# That New Rap Singer is SO Nelly! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 1, 2002, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-new-rap-singer-is-so-nelly/116886 "2002-07-01T19:20:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2002, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-new-rap-singer-is-so-nelly/116886/1 "2002-07-01T19:20:15Z")
I find it hilarious that the new gangsta rap star is named [Nelly](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000067RPH/qid=1025550724/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/102-2749957-5604954), and his new CD is called _Nellyville_. Do you think he has any _idea?_ Are some of his hit singles _Oh, Mary, Don’t Ask_ and _Bitch_? ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2002, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-new-rap-singer-is-so-nelly/116886/2 "2002-07-01T19:51:40Z")
He isn’t _that_ new; his first CD dropped in 2000. I’d hardly call him gangsta, either. Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2002, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-new-rap-singer-is-so-nelly/116886/3 "2002-07-01T19:59:26Z")
Well, he may not be new and he may not be gangsta. But is he nelly? ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2002, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-new-rap-singer-is-so-nelly/116886/4 "2002-07-01T20:19:44Z")
If Nelly is nelly, he’s still very much in the closet. ---
**Author:** ![capacitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e47774/32.png) [@capacitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capacitor)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2002, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-new-rap-singer-is-so-nelly/116886/5 "2002-07-02T00:50:06Z")
At least he is not named Sue. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2002, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-new-rap-singer-is-so-nelly/116886/6 "2002-07-02T01:01:43Z")
Well, I have no idea. Is ‘Nelly’ slang for homosexual? From what geological era? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![widdershins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f0a364/32.png) [@widdershins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/widdershins)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2002, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-new-rap-singer-is-so-nelly/116886/7 "2002-07-02T02:29:41Z")
If he were named Sue, he’d have to get tough or die, 'cause life ain’t easy for playa named Sue. It’s probably just a delicious coincidence about the name and the song titles. Rappers aren’t usually know for having the subtlety of Oscar Wilde. ---
**Author:** ![Nacho4Sara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Nacho4Sara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nacho4Sara)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2002, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-new-rap-singer-is-so-nelly/116886/8 "2002-07-02T03:18:08Z")
Based on the bitches and hos with whom he cavorts in his videos, and his suggestion to said bitches and hos that because “it’s gettin’ hot in heya,” they should “take off all [their] clothes,” I’d say that he’s probably not a nelly in that sense of the word. Oh, and I’d second that he’s about as gangsta as Liza Minelli. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2002, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-new-rap-singer-is-so-nelly/116886/9 "2002-07-02T04:12:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Eve \* > \*\*I find it hilarious that the new gangsta rap star is named [Nelly](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000067RPH/qid=1025550724/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/102-2749957-5604954), and his new CD is called _Nellyville_. Do you think he has any _idea?_ Are some of his hit singles _Oh, Mary, Don’t Ask_ and _Bitch_? \*\* I can’t find it the dictionary(m-w), so what does " Nelly" mean to you, and where do you hear it used? As rappers go, he’s ok in my book; his music less offensive than most of the crap my brother listens to. I’d much rather hear someone swipping a double dutch song than listen to a song like “jigga my nigga,” so guess which CD I bought my brother for Christmas a couple of years ago? ---
**Author:** ![Deadly\_Nightlight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Deadly\_Nightlight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deadly_Nightlight)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2002, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-new-rap-singer-is-so-nelly/116886/10 "2002-07-02T05:09:31Z")
Did I miss something? Is Nelly slang for something? ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2002, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-new-rap-singer-is-so-nelly/116886/11 "2002-07-02T06:49:06Z")
Who cares ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2002, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-new-rap-singer-is-so-nelly/116886/12 "2002-07-02T07:09:33Z")
“nelly” is slang for an effeminate homosexual. The term has been around since the 1940s, although it still hasn’t made Merriam-Webster. An opinion piece from Salon magazine: “Nellies Need Not Apply” [http://www.salon.com/sex/feature/2001/08/01/nelly/index.html](http://www.salon.com/sex/feature/2001/08/01/nelly/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2002, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-new-rap-singer-is-so-nelly/116886/13 "2002-07-02T07:22:27Z")
OH NELLY!!! ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2002, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-new-rap-singer-is-so-nelly/116886/14 "2002-07-02T07:28:35Z")
In all fairness, I should add that Nelly as a nickname for Nelson is more common in the African-American community than outside. Hubcap Nelly has a used hubcap business in my city. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2002, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-new-rap-singer-is-so-nelly/116886/15 "2002-07-02T16:43:55Z")
Is Hubcap Nelly, uh, nellie? –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2002, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-new-rap-singer-is-so-nelly/116886/16 "2002-07-02T16:51:08Z")
I think it’s a little much to make fun of him because his name meant something 40 years before he was born. What is he, like 20 years old? ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2002, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-new-rap-singer-is-so-nelly/116886/17 "2002-07-02T17:18:23Z")
**Revtim** , “nelly” is _current_ slang for effeminate homosexual. It originated in the 1940s, it didn’t die in the 1940s. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2002, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-new-rap-singer-is-so-nelly/116886/18 "2002-07-02T17:24:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Cliffy \* > **Is Hubcap Nelly, uh, nellie?** No, his first name is Nelson. A lot of black men over the last forty years have been named Nelson in honor of Nelson Mandela, after his trial and imprisonment in 1962. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2002, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-new-rap-singer-is-so-nelly/116886/19 "2002-07-02T17:24:55Z")
Maybe so, Walloon, but I’ve _never_ heard the term “nelly” in that sense, and I’ve asked around and cannot seem to find anyone who has. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2002, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-new-rap-singer-is-so-nelly/116886/20 "2002-07-02T17:32:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RickJay \* > \*\*Maybe so, Walloon, but I’ve _never_ heard the term “nelly” in that sense, and I’ve asked around and cannot seem to find anyone who has. \*\* Ask any gay man. Or, I refer you again to: [http://www.salon.com/sex/feature/2001/08/01/nelly/index.html](http://www.salon.com/sex/feature/2001/08/01/nelly/index.html) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-new-rap-singer-is-so-nelly/116886.md?page=2)