Grammy Award-winning rapper Nelly celebrated his 50th birthday in Atlanta on Halloween night with a big Western-themed bash. Brannu Horses galloped the streets, cowboy hats were on full display and boots that were made for more than just walking danced the night away at Guardian Works in West Midtown.
“This is a big one. I didn’t really get a chance to have birthday parties until I could afford to throw them myself.”
Nelly
Actors, comedians, influencers and Atlanta hip-hop legends such as Jermaine Dupri, Big Gipp of Goodie Mobb, Big Boi and T.I. attended Nelly’s “HalloWestern” in style and excitement to celebrate their friend, collaborator, and artist who has been an influential part of hip-hop for over 20 years. Nelly arrived with his wife and Grammy Award-winning singer Ashanti by his side, both dressed in all-black Western outfits.
Nelly shared that he didn’t grow up celebrating his birthday often and credited Ashanti for his eagerness to celebrate the big day.
“This is a big one. I didn’t really get a chance to have birthday parties until I could afford to throw them myself,” he said.
At 50, Nelly has spent more than half of his life in the hip-hop game. With hits such as “Hot in Herre,” “Ride Wit Me,” “Grillz” and “Dilemma,” to name a few, he thanked hip-hop for allowing him to not only reach 50 but also not feel 50. NuFace, dubbed the hip-hop historian, said Nelly was an integral part of putting St. Louis hip-hop on the map.
“Hip-hop is one of those spaces where great artists are judged by, when they do music, do we want to go where they’re from? NWA made me want to go to Compton. OutKast made me want to come to Atlanta. When Nelly came out, I was like St. Louis,” NuFace said. “And then what did we get after that? J-Kwon, Chingy, Murphy Lee, and St. Lunatics. So it’s like he represents that culture and represents it well, but he was world-renowned and has a diamond record too.”
Big Gipp of Goodie Mobb recalled some of his great memories with Nelly. The two are frequent collaborators; Big Gipp was on Nelly’s “Sweatsuit” album and went on tour with him for three years. His favorite memory was creating “Grillz” which topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2005.
“He’s been a big big part of my career,” Big Gipp said. “He did so much and we changed the culture, so to be able to be a part of a record like that that sold so many records, it helped me become a legend.”
Nelly’s milestone age was also marked by the 20th anniversary of his iconic Apple Bottom Jeans apparel line, which he recently announced he’s relaunching in November 2024.
With age comes wisdom, but the “Country Grammar” star said the advice he had to give as he turns 50 was for the older people in hip-hop. He was reflective of his journey in life coming up as a 19-year-old making music with the St. Lunatics to where he is now.
“Stop trying to tell these youngins that they’re wrong all the time. Because once upon a time, we were young and we didn’t want to hear that. Truth be told, ‘legend,’ ‘goat,’ and ‘classic’ are the words they’re using now for Nelly; they weren’t using those words when Nelly first came out.
“I had to walk the walk, and we’ve got to allow them to make their own mistakes and grow too as well. So we’ve got to be a little bit understanding instead of so demanding and so controlling. Let’s have a conversation with the youth and stop trying to force them to do things.”