Nelly to kick off Little 500 events

People who like the city of St. Louis, speak country grammar and believe the key to everything must be the money, are probably anticipating the arrival of Nelly today at the IU Auditorium.\n"I can't wait to see Nelly. I'm a big fan of his; his music just gets me so hyped!" freshman Dawn Brooks said.\nNelly, also known as Cornell Haynes Jr., is from St. Louis and represents his city in almost all his work. Nelly was first a member of a rap group called the St. Lunatics. The group never received a record deal, so Nelly decided to go solo. Four years later, he had a smash hit with the single "Country Grammar." Soon after his first hit, he continued making No. 1 songs on the Billboard music charts. His style is credited to Midwest music, but he combines west coast and down south beats in his lyrics. Many people believe Nelly is setting a trend in the hip-hop genre. \n"I like Nelly because he has a different style," freshman Gerald Mitchell said. "Many rappers aren't as animated and their beats aren't as up-tempo as Nelly."\nAttending IU gives many students the opportunity to see their favorite performers throughout the year. \n"There was a need and want by the students to bring an artist of the hip-hop genre to IU," said Union Board Concerts Director Andy Proctor, a junior. "We were happy to have the opportunity for Nelly to come to the campus but convenience was a big factor. Nelly was already on tour so we decided this was a great time to give the students what they wanted."\nWhile it is nearly impossible to please everyone on campus with the Little 500 concert, Proctor said he thinks a lot of people will like this show.\n"Little 5 deserves a name a lot of people are familiar with, and Nelly's hot right now. Especially for the college audience," he said. "It's pretty much impossible to program one event for everybody. A lot of people know him, and a lot of people hear his music."\nNelly represents St. Louis, but he is bringing other acts from the east coast. Sticky Fingaz, also known as Kirk Jones, is starting a solo career and will tour with Nelly to debut his new release. From Queens, N.Y., the former leader of the hard-core rap group Onyx, has also taken on an acting career. Sticky Fingaz starred in the UPN television sitcom "Moesha" and in Spike Lee's movie "Clockers."\nAlley Life, an up-and-coming hip-hop group out of Detroit, has not yet released a full album, but is working to promote its single, "That's the Way We Roll."\nProctor said Union Board had about 200 tickets left at press time, but he expects by Wednesday the concert will be sold out.\nNelly will perform at 10:30 p.m. today at the IU Auditorium. Tickets are $29 for the general public and $24 for IU students. They are available at any Ticketmaster location or at the Auditorium box office.