I blame myself for being surprised by Nelly performing for Trump's Inauguration
With family from St. Louis, as a graduate of a Missouri HBCU and a longtime Nelly fan, I stayed in denial for as long as I could
When I heard the news about Snoop Dogg performing on the 2024 Inauguration weekend, I didn’t care. Grown, married men glorifying pimp behavior has been weird to me since 1993.
But Nelly? Not Nelly. I gave him a pass for “Pimp Juice,” especially after seeing his adorable two-time relationship with Ashanti and the equally cute one with his (now-ex) Shantel Jackson on his reality show. Nelly wasn’t the “I hate black women” type; he was the type to grin in brown-skinned Kelly Rowland’s face during “Dilemma” and behave himself during a televised lap dance. I looked at Nelly like somebody’s hip-hop boyfriend next door.
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There was no way in the world that Nelly was honoring Trump with a performance. Not the guy who I supported with a collection of perfectly fitting Apple Bottom jeans. Not the Nelly whose Apple Bottom perfume I raced out and bought. Not the Nelly who had my childhood friend’s backyard party cracking during my junior year of college when we played “Country Grammar” on repeat at least five times. Not the Nelly whose videos I stared at until I could do the Monastery dance as good as him. Not the Nelly who I kept defending against a St. Louis frenemy who weirdly couldn’t stand him (and never met him). Not the Nelly who damn near everybody at my Missouri HBCU loved (minus the Kansas City students who wouldn’t stop talking my ear off about Tech N9ne).
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There was no way in the world that one of very few men on “The Breakfast Club” to check Charlamagne tha God without ever raising his voice was supporting Donald Trump. There was no way in the world that the same rapper wearing a “Mike Brown” shirt while participating in a Ferguson rally was performing for Donald Trump.
There is no punishment. That’s the reason we’re getting the same result.
- Nelly on the Ferguson killing
Absolutely positively no one could convince me of this. I heard the news and put on invisible headphones and strapped one of those “Birdbox” blindfolds to my eyes ‘cause I just didn’t want to believe it. I could accept Janet Jackson being goofy for the white father ramblings about Harris before I could accept this news about Nelly.
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But here we are — with him complaining about how no other president asked him to perform, how he never got any earnings from Vice President Kamala Harris’ $1.5 billion, and how it’s an “honor” and Trump won the presidency.
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I can’t wrap my mind around a black man being able to pocket watch how much Harris spent on the campaign trail but somehow totally overlooking the January 6 riots, the Central Park 5, downplaying the murder of Sonya Massey as “the water” while still saying all police officers should get immunity, and failing so tremendously at educating the public about the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s not even getting into anything that was brought up during “Unfit: The Psychology of Donald Trump” or Frontline’s “The Choice 2024.”
I shrugged off Luther Campbell not liking Harris initially before he had a change of heart. Although D.L. Hughley not liking Harris initially didn’t phase me much, it was cool to see him at the Democratic National Convention. I thought Math Hoffa’s Instagram videos about Drake versus Kendrick Lamar were hysterical, but I didn’t lose any sleep over his ramblings nor his oblivious barbershop guests.
If somebody gave me a winning lottery ticket in exchange for caring about anything Soulja Boy or Kodak Black had to say, I guess I’d just be out of a lottery ticket. And I damn sure wouldn’t win $0.01 to even slightly care about colorist Rick Ross. (Salute to Kaiya for tolerating him though.) And weirdo Billy Dee Williams, who thinks blackface is hilarious, didn’t surprise me when he described Trump as “a very charming man.”
But Nelly? St. Lunatics Nelly? This one stung ‘cause I have consistently been a fan since 2000 and always assumed he’d be on the right side of history (“Tip Drill” excluded). When Astrology Twitter would ramble on about zodiac signs, my response to that foolishness would always be that my very very Liberal grandfather has the same birthdate as Donald Trump, and the two couldn’t be more different. And now I have another example ‘cause Nelly is embarrassing Scorpios right now, me included.
Regardless, I can only blame me — because I heard this man loud and clear 25 years ago when he rapped, “Bill Gates. Donald Trump. Let me in now.”
He meant that. Literally.
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