With a new wife and a baby on the way, life is looking good for rapper Nelly right now.
How Nelly Turned Tragedy To Positivity
But the truth about his past is that his life has been full of tragedy.
And somehow, out of his heartbreak, Nelly has been able to create powerful positive stories.
Possibly the most devastating loss of Nelly’s life was the passing of his beloved sister Jackie Donahue.
Although few knew it at the time, Nelly’s meteoric rise to the top of the music industry in the early 2000s was also a time of great pain for him and his family.
Nelly’s Sister’s, Jackie, Doctor’s Visit
Nelly employed Jackie as his stylist when he first became a hip hop superstar.
In 2001, Jackie went to visit a doctor after complaining about extreme tiredness.
At the time, Nelly reportedly believed that the reason for this was that she wasn’t used to his new crazy work schedule while on tour.
However, Jackie also started experiencing severe pain all over her body.
When she finally got checked out, the result was a shock that would turn their lives upside down.
Jackie Donahue’s Cancer Diagnosis
Jackie was diagnosed with a form of cancer called acute myelogenous leukemia.
But at first, it looked like there would be light at the end of the tunnel.
After receiving treatment, Jackie actually went into remission for around two years.
But in 2003, the cancer returned.
Doctors advised Jackie and Nelly to seek out a bone marrow donor.
Jes Us 4 Jackie’s Campaign
Their desperate search led the siblings to set up the Jes Us 4 Jackie campaign.
The initiative hoped to provide education about the importance of bone marrow transplants and encourage African American people to register as donors.
The campaign managed to gain almost 2000 signees, including Nelly himself.
But heartbreakingly, not one of the signees was a match for Jackie.
She was unable to receive a transplant, and her illness eventually got worse.
Jackie’s Passing
Jackie finally passed away in March 2005 at just 31 years old.
In a statement shared by Today at the time, Jackie’s family said that they were “deeply saddened” by her passing.
They went on to thank everyone who had offered support to the foundation’s bone marrow drive.
In the statement, Jackie was described as having “loving spirit, energy and unshakable faith.”
The loss was devastating for Nelly.
However, there wasn’t much time to grieve.
Nelly Adopted His Sister’s Kids
With Jackie gone, Nelly was the one who had to step up and look after the children she had left behind.
And this was how Nelly managed to turn the loss of his sister into the gain of a whole family.
He actually adopted his niece and nephew, Sydney and Lil Shawn.
They went to live with Nelly and his two biological kids, Chanelle and Cornel III, also known as Tre.
Nelly’s Reality Show, Nellyville
The children featured alongside Nelly on the rapper’s short-lived reality show, Nellyville.
The show, which ran from 2014 to 2015, was the first chance a lot of people got to see the rapper at home with his kids.
During its run, fans got an insight into the lives of his adopted kids.
In 2015, Sydney mentioned on an episode of Nellyville that she dreamed of becoming a model when she grew up.
After being given a shot, Sydney expressed how shocked she was at the difficulty of the job.
And she even said that she never knew walking could be so hard.
Nelly’s Adopted Daughter, Sydney, Had A Son
Years after the show, in 2020, her life changed forever after she gave birth to her son, Cross Kapone Wimbley.
Sydney celebrated her boy’s second birthday with a heartfelt post on Instagram.
She described him as her world and the one who kept her going.
Nelly Is A Grandfather
Lil Shawn, on the other hand, has continued to chase his dreams of following his uncle and adoptive dad into show business.
According to his Instagram page, Lil Shawn, who also goes by the name Tab, works as an artist.
However, he has also tried his hand at other careers, such as making video game streams and tutorials on his YouTube channel.
So far, his channel has racked up nearly 6,000 subscribers.
Like Sydney, Lil Shawn has also become a parent himself after having a baby girl called Mahalia Shine.
In September 2020, he shared a photo of his daughter with his Instagram followers.
In the caption, he wrote that he was celebrating his newborn being 19 days old and joked that it was her “first photoshoot.”
Nelly’s biological daughter Chanelle has also been revealed to be a mother.
She shared the news on social media, announcing that she had given birth to a son called Ace.
So despite the fact that he’s now preparing to have another baby of his own with Ashanti, Nelly has actually been a grandparent for a number of years.
But he doesn’t seem to be sweating it, as the pressures of parenthood have always appeared to be something the hitmaker takes in his stride.
Nelly’s Take On Raising Kids
In 2015, during an interview on The Real, he shared his approach to raising kids.
His approach was always just to let whatever happens happen, saying that “you have to let the youth be the youth.”
He went on to add that he would always let the kids make their own mistakes, while still trying to be a guide for them.
In the same interview, Nelly was asked about his experience as a single dad.
He talked about how “important” he believed it was that there were single fathers out there, instead of just “baby daddies”.
Which seemed to mean that Nelly was focused on being present in his kids’ lives, instead of keeping his distance from them.
After such a tragic loss for Sydney and Lil Shawn, it seems that Nelly has tried his best to be a parent for them.
Nelly’s Touching Tribute To His Sister
A few years ago, he paid tribute to their late mom in a touching way during his time on Dancing with the Stars.
In 2020, he and his dancing partner Daniella Karagach took to the floor to perform a rumba to the song Nobody Knows by Tony Rich.
During the show, Nelly revealed that this had been one of Jackie’s favorite songs.
In a feature shown before his dance, Nelly talked about how special his sister had been to him.
He described her as a “real tough cookie.”
He went on to say that “she was captain of the ship up until she was no longer able to be it.”
Nelly Reflects On Sister’s Loss
Nelly also took time to reflect on what life had been like during that dark time.
He said that it was a different feeling when it finally hit home that he was going to lose Jackie.
Nelly described it as one of the worst days of his life.
He also recalled that in the final days of her life, Jackie was worried about what would happen to her children.
But her brother assured her that she didn’t have to worry, and that he was going to take care of them.
However, Nelly himself stressed that it was “a whole family effort” to look after Sydney and Lil Shawn.
All these years later, with families of their own, Jackie’s kids will be down to help Nelly and Ashanti out when their own little baby comes into the world.
