Nelly is one of the most noted artists of all time. He has sold over 21 million albums in the United States, making him the fourth best-selling rap artist in American music history.
Nelly Apologizes to Eminem Years After Beef
But with that type of success in his career, naturally the St. Louis-born artist has made some enemies along the way. One of those enemies was rap star Eminem. Nelly was engaged in a brief battle with the Detroit-born emcee in the early 2000s.
However, during a recent interview with Bootleg Kev, he was remorseful about his feud with Slim Shady.
“I misinterpreted something when I was new and I want to apologize to Em. But I was at a time where I’m coming in, I’m the new guy, anybody talking… you know, we were from the Lou. Somehow I misinterpreted that he had something to say about what we were doing,” he said.
Nelly & Eminem Beef Explained
The bout between the two emcees occurred in 2000. And it happened during the peak of their careers. Eminem’s Marshall Mathers LP and Nelly’s Country Grammar were two of the highest-selling rap albums that year and remain two of the top-selling rap albums of all time. So naturally the two emcees were pitted against each other.
Nelly appeared on MTV’s hit show Total Request Live (TRL) to take a shot at Eminem.
“Well, I don’t too much know nothing ’bout dirty, you know what I’m saying? But he be having some sly little comments about me,” he said to host KK Holiday at the time.
“I don’t play with candy, you know what I’m saying? I eat M&Ms, flat out. So I just don’t think dude plans on coming to tour in St. Louis, that’s all.”
Eminem was also said to have an unreleased track titled “Detriot Grammar,” to hit back at Nelly.
However, the St. Louis-born artist said it was at a party where the two artists were able to settle their differences.
“We were at an afterparty and somebody came and was like, ‘Yo, Em wanna come through and holla.’ I’m like, ‘Okay,’” he recalled. “When he came, he had Hailey with him, she was young. He was like, ‘Yo man, my daughter’s [a fan].’ I felt like a dick, man. Because we were Eminem fans! It was just a miscommunication, man.”
