Sep 15 - Fans show up at midnight to buy Nelly's new CDs
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Fans show up at midnight to buy Nelly's new CDs
By Kevin C. Johnson
Post-Dispatch Pop Music Critic
09/14/2004
Vintage Vinyl's Terry Thomas was a little worried about this whole Nelly two-CD thing.
When Nelly's "Suit" and "Sweat" CDs officially went on sale at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday as part of Vintage Vinyl's weekly midnight sale, about 100 fans showed up, apparently eager to get their hands on the St. Louis rapper's new releases.
Thomas expected disaster, concerned that Nelly's fans wouldn't understand that these are two separate CDs, not two CDs bundled in one package like OutKast's "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below." But he had a smooth night of sales.
"I'm shocked," Thomas said after the midnight sale. "I thought it might've created confusion among the musically challenged, that it might cause some real conflict. I guess they must have advertised it well."
Antonio Higgins, 38, was first in line at Vintage Vinyl, making him the first person in St. Louis to buy "Sweat" and "Suit," for $12.99 each. He picked them up for his teenage daughters. "I had to come get it. It's one of the things Daddy's got to do. But I want to hear it myself."
Chicago's Annette Ross, 46, Antionette Patterson, 43, and Deborah Butler, 47 - who are in St. Louis to register voters in the name of the Service Employees International Union - came out at midnight to buy the CDs. Patterson's pajamas peeked out from under her street clothing. "I love that boy," she said. "That boy's got style, and I'm proud of him."
"I love me some Nelly," added Ross, who wore a nightcap. "I know his mom is proud of him."
Cynthia Rice, 33, was also in the diverse crowd. She picked up both CDs as well. "I like the way he sings," she said of the rapper. Marcia Upchurch, 20, bought both CDs, as did Charles Roedel, 22, though his buddy Mike Zigrye, 17, only picked up "Sweat," with the promise he'd be back for "Suit."
Jason "Jay E" Epperson, who produced several songs on "Sweat," was spotted at Vintage Vinyl, along with WFUN-FM (Q95.5) radio personality J-Nicks and Blu Bolden from Derrty Entertainment, Nelly's own label, who was seen buying a CD.
The scene was a lot quieter when Vintage Vinyl opened its doors later Tuesday morning - the CDs' first full day of release. Customers such as James McGee, 64, Art Lee, 20, and Sharon Alfred, 43, trickled in slowly to pick up Nelly's discs, though crowd flow increased after school let out. The case was the same down the street at Streetside Records, where the CD sold for $9.99. By 11 a.m., the store had already gone through all 30 discs in its first box. Streetside had sold several more boxes of Nelly's CDs by 5 p.m.
Nelly is the first rapper to release two CDs on the same day. Guns N' Roses released two CDs, "Use Your Illusion I" and "Use Your Illusion II," in 1991, and Bruce Springsteen released "Human Touch" and "Lucky Town" on the same day in 1992.
So where was the man himself? (Or "Man," as Nelly's mother, Rhonda Mack, calls him.) On Tuesday, Nelly was in New York City in heavy promotion mode, appearing on MTV's "TRL" and BET's "106 & Park." On Monday night, he attended his CD release party at New York's famed Webster Hall. According to MTV.com, he gave a concert that included "Shake Ya Tailfeather" (with a guest appearance from P. Diddy), "Air Force Ones," "Dilemma" and new songs "My Place" (with Jaheim), "Flap Your Wings" and "Heart of a Champion."
Nelly kept St. Louis close to his heart throughout the concert, wearing a St. Louis Cardinals jersey and cap until closing song "Hot in Herre."
Its Not That Serious Damn......
