SEDALIA — Grammy-winning, multiplatinum hip-hop superstar Nelly will take the State Fair Grandstand stage, presented by CFM Insurance, at the 2023 Missouri State Fair on Friday, Aug. 18. Tickets are $50 for track and $40 for grandstand.
By now the story of Nelly’s meteoric rise to stardom is a well-known, oft-recited part of hip-hop history. The standout member of the St. Louis rap collective the St. Lunatics inks a deal with Universal Motown Records, drops a sizzling single called “Country Grammar” with a familiar nursery rhyme hook, and follows it up with a debut album of the same name that spawns three humongous hits, spends seven weeks atop the Billboard 200 chart, scores three Grammy nominations, and sells an astonishing nine million copies worldwide.
That, of course, is the abridged version of a story that began years ago in a part of St. Louis known as University City. It’s the story of a young man whose life was so unsettled that he moved from place to place, from family member to family member, and hung out on the streets with “the big dirties” who introduced him to the underbelly of the city.
But Nelly’s is also a story of achievement—overachievement, even. As a child, Nelly, born Cornell Haynes, Jr., was always the fastest runner, the best catcher, the hottest player on the team. He was so gifted, in fact, that he almost ended up in professional baseball instead of music.
Much to the delight of the legions of fans that now rank him among hip-hop’s premier artists, Nelly charged onto the hip-hop scene in the summer of 2000 with his groundbreaking debut album, Country Grammar. The critical acclaim, accolades, and awards rolled in almost as fast as the record sales. Country Grammar snagged four Grammy nominations, two for Best Rap Solo Performance (“Ride Wit Me,” “Country Grammar”), Best Rap/Song Collaboration (“Where The Party At,” with Jagged Edge), and Best Rap Album (Country Grammar).
Nelly also topped Billboard’s 2000 year-end chart as the Top Male Rap Artist, and he was nominated for two Source Awards, an MTV Video Music Award, two BET Awards, an American Music Award, and a Soul Train Music Award. Ranked No. 3 on Billboard’s definitive list of the best-selling artists of the 2000s, Nelly has not only sold more than 30 million albums/singles in less than 10 years, but he also tied with Elton John for the most consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart by a male solo artist.
This show joins the following previously announced shows:
Thursday, Aug. 10: Tyler Hubbard of Florida Georgia Line with Parmalee
Friday, Aug. 11: Lainey Wilson with Jackson Dean
Wednesday, Aug. 16: Cory Asbury and CAIN
Tickets to all State Fair Grandstand concerts will go on sale to the public starting at 9 am, June 27 through Etix. More information about State Fair concerts can be found on the Fair’s website.
The 121st Missouri State Fair, themed “Where Traditions Grow” is Aug. 10-20, 2023, in Sedalia.