I wasn't a kid when I came out. Soulja Boy was 16. I'm saying that when he came out he was a kid so it was naturally a show for him. It's not about the music right away. It's a show for him. Not that he's not putting enough effort into his music, but how much effort can a 16 year old put into his music because as you mature and get older even the songs he's doing now has evolved and he's looking back.
NellyYour hater is your future fan in a way. Cause when it's different they don't really take to it at first, but after you look back on it you get a chance to reflect on it.
NellyCertain artists can get away with certain things. Certain things are acceptable for certain people. It's a difference.
NellyI try not to name too many labels - not because it's not cool, but because it starts getting political.
NellyI like my body so much more now since having my baby. It”s just kind of empowering when you become a mother. You just get overwhelmed with this new confidence and you feel really in control of your life. It”s been beautiful.
NellySometimes a relationship is what falls cause it's not fair that, that person has to fit inside your life or you have to fit inside that person's life.
NellySometimes as an artist when things come easy to you, you look for other avenues that are more challenging to you and you try to walk those lanes.
NellyI was slinging whatever I could get my hands on. Whether it was chronic, whether it was crack.
NellyI think some of my inspiration came from just being around music. My family was into music. My uncle had his own band and my father use to sing in my uncle's band. If you want to go to the music influences we could be here all day. That's everybody from Michael Jackson all the way up to people in the game now that inspire me.
NellyYou always get that energy, you just want to be heard, to go out, do your thing and show people that we have just as much talent here as everywhere else.
NellyLifes strange ,times change, but karma always finds the way. Stay strong, hold on. Don’t let all your dreams fade away. Yeah life can beat you down, what goes it comes around It’s not how you hit the ground, it’s how fast you get back up. And go, keep going ,till it feels like I’m giving my life away Gets hard,and harder, happiness is worth the wait.
NellySome people actually said I fell off at Nellyville cause I didn't sell as many as Country Grammar. I'm like are you kidding me? Sweat and Suit? I broke history, I was the first rapper to have 1st and 2nd album at the same time ever on billboard.
NellyMy father lead by fear. I did what my father said ‘cause I was scared of getting my ass beat. His voice rang so vividly in my head. That it was just…a fear.
NellyRappers make what's in, in. If we want to bring back something like Jordache, we just say it and the girls start wearing it. We have a lot of pull.
NellyYou never know until a song comes out and becomes what it becomes, obviously you can't predict how the masses will react.
NellyI'm liver than Jay, Davy, and Kathy and Regis, been on more MTV shows than Butthead and Beavis.
NellyI never was the battle rapper. That was never my thing. I always felt like it's enough room for everybody to do their thing. I like bringing new energy, re-inventing the wheel, so to speak, every time I come out.
NellyI can get inspired just off the energy of Soulja Boy, just his energy, you have to take something from an artist. Everyone may not look at an artist the same way, but it's something that artist is doing that's creating his success.
NellySo many people appreciate what you've done, the doors you've opened, but some people realise they're not going to be able to make as much money as they thought possible when you first started.
NellyI think rappers are the fall guy because some of us don't have the wits to point the finger back. The thing is when you take a whole generation and whip them out, string the mothers out and put the fathers in jail - the reason I know respect is because my father is the mediator between me and my grandfather. I'm the mediator between my son and my father because I'm old enough to understand where my father is coming from and young enough to understand what my kid is trying to do. When you whip out the mediator the kids run wild and the old people are scared of them.
NellyIf you're fortunate to get a first album that sells 10 million you have nowhere to go but down. I'm just going to be honest and your measuring stick is so high that haters are licking their chops because you can't do nothing but fail.
NellyI remember really bonding with the first generation kids, the Chinese Canadian kids, and in high school bonding with the Latin kids and the East Indian kids. It was very interesting because it made me open to lots of musical sounds.
NellyMy whole staff love to laugh and count the money. On the couch, hands in our pants like Al Bundy.
NellyYoga has been something that's always there to take with me and practice throughout any journey. There's no place I've ever been where yoga hasn't fit itself in. I currently work on a commercial fishing boat in Alaska and I am still able to find time to lay my mat on the deck and practice what makes me the best me I can be, thanks to yoga.
Nelly