally (and on some ppls radar in the NE), but Jay, X, and NY in general were still top dogs. Jay and X had the streets in 98'. When Jay hopped on that remix, whether it got burn down south or not, he legitimized him to the east coast.

Jay verse was trash.

He really didn't legitimize anything.

No Limit was the biggest label at the time, btw. Cash money being from New Orleans turned more heads than Jay verse.

People didn't start messing with Cash money on the east like that until all the smash hits they dropped in the summer of 99. Long after the Jay chit.

 

[TaxCollector13459]

Yeah the hot Boyz had a platinum album in 1999 but Juvie's popularity carried them because the album he dropped in 1998 went plat multiple times over.


That's just how it looked to me from an east coast perspective

Fair enough (from your perspective)

B.G. had 3 charting albums outside of HBs (itz on u and choppa city) before or by 99 though.

 

[Yagirlcheatinonus]

Gatekeepers are real

 

[DatNkkaCutty]

Jay verse was trash.

He really didn't legitimize anything.

No Limit was the biggest label at the time, btw.

If Jay was arguably, the King of NY at the time (next to DMX), and NY was at the forefront of hip-hop at the time (Pun, Ja, Bleek, Cam, Diddy, NORE, etc.), how could a Jay cosign, not legitimize Juvy?

And No Limit did not have the buzz Juvy and Cash Money had in 98'. No Limits buzz was fading out, then.

 

[O.Red]

The fukking label folded by 2003.

You're not gonna discount Universal as a label pushing Nelly while propping up Luda. That's just disingenuous nonsense.

The label folding by 2003 is irrelevant when these discussion is about how these artists came into the game 3 years prior

Y'all keep moving goalposts and changing arguments which baffles me cause I don't know why this is a hill to die on