“It’s been an amazing ride,” STL rap star Nelly said while looking directly into the camera to audiences tuning into the MelodyVR App Saturday night.
He was two songs into the latest commemoration of the 20th anniversary of his debut album “Country Grammar.” The concert on the app that delivers live performances to cell phones and mobile devices was just the latest celebratory gesture for the record that changed the game for St. Louis. The anniversary party has been ongoing since the album’s official anniversary on June 27, 2020. The concert came a day after Nelly released a deluxe edition of “Country Grammar” to mark the milestone.
Before Nelly and the St. Lunatics, plenty of rappers kept their dreams of breaking into the mainstream to themselves – because it seemed too farfetched. Halfway through the first year of the new millennium, “Country Grammar” changed the game in St. Louis – and everywhere else.
“My whole drive was to do what hadn’t been done,” Nelly said in between the tracks during the hour-long performance that was backed by a live band.
He told viewers he felt the same energy as when he first stepped up to the mic representing St. Louis for the whole world to hear.
“The Midwest was the last place in hip-hop to get our just due,” Nelly said, calling the region “the middle child of hip-hop.” “Our sound is basically a cluster of what’s around.,” Nelly said. The melting pot of styles still applies to St. Louis’ variety in the game. A generation later its illustrated in a laundry list of artists that represent the city – from conscious lyrical rappers to the creators of trap and club bangers.
“Country Grammar” was a sampler pack of what St. Louis had to offer. The concert was a reminder of how the city’s rich musical history can be found within the beats and bars of Nelly’s breakthrough album – which hit like a sledgehammer to became a mic drop moment for St. Louis within the genre, and quickly bled into pop music.
“To be celebration the 20th anniversary of one of the few diamond-selling albums in all of hip-hop is crazy, because the game has changed so much,” Nelly said. “We gonna run this [expletive] from top to bottom.”
And that’s exactly what he did – in the very order that each track appeared on the album. Some were excerpts, but many got the full song treatment with updated arrangements that augmented the already strong collection.
He kicked things off with “St. Louie,” which introduced the city to the masses of hip-hop as the first track on the album. He then jumped into “Greed Hate Envy.”
Third on the setlist was the song that made Nelly a superstar.
“We goin’ down, down baby, Yo’ street in a Range Rover,” Nelly sang from the title track of “Country Grammar.” The musical backdrop included a funked out, bass driven rearrangement. If that version were released in 2020, it would have caught on with the same fever-pitch as the original did twenty years before.
Nelly performed “Steal The Show,” which is essentially the St. Lunatics crew giving themselves props in advance for what they figured would be their impact on the rap game. At the time of the album’s release, the song was a bold and unlikely prediction. When Nelly sang it 20 years later, the song felt more like a prophecy.
“Lunatic, five strong, king kong’s are writin’ songs,” the song says. “Cats be gettin’ gone thinkin’ they got it goin’ on. Call the cops, I see a robbery in progress. Lunatics about to steal the show.
(Where you from?) From the S-T-L, M-O, 3-1-4.”
Fellow St. Lunatic City Spud then joined Nelly for a performance of “Ride Wit Me.”
Of the 16 tracks, “Country Grammar,” “Ride Me” and “Batter Up” were among the highlights. The arrangement of “Batter Up” leaned more heavily on guitar than “Country Grammar” did on the bass.
As he sang the lyric of the song borrowed from the theme song of “The Jeffersons,” Nelly felt as much like a rock star as he did a rap star.
It served as a reminder that along with fellow Midwest rap representatives Bone Thugs and Harmony (straight out of Cleveland), Nelly was a pioneer of the melodic flow.
“You look at music as it is right now and you know your influence,” Nelly said. “That was something I feel like we brought to the game.”
He took fans down memory lane talking about the making of the videos for “Country Grammar.”
“Back then, the budgets were astronomical,” Nelly said.
He shouted out Marc Klasfeld, who directed “Country Grammar,” “Batter Up” and “Ride Wit Me” from the album – as well as the St. Lunatics single “Midwest Swing.”
Most of his shout outs were reserved for the fans who have been riding with Nelly from the get for two decades – name dropping regions within the city and county that had his back on the home front before became a global sensation.
St. Louis, East St. Louis, North City, North County, U. City, the Westside and the Southside all received a nod.
“Tonight we are celebrating a part of history – and I want to show love to all of those who helped me make history,” Nelly said. ‘We were all a part of something so special that I don’t think we will ever forget. I know I won’t forget. It was both a pleasure and an honor to have y’all celebrate with me.”
