Murphy Lee

Since the early '90s the St. Lunatics had anchored the local scene in St. Louis, racking up regional successes while refining their distinctive Midwestern take on Dirty South energy. Management and a major-label contract were already in place, yet commercial traction remained elusive until Nelly, one of the crew's own, scored multi-platinum sales with his 2000 solo debut. Country Grammar carried several Lunatics cameos, among them Murphy Lee, whose delivery echoed Nelly's blend of rural and urban inflections yet distinguished itself through a sharper nasal tone and rhymes that felt simultaneously verbose and relaxed. Once the group had gained national visibility, Murphy Lee joined Nelly and the remaining St. Lunatics to release their long-awaited first album, Free City, in June 2001. The project performed well, though it fell short of the blockbuster scale achieved by Nellyville the following year. That second Nelly effort again proved enormously successful and included Murphy Lee on cuts such as the potent Roc-a-Fella collaboration "Roc the Mic" and the playful chart single "Air Force Ones." Additional exposure arrived in June 2003 when Murphy Lee teamed with Nelly and P. Diddy on "Shake Ya Tailfeather," the ubiquitous lead track from the Bad Boys II soundtrack. The resulting momentum led that fall to Murphy's first solo outing, Murphy's Law. The album incorporated "Tailfeather" alongside the Jermaine Dupri-produced lead single "What da Hook Gone Be." Early 2004 brought further recognition as Murphy Lee shared a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for "Tailfeather."