When it comes to the origin cities of hip hop stars over the last 20 plus years - it's safe to say St. Louis, Missouri is not the first to come to mind.
But St. Louis, Missouri is the home of at least one rap superstar that had the world of music following his every move for the better part of the 2000s; Cornell Iral Haynes Jr. Better known to you and I as Nelly.
Nelly released his first single ‘Country Grammar (Hot Sh*t)’ in early 2000, with album release plans on hold until he could prove to his label that he was worth the investment. 
He soon proved to be worth the investment and more, spawning 4 hit singles from his first record, and featured on a number of turn-of-the-century classics as well. 
While all pretty ubiquitous in their own right; none of these tracks went any higher than #3 on the Billboard Hot 100.  
Perhaps Nelly really *was* too tied to St. Louis, much like the label feared back in ‘99. 
Maybe what he needed to do to get that Chart topping single was to relocate… maybe he needed to move on from St. Louis and show the world what it was like in a place called Nellyville, because in Nellyville it was getting Hot.
This is the story of Nelly's iconic single 'Hot in Herre' with newly unearthed clips from Nelly Himself, and Interviews conducted by Encore's Myles Galloway.
Also includes audio from: The Fader, June 8th 2017.
Nelly Reveals The Secret History Behind "Hot In Herre"
Previous Encore episodes referenced: 
I'm Looking Crazy Right Now: The True Story of Beyoncé and Jay Z's 'Crazy in Love'
This Song is B-A-N-A-N-A-S: The True Story of Gwen Stefani's 'Hollaback Girl'