Nelly caught up with Billboard's Tetris Kelly at Stagecoach 2025.
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00:00Listen, it's not that often that you got to be at a country festival with Mr. Country
00:05Grammar himself.
00:06What's up, Nelly?
00:07It sounds fitting, though.
00:08It's fitting for you, bro.
00:09Hell yeah.
00:10I mean, this ain't new to you being at Stagecoach because, like, this is your world.
00:13Let's talk about, like, when I was listening to your, like, double-sided album.
00:16That was a country album back in the day.
00:18So why is this community, like, why does it fit for you?
00:21You know what?
00:22Ever since the beginning, you know, country music has damn show opened their arms and
00:27show me nothing but love.
00:29Ever since the beginning.
00:30Yeah.
00:31And then 2003 when I did the joint with Tim McGraw.
00:35Of course.
00:36I mean, you know, it's one of those things where I did not understand when I did Country
00:45Grammar the type of love I was receiving across music genres.
00:48I thought everybody was doing a rap festival on Tuesday and then a country festival on Wednesday.
00:54And you're like, this ain't normal.
00:55Yeah.
00:56And then I found out that I was receiving blessings.
00:59You know what I'm saying?
01:00And I was like, wow, this is dope.
01:01So I've always appreciated all of the love that came from any genre of music.
01:06But country music has always showed Nelly an unexplainable amount of love since day one.
01:12And I'm, you know, like I said again, man, we just happy to be here and have a little fun.
01:17Yeah.
01:18And I mean, talking about like your journey with country music, you're talking about Tim
01:21McGraw.
01:22I just saw you hanging with Bailey Zimmerman.
01:23Yeah.
01:24You just jumped on the track with Big X The Plug, which is like dope.
01:27So what did you talk to him about?
01:29No, Bailey, man.
01:30I actually, I've been out to his spot in the studio.
01:35You know, we hung out, did some music and things like that.
01:39Okay.
01:40So we're looking forward to definitely, you know, putting some stuff together, man.
01:44He's a good dude.
01:45He's a good dude.
01:46And I'm so happy for him because he's worked really hard to get to where he's at.
01:50And he's very, very talented.
01:51So hopefully the song that we are putting together is something that's different for
01:56both of us, but definitely worthy of our time.
02:01Yeah.
02:02I'm excited for it, man.
02:03Hell yeah.
02:0425 years of country grammar is crazy, by the way.
02:06Okay.
02:07But like, I've been with you through this journey.
02:08I saw you at the Super Bowl.
02:09I saw you at the iHeartRadio Awards.
02:10Like, how has it been to celebrate this album that meant so much to so many people?
02:13And I'm sure you.
02:14Yeah.
02:15You can't explain it.
02:16You're just thankful.
02:17You know, when you get to be an artist, you hopefully you do things that stand the test
02:22of time.
02:23You just want to do music that connect with people for however long.
02:28But to have an album that has, you know, been one of the biggest in hip hop and just
02:36in music in general, you're very thankful for that, man.
02:39And, you know, I'm always keep blessings.
02:42And then lastly, I mean, being at something like this in the climate that we're in, the
02:45energy that the world is politically.
02:47Yeah.
02:48But we're talking about music.
02:49How is it to like still give that energy and like in this?
02:51Listen, man, I wake up every day thankful.
02:53I don't know why.
02:54Don't nobody else.
02:55You see what I'm saying?
02:56Like, and they got to understand, like, we wake up.
03:00Everybody don't wake up every day.
03:02You know what I'm saying?
03:03So you should be thankful.
03:04I'm a glass half full type of guy.
03:06I'm not the glass half empty.
03:07And when you grow up the way that I grow up and you don't have the things that so many
03:12people have growing up, you learn to appreciate things that you do have when you get to a point
03:18that you understand you don't have to have those things.
03:21So I'm just thankful, man.
03:22And we celebrate it, man.
03:24So I look forward to it.
03:25I got a beautiful wife.
03:26I have beautiful children.
03:27I love it, man.
03:28You know what I'm saying?
03:29Like, why would Nelly be pissed?
03:31That's what I'm talking about, man.
03:32You know what I'm saying?
03:33Well, congratulations on all your success.
03:34I'm so excited to see you on stage tonight, man.
03:35Thank you so much, man.
03:36I appreciate that.
03:37Thank you for talking to us.
03:38I really appreciate it.
03:39Of course.
03:40Of course, my brother.