Frankly Speaking: Nelly Addresses 'Tip Drill' Video & The Women of Spelman College

1. I mean this with the utmost respect for the life of his sister, but if you fought for saving your sister's life, how could you see that those women at Spelman aren't fighting for their sister's lives? It may not have been in a physical way, but its not just a "f-ing video" as you say.

Tanya at 11:17AM on Aug 29th 2008

2. I agree with you Tanya, however there is a time and place for everything. The sad part is that there are alot of african americans effected by Leukemia, Sarcardosis sickle cell anemia etc, yet most rappers or celebrities do not try to help or contribute to research, So even though Nelly was personnally effected by his sisters disease, he atleast was trying to do the right thing by finding a donor for her. You have to give the brother a break for that and usually the artist is not the person that comes up with the concept for their videos and dont have alot of say in what goes on. Record Labels are the ones that should be boycotted not the artist and undermining such a worthy plight is dangerous and ineffective to the situation. In times such as donor drives we need to be aware that that blood or marrow could very well help a family member or in some cases ourselves...Just a thought

Chinse at 6:04PM on Aug 29th 2008

3. I agree with you Tanya, however there is a time and place for
everything. The sad part is that there are alot of african americans
effected by Leukemia, Sarcardosis sickle cell anemia etc, yet most
rappers or celebrities do not try to help or contribute to research,
So even though Nelly was personnally effected by his sisters disease,
he atleast was trying to do the right thing by finding a donor for
her. You have to give the brother a break for that and usually the
artist is not the person that comes up with the concept for their
videos and dont have alot of say in what goes on. Record Labels are
the ones that should be boycotted not the artist and undermining such
a worthy plight is dangerous and ineffective to the situation. In
times such as donor drives we need to be aware that that blood or
marrow could very well help a family member or in some cases
ourselves...Just a thought

Chinse at 6:05PM on Aug 29th 2008

4. I commend Nelly for trying to educate people about leukemia, but he also needs to realize that women should not be exploited as they were in that video.

R Michelle at 10:34PM on Aug 29th 2008

5. I guess he thought it was ok to exploit women and treat them like garbage until he needed them for something. Don't get me wrong, those women chose to be exploited, but that still doesn't make it right.

LIA at 11:19PM on Aug 29th 2008

6. Nelly you are right. Those women at Spelman are some uppity, snotty, arrogant biyatches. They think the better than everybody. On Oprah talking bout they stop dancing at parties when hip-hop come on. Just lying. You right, they should have gotten the bigger picture. Deal with the video stuff on their time, another time and not when you trying to teach. Like Madea says, "they need to sat down!"

Calvin at 1:32PM on Aug 30th 2008

7. I am learning a lot lately about what black females are like from watching these videos. evryone says that black rappersd are street poets who teach what is real. Where can I watch these video that they talk about?

Caesar at 2:26PM on Aug 30th 2008

8. Tanya i agree with everything you've said. As for Nelly, he could have handled this thing differently. He could have sat down with the ladies of Spelman and addressed their concerns about the video, his lyrics, etc. Along with leading a campaign about his sister's illness, he could have launched a joint campaign about respecting black women. He could have asked for BET to pull that video but he chose not to. And Chinse, while i see what you are saying, i don't totally agree with it. Nelly was/is at a level where he could have owned his own record company and called the shots about the music he was putting out. There are a lot of artists out there who would love to be huge stars but they put their principles ahead of the money and fame. Case in point, Heather Headly left her record label because they wanted her to show her body more. She refused, left, and is now doing gospel. He made the choice and now he has to deal with the backlash of it all.

jen at 4:13PM on Aug 30th 2008

9. People need to realize that their actions have consequences. You cannot disrespect women and then expect them to rally behind you for a cause, even a good one. Why? Because they can't trust the messenger.

Talulazoeapple at 8:49PM on Aug 30th 2008

10. Wow, Nelly sister died, and we are worried about the way Spellman women feel, isnt the abuse still happening , isnt women being disrespected all over the worlds, Yet a Blood Drive is the place to have a three hour discussion...and Women are dying..We choke on a gnat n never get anything done..

Cheryl at 2:03AM on Aug 31st 2008

11. I agree with you, Lia, Nelly feels it is ok to degrade and disrespect Black women but we are all supposed to support him whenever he feels we should.. I feel bad for his Sister but I hope he has learned something fromthis becauser I know darned well he wouldn't want to get behind and be supportive of anyone who projected such ire onto Black men.. He needs to get it together.

Thokozile at 7:07PM on Aug 31st 2008

12. Jen, I agree with your comments whole-heartedly. Nelly had choices. While yes, the video models chose to participate in the video, clearly Nelly could have owned up to his part, or at the very least, as you suggested Jen, come to a meeting of the minds with the Spellman sisters, and address both issues. I don't blame the Spellman women, how does one take him seriously when he's sliding a credit card down a woman's backside? He should have used that opportunity, right then and there, to address the issue than he wouldn't still be talking about it 3 years later.

Tarah at 9:05PM on Aug 31st 2008

13. Of this situation I've always said, those strippers made the choice to be in his video, they made the choice to be strippers. There was no gun or any other motivation (besides money possibly and 5-mins of fame), these women made their choice and there would have been no video if women didn't make such choices. So I say, if you want better from our daughters and sons, if you want them to view and treat each other with respect, raise them with it. Prostitution, or in the mild sense stripping, is the oldest profession in the world. Women flock to it, women keep it alive, I'm noy justifying Nelly per se, but I cannot chastise him without bringing up the point that the women in this video are just as responsible for it.

Moreover, people are multi-faceted, you can care and/or have interests in many different subjects, which to others may seem conflicting. However, since this is a common human quality, we should straighten up our own lives before trying to damn him-- how many of our brothers visit strip clubs on the regular...how many us dance/sing along with a Wayne or Plies or any other vulgar song...how many of us associate with someone who "tries to live" the ride or die girl/video girl lifestyle...maybe not all of us, but what I'm getting at is, he's (hu)man he gets to make his own choices and have his own interests and I don't think the display of one of those interests should define a person.

Reanna at 11:21PM on Aug 31st 2008

14. The women in the video are not the ones who script, storyboard and stage the video, they are persons hired by the record co, and the artist. Someone in HR and promotions has to set up the auditions, then stage the dancers and extras and set up the scenes and coach the artist and then video editors have to edit the entire thing which is viewed, reedited and approved by the record execs and the artist. Yes the dancers did it willingly but Nelly was in control and consenting to the majority of what was released. When you count extras, over 100 people or more were involved in the video, Nelly should know better. I am sorry for his sister, but you cannot disrespect women, export these images of Black women around the WORLD and expect them to come to your aid after you have denigrated them. Where were the record companies and all his homies and all the folks he knew who could have helped him? Thank God we have images of Michelle Obama to counteract what is on TV. I don't allow my children to watch BET or most music videos of rappers, its unhealthy for their minds. When I see a rap video showing a woman clothed doing something intelligent, then I will watch it and buy the cd, but I don't buy Nelly either, I don't buy any music with denigrating lyrics. I guess that's why I like Jazz.

bdsista at 5:34PM on Sep 1st 2008

15. I am an educated African American female who graduated from Spellman in 2001 and happen to love Nelly. I think the "Tip Drill" video was meant for adults, and is not a total representation of him as an artist. The blame should not be targeted at him solely as an artist, but at the women who were in the video and the people who distributed the video. For the women of Spellman to bring this concern to the table, when he was there for another cause was a total disrespect to him and his sister. I may not agree with many things that I see on television, but there is a time and a place for everything. He should be praised for taking a step that many rappers and entertainers do, and that is to seek help and guidance from their community. This song was always promoted as "adult" entertainment and should not be used to degrade him as an artist. I wonder if these ladies have attacked other artists who do the same thing, but play theor videos when children can see them during the day.

Melanie at 7:02PM on Sep 1st 2008