Nelly Denies St. Lunatics’ Ali’s Claims That He ‘Hustled’ The Group: He Didn’t Do The Legwork

February 4, 2021 by C.J. in Music with 0 Comments

Nelly, Ali

Nelly Denies St. Lunatics’ Ali’s Claims That He ‘Hustled’ The Group: He Didn’t Do The Legwork

Nelly’s history with the St. Lunatics has resurfaced as member Ali accused him of “hustling” the group.

In a post that kicked off a series of back and forth between the two, Ali said Tuesday, Feb. 2nd, that he was the one who launched the group in 1993 and showed Nelly and their fellow St. Lunatics how to rap. He said he pushed for Nelly to have his breakout moment on Gimme What You Got, and when he was offered a solo deal himself, he turned it down to stick with the group. He said Nelly didn’t make the same move when he was offered his own deal.

Nelly

He wrote that in 1999,

“Ma$e Manager at the time (Cudda)…was introduced to us…and he immediately started separating the group. He wanted Nelly and City Spud. They left with Cudda (went to Harlem). The separation became The reality…They had left !!! We(The rest of the group) felt ‘HUSTLED’….we were *1 until, The opportunity was presented to be *2 ..they hustled us!!”

He continued and alleged Nelly abandoned them after getting signed to Universal.

“Fast forward Universal record signs Nelly : Nelly has his manager (my bf @stltluv )…. call me and he said : “Nelly said he doesn’t NEED YOU to help him write”….”

“So you need me to get you here , but now that you’re here ….”I don’t need you anymore“!
I said ok, i’ll stay here and I won’t help him write!!
Some kind of way I ended up going …I ended up helping him write … but got no credit!! Wow !! I got hustled !! …”

Now..go back and listen to the video “The ORIGINAL hustlers” …. bravo, I can’t be mad Fool me once shame on you, …. Fool me twice shame on me!! You live and you learn.
••The Deposition•(2021)”

Swipe to see his entire post.

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He continued to make claims in the comment section of his post.

Nelly has since responded and denied Ali’s claims. He said while on the What Up Doe radio show in St. Louis:

“There’s three people in this group that’s been a lunatic since day one: Nelly, Kyjuan, and City [Spud]. We all went to school together. Alright? Cool. When we first started the Lunatics, Ali was not in this group. Stop me when I’m lying.”

He continued and said Ali and two others initially connected with the group’s managers, not the actual artists.

He added,

“When they said the Lunatics was doing all the legwork and talent shows and all of that, that was us. He didn’t do that. When we was going around town making a name for ourselves, doing the car wash, performing at the talent shows at [colleges], that was us, that wasn’t Ali. Ali did not perform with us. Either he thought he was too good or he didn’t perform with us. Either way, he did not perform with us. Just factuals. Actual factuals.”

He went on to say that Ali also didn’t join them when the St. Lunatics performed at a Jive Records showcase. Jive offered the group a record deal and they worked with a local production company to get free studio time. Nelly said Ali then joined the St. Lunatics officially. Ali then came up with Gimme What You Got that launched the group into a new level of fame. While Ali said he fought for Nelly to stay on the record, Nelly alleges that Ali told him he would be axed because he didn’t sign the contract with the production company. Nelly said he had no idea the group had already signed.

“Ali done got everybody to sign but me. My back against the wall. I ain’t got no leverage.”

He continued and said that’s when Mase’s manager Cudda showed interest in him having a solo career. Nelly confessed,

“That did not sit well with everybody.”

Nelly

He said that while he was given a deal, he pushed for the St. Lunatics to get an album before recording Country Grammar. But Nelly said when the album was done, the group told him they wanted their verses pulled if they didn’t get paid enough.

The label subsequently paid them out of Nelly’s budget and he had to pay it back, Nelly alleges. He went on to point out the group was successful before Ali left. Hear his full interview below at the 101-minute mark.

Listen to “wat up doe” on Spreaker.

Ali replied to Nelly and shared a few cryptic messages on his Instagram account.