All photos by Jennifer Lake
Nostalgia tours are commonplace for concertgoers at Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavillion (CWMP) in the Woodlands: Willie Nelson, Big Time Rush, and “Weird Al” are all recent examples of performers who found an audience that still resonates with their music and entertainment. These performances often evoke sing-alongs, flashlights in the air, and holding your loved one close. But after 25 years since the release of debut album “Country Grammar,” I say Nelly can stop asking where the party’s at: It’s right here in Houston.
Cornell Iral Haynes Jr, better known as “Nelly,” was actually born on the other side of 290 over in Austin. He moved to the St. Louis area and formed the hip-hop collective “St. Lunatics” with his childhood friends: Ali, Murphy Lee, Kyjuan, Slo Down, and his half brother City Spud. After moderate local success, the rest of the group agreed to let Nelly go solo after a major record deal failed to appear for the group. While Nelly would go on to a venturous career spanning across no. 1 records, acting (The Longest Yard), and clothing lines (Vokal, Apple Bottoms), he has always made it a point to stick to his St. Louis roots, or at the very least sporting Cardinals attire. For context, a lawsuit was filed by members of St. Lunatics in regards to copyright infringement and unpaid royalties over the very same album that this tour is celebrating. However, this lawsuit was dismissed in April, and it appears that the St. Lunatics have resolved the issues that may have prevented this concert from happening at all.
As soon as Nelly walked on the stage with fellow crewmembers and a multitude of dancers flanking him, the mostly-milennial crowd was on their feet with no intentions of sitting back down. The crowd responded in kind with some promiscuous dancing of their own, which I could not tell my girlfriend I was watching “for the article.” I knew it was gonna be a special type of nostalgia show when I saw some security staff lose their nonchalant facade and belt out the entire setlist from the soul. Nelly opened with the tour’s title track “Where The Party At” and immediately move to spotlighting and synchronizing with his fellow St. Lunatics, including on the standout track “Air Force Ones.” He seamlessly transitioned into County Grammar (Hot Shit), where he made a special point to say “no matter how you started fuckin with Nelly, or who put you on Nelly, just know that I appreciate you – but this one is for the Day One OGs!” Unfortunate for me, Day One was years before I was even an idea.
“Ride Wit Me” was his first mega-hit inserted into the setlist’s middle portion, with one thing of note: He changed the lyrics “She can be 18 with a attitude, or 19, kinda snotty, actin’ real rude” to 21 and 22, which was a good catch by my girlfriend. At this point, the crowd was at a nonstop standing ovation for the iconic rapper, and many people are unaware he is also established himself as a country act, collaborating recently with Florida Georgia Line for “Lil Bit,” and in 2004 with Tim McGraw for the iconic “Over and Over.” (I was born!)
At this point, he brought out an unexpected face within the expanding circle of St. Louis rappers: J-Kwon, best known for the hit “Tipsy,” recently revived by Shaboozey in “A Bar Song.” What’s not common knowledge is that J-Kwon is Nelly’s nephew, which I found to be a pretty cool family affair. J-Kwon left, and Nelly immediately maintained the energy with “Dilemma,” a top contender for the most memorable tracks of the 2000s across the whole nation. However, Nelly has a more unique connection to Houston: “Grillz,” the dental jewelry most prominent in the Dirty South, is also the name of his hit 2005 song featuring our very own Paul Wall. Wall joined the CWMP performance to briefly perform his verse, spiking the crowd’s attention once more. After a DJ medley of club songs, Nelly closed the night with “Hot in Herre” and “Just a Dream.”
While Nelly was the night’s headliner, that distinction shouldn’t undermine the performances of Ja Rule and Chingy. Ja Rule, while known to some simply for his beef with 50 Cent, provided a much broader picture of his capabilities as an artist, even as he nears the age of 50. He leans into the jokes made about him, including by Dave Chapelle (“where is Ja Rule?”), for concert clips. Like Nelly, he too performed hit after hit without any reduction in quality, including “Livin’ it Up” and the familiar “Always on Time.” Lastly, he spun the wheel of Houston rappers and brought Bun B as a “surprise” guest for “Int’l Players Anthem.” (Of note: Bun promised free Trill Burgers for his recently announced show at the House of Blues). Chingy, another St. Louis native, performed with high energy and warmed up the crowd with well-known hits like “Right Thurr” as well the lesser-known parts of his catalogue.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my time, especially for artists that I did not grow up on or was super familiar with. I’d encourage everyone to sift through Nelly’s diverse discography in particular, because you are guaranteed to find at least a handful of songs for your collection that are good in any environment. Also, if you’re looking for fun weekend plans: rob the jewelry store and tell ‘em make you a grill!
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