What If Volume 1

Hey,

I had the idea to discuss some Twilight Zone type stories where we all wonder what happens if key occurrences in the entertainment or sports industries never take place. And the scenario I’d like to start with is:

What happens if City Spud never robs someone in 1999?

Lavell Webb, better known by his nickname City Spud, is a rapper and producer from St. Louis, Missouri. He is a member of the platinum-selling hip hop group St. Lunatics, which also includes Ali, Murphy Lee, Kyjuan and Nelly. They had begun to gain regional fame with their local hit single “Gimme What U Got” and this led to Nelly getting a record deal to work on the album that would become “Country Grammar.” Unfortunately, that’s when everything began to go wrong for City Spud.

City Spud, deeming it beneath someone who was working on a major label album and getting local radio spins, decided it was in his best interest to quit his job at McDonald’s and begin selling drugs full time until they started to get paid from “Country Grammar.” One day, one of City Spud’s friends has the genius idea to pretend to sell drugs to someone, only to then rob that person and abscond with both the drugs and the money. Against his better judgement, City Spud decides to go along with the deal and in the heat of the moment shots are fired and the robbing victim is wounded during the robbery. The victim recovered from his wounds and correctly identified City Spud’s involvement, and he was sentenced to 10 years in prison for armed robbery.

Because of the timing of the trial and sentencing, City Spud was able to still work on and contribute a few songs to “Country Grammar,” most noticeably on the album’s single “Ride Wit Me.” He also produced a few other songs that would make the final album. As a result, he was still very much a part of the St. Lunatics although he was the only one not on the outside able to enjoy the fruits of their labors. Nelly wanted some way to honor his friend and let him know they hadn’t forgotten about him, so Nelly began wearing a Band-Aid on his cheek underneath his eye. They also named their debut group album “Free City” but it was the Band-Aid that truly left a mark on pop culture history.

Nelly combined great music and melody also with an iconic image with the Band-Aid to become of the biggest stars in music history. His sophomore album “Nellyville” sold over 6,000,000 copies and is one of the top 20 best selling rap albums of all time, but also prominently displayed the Band-Aid that had now become his signature on the album’s cover. That album solidified Nelly’s place in the upper echelon’s of rap but also brought huge weight to the trademark Band-Aid. And none of that happens if City Spud doesn’t rob someone in 1999.

If that robbery doesn’t take place, does Nelly become a rap superstar? Do City Spud’s contributions ruin the chemistry that the rest of the St. Lunatics developed in his absence? Does Murphy Lee still create “Shake Ya Tailfeather?” Does “Nellyville” still become the incredible follow-up album that it becomes? And does Nelly reach the same level of fame and fortune that now allows him to appear on Good Morning America and Dancing with the Stars without that signature Band-Aid?

I guess we’ll never know.

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