Umair
Nelly is setting the record straight on his past feud with Eminem, revealing it was all a misunderstanding.
During an appearance on The Bootleg Kev Podcast on March 24, Nelly (real name Cornell Iral Haynes Jr.) admitted he misinterpreted something early in his career and wrongly believed Eminem had taken a shot at him.
Looking back, he regrets how he handled the situation.
“I misinterpreted something when I was really, really new and I want to apologise to Em,” the Hot in Here rapper said. “Somehow I misinterpreted that he had something to say about what we were doing.”
The tension peaked in the early 2000s when Nelly clapped back while hosting MTV’s TRL, saying he didn’t “play with candy” and quipping, “I eat M&Ms.”
Eminem later fired back in his 2002 track Invasion, referencing Nelly’s hit Air Force Ones.
But when the two finally met in person at a Detroit afterparty — where Eminem’s daughter Hailie Jade was present — Nelly realised he had been wrong.
“Somebody was like, ‘Yo, Em wanna come through and holler,’” he recalled. “He was like, ‘Yo man, my daughter…’ I felt like such a dick. We were Eminem fans! And just miscommunication, man.”
Now, Nelly has nothing but respect for Eminem, calling him “the GOAT.”
The two have long buried the hatchet, and both continue to thrive — Eminem with his No. 1 album The Death of Slim Shady and Nelly on his 25th-anniversary Country Grammar tour.
