The Nelly Bandaid moment marks time, culture and is a significant part of 2000s Hip Hop Fashion which we will revisit.
The editorial details the history behind the bandaid, its impact on fashion and culture with a gallery as we head down memory lane.
The History Behind the Nelly Bandaid Era
For those of you that may be unaware Nelly originally used the Bandaid to cover up an injury during a basketball game which makes sense, he later decided to keep wearing the bandaid in honour of a close friend serving time in prison.
As the video above explains Nelly used the bandaid to virtually signal his commitment to friend City Spud.
‘I know when he sees me on TV and sees me wearing this Band-Aid, he knows I’m wearing it for him,’
Image Gallery of the Nelly Bandaid
The bandaid made several appearances throughout Nellys videos, award shows and photoshoots.
Dilemma Video
Hot in Herre Video
Air Force One Video
Grammy Awards 2002
The American Music Awards 2003
Photoshoot 2002/2003
(As we put the images together of Nelly rocking the bandaid we can see it was mostly done from 2001 until about 2003. This would be the period in which he branded himself this way)
Impact on Culture
We can see celebrities and individuals across the world mimicking the style every year at Halloween to pay homage to Nelly.
The impact of Nelly’s success and trendsetting led to various brand extension deals such as his partnerships with Apple Bottoms, Budweiser and Ford.
Brands have always partnered with artists who continue to shape and disrupt culture which Nelly did in the 2000s.
Other Fashion Trends set by Nelly
- Air Force One
- Grillz
- Jerseys
Outside of the bandaid we also must give a great amount of credit to Nelly for popularising the Air Force One within Hip Hop Culture.
During the Sneaker Shopping episode with Complex’s Joe La Puma, Nelly details the air forces not being as popular in Hip Hop prior to his song whilst also stating reeboks being the go to choice. Watch here
Grillz became the staple jewellery piece as rappers decided to flaunt their wealth in the teeth and again Nelly being at the forefront of this when he dropped his song grillz.
After he dropped Air force Ones the rest was history. So that’s bandaids, Air Force Ones, Grillz and Jerseys added to his 2000s Hip Hop Fashion contribution.
Final words
So to wrap it up the bandaid which simply started with the intent to be used for its actual purpose became a fashion statement which went on to mark time.
Hip Hop is always about doing things creatively and something we have seen Nelly do throughout his career. A true culturist
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