Nelly and the St. Lunatics have received acknowledgment from their native city of St. Louis and have been presented with the key to the city.
The recognition occurred during Nelly’s yearly Black & White Ball on Sunday (December 15), which attracted numerous celebrities, including his spouse Ashanti, fellow STLiens J-Kwon and Metro Boomin, along with Ne-Yo, Jermaine Dupri, Bow Wow, producer Bryan-Michael Cox, and others.
The event supported the Make-A-Wish Foundation and awarded several scholarships to Harris-Stowe State University. Nelly likewise recognized Make-A-Wish’s Max Del Rosario, a young boy fighting Hodgkin’s disease.
Later in the evening, St. Louis mayor Tishaura Jones appeared on stage to present Nelly and his team with the newly-designed key.
“You’ve experienced a fantastic year and a remarkable career.” “I believe everyone here can concur that Nelly has made St. Louis well-known,” she remarked. “And for that reason, he has received numerous awards repeatedly from various national organizations – but we want to honor him here.” It is with great pleasure that I give you a key to the city. We want to express our gratitude for everything you do for the community.
Earlier this autumn, a lawsuit initiated by the St. Lunatics claimed that Nelly was supposedly withholding royalties for the group’s contributions to his hit album Country Grammar.
According to Billboard, three members of the group — Murphy Lee, Kyjuan, and City Spud — stated they did not agree to the lawsuit and subsequently removed their names from the filing.
The legal case is now solely a conflict between Nelly and Ali, with the latter stating via his attorney that he will “keep seeking the unpaid royalties he deserves.”
Ali did not attend the Black & White Ball, but the other members mentioned were present.
In the initial complaint, St. Lunatics claimed that Nelly had “manipulated” the group into thinking they had received payment for their contributions to his Diamond-certified debut album, which was not true.
The lawsuit stated: “Whenever the plaintiffs faced defendant Haynes [Nelly], [he] would guarantee them as ‘friends’ that he would never hinder their entitlement to financial success.”
“Regrettably, the plaintiffs, who reasonably trusted that their friend and former bandmate would never take credit for creating the original works, did not seek any legal recourse at first.”
Soon after, St. Lunatics — except for Ali — took the stage with Nelly at the 2024 American Music Awards, where the group later insisted on being excluded from the lawsuit.
