Rapper Nelly needs a lesson or two from Paris Hilton
Cornell Haynes, Jr. has one of those picture faces that I would expect from some guy who works as as insurance agent, shows up at a party and is baffled when people start calling out his name and snapping his photo. Haynes has the look of someone who has been mistaken as a hometown rap recording giant named Nelly.
Except, oh yeah, he is Nelly.
I never thought I’d say this, but Nelly needs a game face. And if Paris Hilton knows anything, it’s how to take a photo. She should teach workshops.
She makes eye contact with the lens, juts her chin slightly, tilts head, shoulders back but one angled slightly forward from the other, then she smiles with eyes and teeth. Presto, photo magic every time. I know this Hilton trick because a friend made me practice a couple of rounds one New Year’s Eve. It’s spooky how automatic the movements become, I now have to fight to not do those tricks.
Nelly is more of a hit-and-miss type photo taker. Singer Ashanti (above left) knows her stuff. She’s photo perfection, Nelly… not so much. The face you see on him in the first two pictures was the standard observed through most of the Black & White ball festivities on Sunday night whenever he was tapped on the shoulder and spun around by an admirer wielding a camera.
The man knows how to throw a party (with the help of local event planners Synergy Productions), but you’d think he’d look happier about it. He’s so much cuter with a smile or even that little bad boy grimace thing that rappers tend be so good at.
Actually, he walked around indulging fans with cameras whenever he wasn’t on stage talking or performing or grooving to the performances of his friends, including fellow St. Louis Lunatics and Boys II Men.
He must do a lot of photo taking, so you’d think he’d be better at it. At the party his grin would go from the sweetest kid-on-recess-smile to looking slightly terrified all in the flash of a light bulb.
I’m sure it doesn’t go with the hip-reformed-bad-boy-but-still-bad-ass image to be too good at the paparazzi game, but he could at least smirk or something … anything… would be better than that disturbing deer-in-the-headlights stare.
There were some images where he actually looked happy to have his photo taken. At left, you’ll notice that for some reason he doesn’t seem to notice the cameras poppin.
For a slide show of pictures from Nelly’s bash visit iParty on www.stltoday.com.
(Photos above by iParty photographer extraordinaire Katherine Bish and friend John DeGregorio)
A wayward soul from Las Vegas, Nevada, who now calls St. Louis home and believes that fashion is relative and capricious, but style is always in favor. 
Yo, memo to Debra Bass:
Nelly is being himself when his picture is taken. He’s as real as it gets, and I happen to be a Nelly fan because of a shared interest he and I have.
As for Paris Hilton, she’s a phony. And suggesting people pay money to her for lesson on how to look at a camera?
What a waste of print and band space. And to think 30 year PD vets like Keith Schildroth, Dale Singer and Ed Kohn are out of work. They wouldn’t be messing with this type of crap.
Yo, memo to Scott_Simon:
Debra wasn’t taken a shot at Nelly’s cred, just trying to point out that he looks like someone’s doofy little brother instead of a good looking rap mogul. It’s a fixable problem, be ready for the camera, when it’s your party, you are going to be in the spotlight!
I hope your shared interest with Nelly is not looking like you are surprised in every picture. Good luck Scott, I hope you don’t take every article you read personally.
Crombizzle
I doubt Nelly needs to take advice from a reporter in STL. Puhleeze!
Wiki, advice from ANY source can be beneficial when it is constructive and given with the best intentions. Especially, when the reporter has made a reasonable and prudent observation!
Nelly’s image is almost as important as his skillz (yes…w/ a z). You’d think his “people” would have addressed this issue already.
Scott_Simon and wiki,
Dudes! Seriously? Get off his sack and free yourselves of his balls–rather grow your own. Debra was just suggesting that he would look much better the star he is if he just looked less like the dunce he appears to be in those two pictures. Grow a set and jump off his!
I would like to thank the reporter for her reporting. I would say the Paris Hilton comparison is a bit off kilter. Looking at a fine, talented, wealthy rap star would point to comparisons such as (and not limited to) T.I., Kayne, P. Diddy (even though that hurt to type), Jay Z and even J Timberlake. Let’s take a page out of these fine citizens photobooks and look and compare. It’s impossible if not silly to compare a rich B&tch with a trust fund to a grass roots STL’in. I think Nelly is a fine, fine man. He’s just doing his thing and not rocking Paris (thankfully). Apples and oranges. If you want to compare, compare apples to apples. blessings, Jimmie.
Thank you, thank you all for the spirited and unexpected debate. I really wasn’t trying to diss (do they still say that) Nelly with this post. I like Nelly and I hope he invites me to more parties.
Seriously, this was mostly just a riff that came to mind when I saw a couple of the photos. I picked Paris because it was a ridiculous comparison and I found it funny. I thought maybe someone else might find it funny, too.
Nelly, obviously, doesn’t need any advice from me, but if he’s out there, I’d be happy to give him my paparrazi photo taking lesson.