| The Main Event: Nelly vs. Chingy
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Chingy (left) and Nelly (right)
Nelly and Chingy, St. Louis' top rap dogs, have always had a lot in common.
They're pretty boys whose music features a Midwest urban slang and St. Louis bounce beats. They have singular names ending in "y." They've earned platinum records. They boast their own posses, record labels and charities.
They've also defied the odds by rapping out of St. Louis to gangbuster success. Chingy is the hot-selling rapper whose 2003 CD "Jackpot" sold about 3 million copies, followed by his new CD, the gold "Powerballin." Nelly is the even hotter-selling rapper with blockbuster CDs such as 2000's "Country Grammar" (9 million) and 2002's "Nellyville" (6 million) and several Grammy Awards. Last fall, Nelly became only the third artist in history to release two CDs on the same day - "Suit" (2 million) and "Sweat" (1 million).
And both rappers are dissed by purists who denounce their "pop" styles.
Now, however, Nelly and Chingy are sharing a feud.
In a surprising exchange of barbs, Nelly and Chingy are dissing each other publicly and frequently over issues of respect- or lack thereof - and playing it out through song lyrics and statements in interviews.
It's the first instance of a public beef between prominent St. Louis rappers. Sure, there have been rumors of rumblings previously. Nelly and Pretty Willie were said to have problems, and when the Chingy-Murphy Lee (of Nelly's St. Lunatics camp) joint concert was called off at the Pageant last year, trouble talk kicked into overdrive. But in both instances a feud was denied.
This time it’s all out in the open, with no holding back. Both St. Louis and the national hip-hop communities are buzzing over the trouble between the two. Urban radio station KATZ-FM (100.3, the Beat) recently had a field day with the feud, devoting a "Squash the Beef" weekend to the subject. Morning, noon and night, the station took calls from everyone from Chingy’s mother to Nelly’s hype man, Slo Down, to finally Nelly and Chingy themselves, commenting separately.
The Beat’s DJ Kaos says he’s committed to bringing the two rappers together in the studio to air out the problems, though an attempt Friday morning failed.
Sez who?
So what has Nelly and Chingy at odds with each other? Here's the breakdown of their breakdown:
Nelly referenced Chingy on his song "Another One" from "Sweat" last fall: "I like the way you do that 'right thurr'/You just remember why you do that right thurr/I made it tight to be country, they thought country was bummy/Until country start making money."
In that direct Chingy reference, Nelly seemed to give Chingy props while also reminding him that Nelly made it OK for rappers to hail St. Louis.
Chingy's response was not in kind. In an interview with rap magazine XXL, he acknowledged that Nelly opened doors but noted that he's been rapping just as long. He was offended by Nelly's remarks: "He was threatened by me and I felt disrespected by that because I never said nothing to the dude. How you gonna feel threatened when you got millions and millions and you sold millions of records? Do you, and let me do me."
Nelly told mtv.com he wasn't going after Chingy in "Another One." "If you listen to the song, it says, 'I like the way you do that right thurr.' I could have said, (expletive) the way you do that right thurr!' It ain't even like that. I'm not trying to be in it with dude like that. I just feel I paid so much respect to other people that allowed me to come do what I do, I just feel people should pay the same respect (to me) when they do what they do."
Nelly said Chingy needs to stop saying he's been doing this as long as he has. Chingy needs to realize that his words can get taken out of context and that "there's people who want to see us get into it."
Chingy later told mtv.com: "I ain't with all this foolishness, but if you gonna make songs about me and speaking about me in these interviews, I'm not gonna hide in no shell. At the end of the day, they spitting false talk and this is real talk."
Chingy then released a dis track online called "We Got": "I heard that song, boy, it ain't another boy/Better keep my name out your mouth, boy/. . . I been discovered, boy; that's why you hatin', boy/. . . The media hyped you, boy/KRS crushed you, boy/. . . Put up the chains, bars and the platinum teeth, boy/And bring the drama beef, trouble to the streets, boy/You started it, boy/Well, I'ma finish, boy." Chingy's frequent use of the word "boy" looks to reference Nelly's song "Boy," another "Sweat" tune. Nelly's song opens with this: "So you the king boy?/How could this be boy?You gotta be blind to sell more records than me boy/I can't complain boy. Don't say my name boy."
On the Beat on Jan. 14, Nelly sounded agitated as he addressed the feud. He said Chingy had the opportunity to discuss whatever issues he had with him face to face when they stood 3 inches apart in Las Vegas at the Radio Music Awards in October, but Chingy didn't say a word. Nelly also accused Chingy of partaking in a feud as a publicity stunt. A calmer Chingy denied it was a publicity stunt, and said repeatedly that none of this was his fault because he didn't start it.
No feud like an old feud
And on and on it goes. Nelly might be considered an old pro at this by now. Three years ago, he and rap veteran KRS One went at it after KRS One launched an attack against modern rappers. Nelly responded on the song "#1," opening the doors for a full-fledged feud that included KRS One's call for a boycott of "Nellyville."
Chingy should also be getting used to feuding. While arguing with Nelly, he's simultaneously at it with Ludacris. Their vibes turned bad last year after Chingy split from Ludacris' Disturbing Tha Peace camp and criticized DTP over money issues.
But Nelly and Chingy were supposed to be cool. All the career crossover between their camps in the past suggested as much. A young Chingy, when he was a member of local rap group 3 Strikes, toured with Nelly and St. Lunatics. Members of St. Lunatics appeared in Chingy's "Right Thurr" video. And Murphy Lee and Chingy rapped on J-Kwon's "Tipsy" remix.
Now, any further collaboration looks impossible. The Nelly-Chingy tour once hinted at for 2005 doesn't stand a chance, thanks to a beef that smells like so much Spam.
- STL Today | |
(not that I condone violence, of course)
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