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

St. Lunatics were an American hip hop group formed in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1993. The group consisted of childhood friends Nelly, 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 with Universal 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

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 on the Beat FM started playing the single locally, generating interest in the group.[5] In 2000, Nelly was signed to Universal Records, followed by the rest of the group. While Nelly was working on his solo album Country 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 City was certified Platinum in the United States and Gold in Canada.

In 2002, Ali issued his solo album Heavy Starch while Murphy Lee published Murphy's Law in 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-based Vatterott College to 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. A song titled "St. Lunatics" was leaked in early March 2009,[3] along with "Get Low 2 Da Flo", which was produced by Play-N-Skillz.[4] The first official single released from the album was "Money Talks", featuring rapper Birdman.[10] The second single was "Polo". The record was never released, however.

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

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

Lavell Webb, known as City Spud, was a small-time marijuana dealer as a young adult. After quitting his job at a McDonald's in St. 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.[14]

Discography

Studio albums

Year Album details Peak chart positions Certifications
(sales threshold)
US
[15]		 US R&B
[16]		 CAN
[17]
2001 Free City 3 1 18

Compilations

Year Album details Peak chart positions
US
[15]		 US R&B
[16]
2006 Who's the Boss
  • Release date: February 21, 2006
  • Label: Fast Life Music
 114 28

Singles

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

References

  1. 1 2 "St. Lunatics Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.com. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  2. ↑ "St. Lunatics feud signals an end to St. Louis' original hip-hop dynasty". STLToday. Archived from the original on February 8, 2021. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  3. 1 2 "City Free St Lunatics Album". 1VIBE.NET. Archived from the original on October 8, 2011. Retrieved November 16, 2010.
  4. 1 2 "St.Lunatics- Get Low to Da Flo". YouTube. April 30, 2009. Archived from the original on December 22, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2010.
  5. 1 2 Roberts, Randall (August 8, 2001). "Bad Rap – St. Louis Metro News – St. Louis". Riverfront Times. Retrieved February 6, 2023.
  6. ↑ "Former St. Lunatic pays state for prison room and board". St. Louis Business Journal. April 26, 2002. Archived from the original on 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 from the original on December 5, 2011.
  9. ↑ Muhammad, Latifah. "Nelly and St. Lunatics End Hiatus With 'City Free'". The Boombox. Retrieved March 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. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  12. ↑ "Twelve12 MidwestMixtapes.com Your Number One Source for FREE Mixtapes". Archived from the original on September 7, 2010. Retrieved August 28, 2010.
  13. ↑ Lamarre, Carl (February 6, 2023). "2023 Grammys Celebrates 50 Years of Hip-Hop with an All-Star Performance". Billboard. Retrieved February 6, 2023.
  14. ↑ Roberts, Randall (August 8, 2001). "Bad Rap". Riverfront Times. Village Voice Media. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
  15. 1 2 "St. Lunatics Album & Song Chart History – Billboard 200". Billboard. Nielsen Company. Retrieved November 3, 2010.
  16. 1 2 "St. Lunatics Album & Song Chart History – R&B/Hip-Hop Albums". Billboard. Nielsen Company. Retrieved November 3, 2010.
  17. ↑ "St. Lunatics Album & Song Chart History – Canadian Albums". Billboard. Nielsen Company. Retrieved November 3, 2010.
  18. ↑ "RIAA – Gold & Platinum – May 19, 2020: St. Lunatics certified albums". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  19. ↑ "Music Canada Searchable Database". Music Canada. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  20. ↑ "St. Lunatics Album & Song Chart History – Hot 100". Billboard. Nielsen Company. Retrieved November 3, 2010.
  21. ↑ "St. Lunatics Album & Song Chart History – R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. Nielsen Company. Retrieved November 3, 2010.
  22. 1 2 3 4 "St. Lunatics and Nelly – Batter Up (Song)". Charts.nz. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
  23. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100 09 September 2001 – 15 September 2001". Official Charts Company. September 2001. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
  24. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2002 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved October 2, 2022.


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