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St. Lunatics

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St. Lunatics
OriginSt. Louis,Missouri, U.S.[1]
GenresHip hop
Years active1993–2010
Labels
SpinoffsAli & Gipp
Past members

St. Lunaticswere an Americanhip hopgroup formed inSt. Louis,Missouri, in 1993. The group consisted of childhood friendsNelly,Ali,Murphy Lee,Kyjuan, City Spud, and Slo Down.[2][3][4]

Their first hit, "Gimme What U Got", gained popularity in 1996. In 2000, the group signed withUniversal Records.Their debut album,Free City,was released after Nelly's solo breakthrough, achieving Platinum status in the U.S. Members of St. Lunatics pursued solo careers, and Nelly opened a music production school. An anticipated album in 2009,City Free,was never released. City Spud served a prison term for a robbery-related crime and later performed with Nelly at the 2023 Grammy Awards.

History

[edit]

After graduating from high school, the band members were working day jobs in the service industry or attending college.[5]St. Lunatics' first local independent hit was "Gimme What U Got", released in 1996.[1]In 1997, DJ Kut onthe Beat FMstarted playing the single locally, generating interest in the group.[5]In 2000, Nelly was signed toUniversal Records,followed by the rest of the group.[citation needed]While Nelly was working on his solo albumCountry Grammar,City Spud was arrested and sentenced to ten years in prison for robbery.[6]After Nelly's breakthrough success in 2000, St. Lunatics released their debut album,Free City.In 2001, the singles "Summer in the City" and "Midwest Swing" were released.Free Citywas certified Platinum in the United States and Gold in Canada.[citation needed]

In 2002, Ali issued his solo albumHeavy StarchwhileMurphy LeepublishedMurphy's Lawin 2003. Murphy later launched his own label, UC ME Entertainment.[7]Nelly went on to have a successful solo career and in 2011, he partnered with St. Louis-basedVatterott Collegeto open a music production school in downtown St. Louis, called Ex'treme Institute (E.I.).[8]

In 2009, St. Lunatics were reportedly working on a new album,City Free,to be released that summer.[9]The record was later postponed until 2011.[citation needed]A song titled "St. Lunatics" was leaked in early March 2009,[3]along with "Get Low 2 Da Flo", which was produced byPlay-N-Skillz.[4]The first official single released from the album was "Money Talks", featuring rapperBirdman.[10]The second single was "Polo".[citation needed]The record was never released, however.

After his release from prison,[11]City Spud issued the solomixtapeTwelve-12,in 2010.[12]

In 2023, City Spud performed "Hot in Herre"with Nelly at the2023 Grammy Awardsfor the 50 Years of Hip-Hop' showcase.[13]

On September 19, 2024, the group filed a copyright infringement suit against Nelly for unpaid royalties and lack of credit on two albums—Nelly'sCountry Grammarand the group'sFree City—seeking $50 million from the defendant.[14][15][16]

[edit]

Lavell Webb, known as City Spud, was a small-time marijuana dealer as a young adult. After quitting his job at a McDonald's inSt. Louis County,he had little money. Webb and a conspirator came up with the plan to pretend to sell marijuana to someone, intending to rob them instead.

On the night of April 15, 1999, during a robbery, their victim ended up getting shot five times in the back, though he survived. Webb was charged with first-degree robbery, one count of first-degree assault, and two counts of armed criminal action. Despite only being a first-time offender, he was sentenced to ten years in prison.[17]

Discography

[edit]

Studio albums

[edit]
Year Album details Peak chart positions Certifications
(sales threshold)
US
[18] 		US R&B
[19] 		CAN
[20]
2001 Free City 3 1 18

Compilations

[edit]
Year Album details Peak chart positions
US
[18] 		US R&B
[19]
2006 Who's the Boss
  • Release date: February 21, 2006
  • Label: Fast Life Music
 114 28

Singles

[edit]
Year Single Peak chart positions Certification Album
US
[23] 		US R&B
[24] 		AUS
[25] 		GER
[25] 		NED
[25] 		SWI
[25] 		UK
[26]
1997 "Gimme What U Got" — — — — — — — Who's the Boss
2001 "Midwest Swing" 88 41 — — — — — Free City
"Batter Up"
(featuringNelly) 		— 76 19 79 31 75 28
2010 "Money Talks"(featuringBirdman) — — — — — — — non-album single
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

References

[edit]
  1. ^ab"St. Lunatics Biography, Songs, & Albums".AllMusic.com.RetrievedJuly 14,2022.
  2. ^"St. Lunatics feud signals an end to St. Louis' original hip-hop dynasty".STLToday.February 8, 2021.Archivedfrom the original on February 8, 2021.RetrievedFebruary 8,2021.
  3. ^ab"City Free St Lunatics Album".1VIBE.NET. Archived fromthe originalon October 8, 2011.RetrievedNovember 16,2010.
  4. ^ab"St.Lunatics- Get Low to Da Flo".YouTube. April 30, 2009.Archivedfrom the original on December 22, 2021.RetrievedNovember 16,2010.
  5. ^abRoberts, Randall (August 8, 2001)."Bad Rap – St. Louis Metro News – St. Louis".Riverfront Times.RetrievedFebruary 6,2023.
  6. ^"Former St. Lunatic pays state for prison room and board".St. Louis Business Journal. April 26, 2002. Archived fromthe originalon May 31, 2002.
  7. ^"Free man Murphy Lee returns with" You See Me "".STLToday. December 10, 2009.
  8. ^Tim Bryant (August 24, 2011)."Nelly and Vatterott to open recording school".STLToday.Archived fromthe originalon December 5, 2011.
  9. ^Muhammad, Latifah (September 24, 2010)."Nelly and St. Lunatics End Hiatus With 'City Free'".The Boombox.RetrievedMarch 24,2023.
  10. ^Kenya Vaughn (April 20, 2010)."St. Lunatics shoot video for first 'City Free' single".St. Louis American.
  11. ^"St. Lunatic City Spud back from jail on the music trail".stlamerican.com.September 3, 2008.RetrievedApril 23,2023.
  12. ^"Twelve12 MidwestMixtapes.com Your Number One Source for FREE Mixtapes".Archived fromthe originalon September 7, 2010.RetrievedAugust 28,2010.
  13. ^Lamarre, Carl (February 6, 2023)."2023 Grammys Celebrates 50 Years of Hip-Hop with an All-Star Performance".Billboard.RetrievedFebruary 6,2023.
  14. ^"Nelly sued for at least $50m over allegedly not crediting former St. Lunatics bandmates on hit album Country Grammar".Music Business Worldwide.September 19, 2024.RetrievedSeptember 21,2024.
  15. ^Horowitz, Steven J. (September 19, 2024)."Nelly Sued by Former Group St. Lunatics for Uncredited Work on His Debut Album 'Country Grammar'".Variety.RetrievedSeptember 21,2024.
  16. ^Donahue, Bill (September 19, 2024)."Nelly Hit with Copyright Lawsuit Over Decades-Old Album by Ex-Bandmates: 'Lying the Entire Time'".Billboard.RetrievedSeptember 21,2024.
  17. ^Roberts, Randall (August 8, 2001)."Bad Rap".Riverfront Times.Village Voice Media.RetrievedJuly 7,2012.
  18. ^ab"St. Lunatics Album & Song Chart History – Billboard 200".Billboard.Nielsen Company.RetrievedNovember 3,2010.
  19. ^ab"St. Lunatics Album & Song Chart History – R&B/Hip-Hop Albums".Billboard.Nielsen Company.RetrievedNovember 3,2010.
  20. ^"St. Lunatics Album & Song Chart History – Canadian Albums".Billboard.Nielsen Company.RetrievedNovember 3,2010.
  21. ^"RIAA – Gold & Platinum – May 19, 2020: St. Lunatics certified albums".Recording Industry Association of America.RetrievedMay 19,2020.
  22. ^"Music Canada Searchable Database".Music Canada.July 12, 2001.RetrievedMay 19,2020.
  23. ^"St. Lunatics Album & Song Chart History – Hot 100".Billboard.Nielsen Company.RetrievedNovember 3,2010.
  24. ^"St. Lunatics Album & Song Chart History – R&B/Hip-Hop Songs".Billboard.Nielsen Company.RetrievedNovember 3,2010.
  25. ^abcd"St. Lunatics and Nelly – Batter Up (Song)".Charts.nz.RetrievedOctober 3,2022.
  26. ^"Official Singles Chart Top 100 09 September 2001 – 15 September 2001".Official Charts Company.September 2001.RetrievedOctober 3,2022.
  27. ^"ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2002 Singles"(PDF).Australian Recording Industry Association.RetrievedOctober 2,2022.
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