At the time, it was not at all an uncommon thing for people in the city to share how they were somehow related to or acquainted with Nelly or another one of the St. Lunatics.

From the start, Nelly made his hometown known just as much visually as he did audibly in his music; donning a Blues pullover and Cardinals jersey in the Country Grammar music video and riding in a St. Louis Rams-themed Cutlass in the E.I. video.

It made for a very unified moment when the local sport teams embraced Nelly right back with his music being played in locker rooms and during games, him throwing out the first pitch at Cardinals games, and standing on the sidelines at St. Louis Rams games.

As he cemented himself in popular culture, Nelly simultaneously brought an unprecedented amount of attention to the city of St. Louis.

Just as Nelly’s introduction to the world brought unprecedented attention to St. Louis, it also broke way to a very special, harmonious moment in my city.