Nellyville

The cover of Nellyville presents Nelly at the height of his fame, photographed by Jonathan Mannion, the New York photographer behind many of the era's defining rap sleeves. The package was put together at Universal, with artwork credited to Sandy Brummels and design by Robert Sims. Mannion has named Nelly among the stars he worked with early in his career, alongside Jay-Z, DMX and Ja Rule.

The title gives the image its frame. Nellyville is an imagined town, a St. Louis of the mind where Nelly sets the rules, and the album turns his home city into a brand. St. Louis Magazine described the record as a world "filled with decadence, luxury, and, of course, St. Louis." The cover sells that idea through its star: two years after Country Grammar made him a national name, Nelly is shown as the mayor of his own place, confident and camera ready, the face of a city that had rarely been heard in rap before him.

Nellyville became one of the biggest albums of 2002, carried by "Hot in Herre" and "Dilemma", and its cover became a familiar sight in record shops that summer. The album did not appear on vinyl until a 2LP reissue from UMe and Republic on 29 July 2022, twenty years on. The album was first released on 25 June 2002.