Illustration by Edward Kinsella III
Nelly
Cornell Haynes Jr. was touting his hometown long before his signature singsong style of rap put St. Louis on the national radar. In the mid-’90s, shortly after he graduated from University City High School, Nelly and the St. Lunatics landed a local hit with “Gimme What You Got.” The hook proudly repeated, “And you say St. Louis city…gimme what you got.” And the city gave it: When Nelly’s music video for “Country Grammar” debuted in 2000, it prominently featured Nelly’s hometown, with no shortage of Cardinals and Blues gear, as well as shots of the Arch and his block. MTV also took notice of the sound. “It’s like St. Louis blues,” Nelly told the station. More hits, movie roles, fashion labels, sports drinks, workout tapes, and awards followed. By 2009, Billboard ranked Nelly No. 3 on its Artists of the Decade list. And while the rapper’s influence has spread far beyond the Lou, he’s never forgotten his roots, doing a stint as a DJ on Hot 104.1 FM in 2010, overseeing multiple charities, and partnering with Vatterott College to open a recording school this year.
Sylk Smoov
In December 1991, The Source magazine proclaimed, “Sylk Smoov comes out hard and puts St. Louis on the hip-hop map.” That was nearly a decade before Nelly accomplished the same feat—in a much larger way. Granted, Floyd Harrison’s self-titled debut, released on PWL America Records with the singles “Klientele” and “Trick Wit a Good Rap,” would be his biggest commercial success; eventually, the north St. Louis native would return from L.A. to his hometown and work in construction before releasing Cat Action 25-8 in 2004. But at a time when 2Pac and The Notorious B.I.G. dominated the national hip-hop scene, Sylk Smoov let it be known that rap reverberated beyond the coasts, offering a hint of things to come.
Murphy Lee
Tohri Harper grew up idolizing his older brother, Kyjuan Cleveland. In high school, the U. City teens would record tracks in a studio at Saints Olivette Family Roller Skating Rink, where they’d go with longtime friend Cornell Haynes Jr. (a.k.a. Nelly). Eventually, the three would form the St. Lunatics, along with Ali Jones and Nelly’s half-brother, Lavell Webb (a.k.a. City Spud). Two years after the group released Free City (which debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 in 2001), its youngest member released his solo debut, Murphy’s Law, on Nelly’s and Ali’s Derrty Entertainment label. Almost overnight, Lee dominated the radio waves with his string of hits: “Wat Da Hook Gon Be,” “Shake Ya Tailfeather,” and a remix of “Welcome to Atlanta.” When the Redbirds reached the World Series in 2004, it was Lee behind the single “Cardinal Walk.” All signs pointed toward a promising career, one that could rival Nelly’s. Yet it wasn’t until 2009 that Lee released his sophomore effort, You See Me, to far less fanfare. Today, the longtime vegan is a fervent Twitterer (twitter.com/murphylee), plugging his ventures beyond rap, including Freaky Muscato wine—co-owned by Kyjuan and Jeff Medolla, best known as the masked man on last year’s The Bachelorette.
J-Kwon
Jerrell Jones was always ahead of his time. He was expelled at age 12 for allegedly dealing drugs at school. As a teen growing up in the Metro East, he slept in cars and on friends’ couches. He’d get in freestyle-rap battles with other MCs, once getting his jaw broken in a fight. At 17, he recorded his first hit, “Tipsy”—when he hadn’t yet reached the legal drinking age. Trackboyz, the same St. Louis–based producers who worked on Nelly’s “Air Force Ones,” produced J-Kwon’s debut album, Hood Hop, which would reach No. 7 on Billboard’s charts in 2004. After a string of less successful albums in the years to come, J-Kwon briefly went missing in 2010. He later told KMOJ-FM that he’d paid $2,500 per month in child support for seven years to a woman whose child he claimed wasn’t his, and he’d briefly gone to jail for failure to pay child support. “I’m gonna start a foundation just for that,” he said at the time. As he told the Post-Dispatch in 2004, at the height of his fame, “I still want to stay somewhat connected to the streets no matter what, because what if I have to go back?”
Chingy
Before he was Chingy, Howard Bailey was known as H Thugz—part of the groups 3 Strikes and Without Warning. Then, in 2003, Bailey went solo, changing his alias and joining rapper Ludacris’ Disturbing tha Peace label with his debut album, Jackpot. The singles “Right Thurr,” “Holidae In,” and “One Call Away” quickly climbed Billboard’s charts. In 2004, he released his sophomore album, Powerballin’, with guest appearances from St. Louis’ own Git It Boyz (his equivalent of St. Lunatics)—though his relationships with other rappers weren’t all good; at the same time, he had a brief feud with Nelly and Ludacris. Chingy’s next album, Hoodstar, marked a change: His single “Pullin’ Me Back” addresses the difficulty of balancing fame and a relationship, and he finally patched up his longtime feuds. After leaving Capitol Records, he re-signed with DTP to release Hate It or Love It, his first album that didn’t crack Billboard’s top five. Today, Chingy’s ditched the major labels and started his own, St. Louis–based Full Dekk Music Group. The rapper’s promised that his next album, No Risk, No Reward, will mark his “rebirth.”
Ebony Eyez
Here in St. Louis, one of the first ladies of rap was Ebony Williams, a graduate of Parkway Central High School who began rapping in the late ’80s as part of the group Girlz Get Busy and later the duo Nazir. After going solo and creating a stir locally, Ebony Eyez released her debut album, 7 Day Cycle, on Capitol Records in 2005. The video for her single “In Ya Face,” produced by Trackboyz, was shot at City Museum. Though the album didn’t fare well commercially, it marked a milestone for St. Louis’ ladies of hip-hop.
Beyond the Usual Suspects
Besides Nelly and Chingy, a slew of St. Louis rappers have made it big nationally during the past decade: Huey (with “Pop, Lock & Drop It”), Jibbs (with “Chain Hang Low”), and Akon (though the St. Louis–born R&B singer moved to New Jersey at age 7) all had hits that cracked the Billboard 200. Many other emcees have made a stir locally over the years: Prince Ea, Nite Owl, Nato Caliph, Rockwell Knuckles, Black Spade, Spaide R.I.P.P.E.R., Young Spiffy, Gena, Joka, Tef Poe… And what’s a show without a posse? Earthworms and Family Affair are among St. Louis’ most notable hip-hop groups.
Pick Five
DJ Needles
Independent DJ; host of KDHX-FM’s Rawthentic
1. Black Spade
Spade is the innovator. He is musically ahead of anyone I’ve ever met. His beats are cosmic, and his subject matter is progressive,
with a genuine street edge.
2. Rockwell Knuckles
Rocky is 2Pac, Scarface, Chuck D, and more rolled into one unbelievable emcee. He’s very charismatic, and he commands attention onstage.
3. Katt Davis
Katt was one of the most prolific, intelligent, honest, and passionate emcees in hip-hop, period. We lost him way too soon.
4. Family Affair
Unfortunately, St. Louis doesn’t have many hip-hop groups anymore, so this twin duo represents a seemingly dying breed. I’m sure being related helps with chemistry—and they definitely have that. I’ve often likened Family Affair to a young Outkast and Dogg Pound.
5. Tef Poe
Tef is the rebel with more than one cause. He uses his unmatched mic skills to speak on political and social issues. He can get gully with the best of them, sporting a slew of straightforward street anthems, but his main focus seems to be trying to make sense of the senseless.
