Why does hip-hop star Nelly have a piece of tape on his cheek? What does it represent?

When we caught up with the rapper, he shared that the Band-Aid craze was started out of necessity following a basketball injury. Nelly also shared that the Band-Aid also has a special meaning: "Like I said, it's just another beautiful thing that you see that you touch a lot of people, man, you know? I also wear a lot of times when I'm doing national press or something like that, to where I think my little brother City Spud might see it, you know what I'm sayin', 'cause you know he lockdown right now. So I do it to where, you know what I'm sayin', to let him know that we holding it down for him, too, also."

[ From "musictopia news", although the link no longer exists to that article]



Ever wonder about that Band-Aid Nelly's been sporting on his left cheek lately? Well, we did some snooping and finally found out why Nelly insists on that wack fashion accessory. At first, Nelly wore the Band-Aid to cover up a basketball injury. But according to Entertainment Weekly, after that scar healed, Nelly kept wearing it in honor of ex St. Lunatic Lavell Webb (a.k.a. City Spud), who collaborated with Nelly on his hit song 'Ride Wit Me'. Nelly says that Webb, who is serving a 10-year sentence for robbery, is innocent. 'I know when he sees me on TV and sees me wearing this Band-Aid, he knows I'm wearing it for him,' said Nelly. That sounds loony even for a St. Lunatic.

[From Alloy Gossip News]

The consensus answer appears to be "Originally a basketball injury, then a tribute to a friend."

"According to a couple of stories floating around out there, the need for the bandage originated from a basketball injury. However, Nelly continued to wear it long after the injury healed in honor of his friend and music collaborator City Spud."

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