Nelly will be performing at president-elect Donald Trump’s inaugural ball on Monday (Jan. 20), an inside source has confirmed to Billboard.
The 50-year-old “Hot in Herre” rapper joins a lineup of previously announced inauguration performers that includes Carrie Underwood, Kid Rock, Village People, Billy Ray Cyrus, Jason Aldean, Rascal Flatts, Parker McCollum, Lee Greenwood and Gavin DeGraw.
In an interview on Willie D Live, posted to YouTube on Saturday (Jan. 18), Nelly explained the reasons behind his decision to perform. He said in part, “I apologize. I didn’t know that I had to agree with your political choices, and I thought it was the things that you do not the things that you say should be done if you follow what I do. This shouldn’t even be an argument. He’s the president. He won. This isn’t a campaign. This isn’t the RNC. I’m not on the political campaign.”
Nelly went on to add, “I’m not doing this for money. I’m doing this because it’s an honor. I respect the office. It don’t matter who is in office, the same way that our men and women, our brothers and sisters who protect this country, have to go to war and have to put their life on the line for whoever’s in office. So if they can put their life on the line for whoever in office, I can damn sure perform for whoever … Nobody’s allowed to change, right? … If my past was once going to prevent me from winning today, I wouldn’t be here. I’m not saying that that he ain’t got some fucked up ways. That’s not what I’m saying at all. That’s why I’m not telling you who to vote for. But what I’m saying is that he’s the president of the United States…”
During the interview, Nelly also addressed whether he was invited to participate in the Kamala Harris campaign. The rapper said he wasn’t invited, noting, “I didn’t get none of that 1.5 to try to help somebody get voted.”
Nelly isn’t the only rapper to participate in Trump’s inauguration festivities. Earlier this weekend, it was widely reported that Snoop Dogg, Rick Ross and Soulja Boy performed at the president-elect’s Crypto Ball pre-inaugural soiree in Washington, D.C., at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium on Friday (Jan. 17).
Snoop and his fellow rappers faced backlash for their performance at the event. In the comments section of a video from the show shared on the Shade Room’s Instagram, users criticized the artists for their participation. “This is culturally embarrassing and disrespectful as hell,” one commenter wrote. Another added, “Not a check in the world is worth selling my soul to the Devil…”
Former CNN anchor Don Lemon also covered the performance during his livestream, Lemon LIVE at 5, questioning whether Snoop and the artists were “sellouts” or “grifters who only care about a dollar.”
Snoop hadn’t publicly addressed the backlash at press time, but he did share an Instagram Story featuring himself and Ross at the event.
