Nelly Contemplated Quitting Rap, “People Didn’t Know I Was F*cked Up”

Grammy-winning rapper Nelly has revealed that he almost abandoned the spotlight after losing family members shortly around the time of  his 2004 Sweat/Suit release.

According to Nelly, the passing of his sister and grandfather had a large impact on his lfe and career in the mid-2000’s.

My sister passed in ’05 and 6 months later my grandfather died. All through ’06 and ’07 I felt that way. I didn’t know what I was doing. I’ve never experienced death with people that close to me. The more time you spend with someone that’s when it hurts the most. If you’ve been with people for 30 years and all of sudden they’re gone, it affects you more. I did come to a point where I wanted to quit. But I never showed it on the outside. People didn’t know I was f*cked up, but that’s on me. (VIBE)

The Midwest-based rapper recently said rap mogul Diddy influenced his upcoming 5.0 solo album.

The Bad Boy boss told Nelly that he needed to “speed it up.” “He was like, ‘Let’s go! What are you waiting on?’ ” Nelly recalled. He admitted that the advice forced him to reflect on whether Diddy’s words of wisdom might have merit. With his last album, 2008’s Brass Knuckles, Nelly experienced his first commercial disappointment. Although the album was certified gold, selling more than 500,000 copies, his previous efforts were all multiplatinum smashes. The rapper replayed Diddy’s talk in his head, and the result of that conversation, according to Nelly, is “Just a Dream,” the rapper’s first top 10 hit since 2005’s “Grillz,” featuring Paul Wall. “I was like, ‘You know what? You’re right,’ ” Nelly said. “And I left the party to go to the studio.” (MTV)

Nelly’s “Just A Dream” hitmaker Rico Love recently talked with SOHH about music executives doubting the St. Lunatic‘s appeal.

“This is going to end up being one of my biggest records to date and that’s saying a lot. I’m very excited because as I have been telling everybody, I did a big portion of Nelly’s 5.0 album and I have been telling a lot of people through the process that there was doubt. A lot of people in the business, and I won’t say [any] names, were telling me “Nah, why you working with Nelly? He’s over”. Those are their words, I’m pulling them out because this industry is full of a lot of bullsh*t people that are afraid to take chances and to work with artists that they believe in and that they’re fans of. They’re d*ck riders, all of these motherf*ckers.” (SOHH Guest Star)

His new LP is reportedly set to drop this November.

Universal Motown will unveil the St. Louis rapper’s sixth studio album 5.0 on November 16. The club jam “Tippin’ in da Club,” produced by Dutch, sets the tone for the high-octane record. The song has already gone to urban radio, while the second single “Just a Dream” has been serviced to Top 40 stations. The latter was produced by Jim Jonsin and Rico Love. (Rap-Up)