

The 'Bad Boys II' means a lot to us 'cause it's the second era of Bad Boy. The soundtrack became the first album to be released under the Bad Boy Records and Universal Records partnership. "We have to stop arguing that's the way it is and ask ourselves. "It's about empowering our sisters who think this is the only way to make it. "Everyone calls it the `Nelly controversy,' but this is bigger than Nelly,"Jennings said. Jennings and Bailey hope their stand has made a difference. Jennings and Bailey decided to go forward with their protest, staging a rally to discuss hip-hop and what had been loosely labeled the "Nelly controversy."Įvery half-hour they showed Tip Drill on a video screen in the student center so people could see what was at issue. Then, with her parents still on the other end of the phone, they watched the music video together.Ĭassandra Jennings had two words for her daughter: "Cancel it."īefore Jennings could follow through on her mother's advice, the foundation - which had been alerted that students planned to confront Nelly at the April 2 event - withdrew. "Asha, it can't be that bad," her mother told her. With only days remaining before the charity drive, she called her parents, Rick and Cassandra Jennings, in Sacramento, Calif. Still, she couldn't excuse the artist's role in perpetuating misogynistic images. There was one sticking point: Jennings had developed a good relationship with Nelly's 4Sho4Kids Foundation over the past months and was less willing to shun the star for pragmatic reasons. "That we should draft a letter saying you're not welcome, but the foundation is."įrom that moment, Jennings, a political science major, and Bailey, a pre-med student, became a team. "We were in agreement that he shouldn't be invited," Bailey said. United Airlines to Halt Flights to 11 U.S.Houston has a 'hot spot' for cancer-causing air, new report says.Astroworld: Ex-Workers Surprised It Took Promoter This Long to ‘F–k Up This Badly’.An Air Force sergeant killed himself on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.7 Best Male Enhancement Pills of 2021: Top Sex Enhancer Supplements for Me.Reports explain why gas prices are increasing in Texas and across the U.S.Because of the Tip Drill video, Jennings told her fellow student, she wasn't sure she should move forward. Jennings showed Bailey fliers that advertised the upcoming bone marrow drive promoted by Nelly. "Moya, come look at this," Jennings said. On the morning of March 17, Bailey ran into Jennings, who had seen the music video for the first time two days earlier. There was no consensus among the 40 or so students from Spelman and Morehouse colleges that night - but it was a good discussion, Bailey said. By February, the 20-year-old junior had gotten together a public forum: Are these women exploiting themselves? Is it Nelly's fault? Can women be sexual and have it not be negative? "Wow."īailey returned to Spelman determined to deal with Tip Drill. "Oh my God," Bailey said, noticing the women's buttocks swirling about. She was home in Fayetteville, Ark., talking with a friend on the telephone. Moya Bailey, president of the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance, said she stumbled across the music video during Christmas break. Unknown to Jennings, Tip Drill already had driven another Spelman student to action. In the context of the Nelly video, Neal said, such women are only good for one thing - sex - and crude sex at that. The phrase "tip drill" is "a ghetto colloquialism for the proverbial ugly girl with a nice body," said Mark Anthony Neal, associate professor of American studies at the University of Texas at Austin. "I don't have a cut-and-dry answer to how I feel," said Hardee, 28, but people need to realize the video "is not really reality." Harold Hardee, co-producer of Tip Drill, said he was "a little" shocked when he saw the final product. The Tip Drill video, shot in Atlanta, was released more than six months ago and has become popular on BET's late night Uncut show. Her friends tried to convince her to take the video for what it was - a way to make money.

"Nelly wants us to help his sister," Jennings said, "but he's degrading hundreds of us." One of the scenes includes a credit card swipe through a woman's buttocks.īefore that moment, Jennings had thought of Nelly more as the celebrity who had launched efforts to increase the number of African-American bone marrow donors - in part because his sister suffers from leukemia. The music video features dozens of women in thong bikinis dancing around a swimming pool, in hot tubs and a pool hall. "I just think of little girls watching it." Later that morning in March, Jennings saw Nelly's Tip Drill for the first time. Many had not been born when hip-hop emerged but came of age listening to its music. The women leading the fight are barely 20.
