Nelly Quotations

I probably only cried five or six times in my life and I think four of those times was from my daddy kicking my butt.

Girls like to see girls dressed up like princesses occasionally.

I love speed. I love racing cars, whether it's on the streets or wherever. Don't tell the St. Louis police, though.

As you become a legend in the game, you build more doubters than you build supporters. And that's fine. I think that comes with anything that's challenging. I think it even comes with sports. The older that Michael Jordan got, I think the more doubted he became.

So 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.

I think parenting these days is definitely different from when a lot of people grew up. As much blame as we give a lot of our kids for what they're not doing... I also try to give them as much credit for dealing with things that we didn't have to deal with. Bullying was one on one and face to face. Now it's all over the Internet.

I 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.

You never know until a song comes out and becomes what it becomes, obviously you can't predict how the masses will react.

If we dont heal our own hood, who will?

I don't believe in luck. I believe everything happens for a reason.

I'm 27. I feel like I get it. I'm OK with being sexy if I feel like it. Some days I'm brainy, some days I'm funny, some days I'm sexy, and sometimes, I just want to dance.

The fashion world has been great. We started Apple Bottoms about seven years ago; it's interesting to be able to create something from your perspective, for your fans and support. It's a little different for me, because about 70% of my fans are females.

Guys don't really care, they just want to get the clothes off.

Rappers 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.

To get the Nickelodeon award? That's like 'it.' It's one of the best. It's definitely where you want to be in your career.

Having the balance of a work life and a family life has been so good for me.

How many people out there really set a budget?

I like my body so much more now since having my baby.

My nickname used to be Moses - still is Moses - for a long time, and people just call me Mo for short.

You think you had it bad when somebody put out a rumor on you in the school; think about somebody putting a rumor out about you on the Internet.

I guess coming after 'Country Grammar' and everybody thinking, 'Well maybe, that was it.' To come back with something like 'Nellyville' and to have people accept it and appreciate it the way they did, that was a great move.

I 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.

You 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.

I try not to name too many labels - not because it's not cool, but because it starts getting political.

I won an MVP trophy with the St. Louis Amateur Baseball Association. I didn't even start. I was a sub on this team. This was, like, an All-Star game where we had athletes from different teams, different mixtures. We had, like, the only black team in the league, basically. We had four players go to the All-Star game.

Strength of 100 men? I'd probably just get mad and hurt somebody and end up in jail. I think invisibility would probably be the best thing. I could be like, 'You know what, let me just see what these folks are talking about over here.' Then you could sneak into Rams cheerleaders' locker room.

On fame: It all happened so fast. I'd wake up in the night and go, 'I can't believe it. I've gotta go to the bathroom!

Nobody got paid, it's all donation, it's all going to charity,

I think he's going down, ... It's gonna be the 'Revenge for O.J. '

I stand for the Midwest. That's why the album's titled 'M.O.,' 'cause I'm still holding it down like that. My friends and family all call me Mo, so it's kind of like really representing where I'm from and me at the same time.

It's more or less a unity thing, ... I think everybody wants to do something. Nobody knows exactly what to do, so everybody is doing a little bit of everything.

A great body is a gift you give yourself

Certain artists can get away with certain things. Certain things are acceptable for certain people. It's a difference.

My ultimate goal and our ultimate goal is to be individuals, to sustain what we been able to sustain.

Believe it or not, I swear I'm just a human being.

I'm liver than Jay, Davy, and Kathy and Regis, been on more MTV shows than Butthead and Beavis.

I think he's going down, ... It's gonna be the 'Revenge for O.J. '

Wouldn't have no knowledge of wealth, without no knowledge of self.

Don't stop ever loving me, you can always smoke with me.

Imagine blocks and blocks of no cocaine, blocks with no gun play.

Nobody living average, everybody jang-a-lang. Nobody living savage, everybody got change.

Proceed to not smoke weed around the seed.

Off in the coupe, spreadin' the loot with my family and friends, and my closest of kin.

Righteous willin, the only thing supreme swimmin'.

I was slinging whatever I could get my hands on. Whether it was chronic, whether it was crack.

Hip-hop is more than music, it's a culture. It's bigger than hit songs.

I love New York for being New York. I love L.A. for being L.A. But when it comes home, I'm a Midwest, South type of dude. I like open roads, I like to drive, and it may not be as fast, but it's definitely a place where you get to appreciate a lot more. Not saying that you don't up here, but that's not what I'm accustomed to.

I 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.

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.

Your 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.

If 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.

Sometimes 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.

Sometimes 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.

Bewitched is half of everything.

My whole staff love to laugh and count the money. On the couch, hands in our pants like Al Bundy.

Sometimes I would ride with my daughter in the car to go make transactions. A couple of times me, her and my baby mother would be in the car and you know we would kind of be riding dirty. So like I said, again man, I was very naïve.

Smoke that herb and clear your mind.

I'm a workaholic because I don't want to not work. When you come from basically nothing and you have so much good things happening for you sometimes you have to sacrifice.

Hip-hop was super-exotic to us in Canada.

Your own destiny, create your own recipe.

I 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.

My 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.

Some 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.

Yoga 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.

My grammar be's ebonics, gin tonics, and chronic.

I 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.

Be a mistress to none, but all good to some.

I 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.

I can see the greed and envy in your eyes.

I smoke herb, but what's the harm it that?

Gotta get myself a million, gonna turn that into a billion.

Lifes 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.

If we were born knowing everything, what would we do with all this time on this earth?

Two is not a winner, and three nobody remembers. What does it take to be number one?

I'm a sucker for corn rows and manicured toes.