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St. Lunatics were an American
hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...
group formed in
St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...
, Missouri, in 1993. The group consisted of childhood friends
Nelly Cornell Iral Haynes Jr. (born November 2, 1974), better known by his stage name Nelly, is an American rapper, singer, and actor. He grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, and embarked on his musical career in 1993 as a member of the Midwest hip hop g ...
, Ali, Murphy Lee, Kyjuan, City Spud, and Slo Down. Their first single, "Gimme What U Got", gained popularity in 1996. In 2000, the group signed with
Universal Records Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...
. 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. St. Lunatics' first local independent hit was "Gimme What U Got", released in 1996. In 1997, DJ Kut on the Beat FM started playing the single locally, generating interest in the group. In 2000, Nelly was signed to
Universal Records Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...
, followed by the rest of the group. While Nelly was working on his solo album ''
Country Grammar ''Country Grammar'' is the debut studio album by American rapper and singer Nelly. It was released on June 27, 2000, by Universal Records. The production on the album was handled by Jason "Jay E" Epperson, with additional production by C-Lov ...
'', City Spud was arrested and sentenced to ten years in prison for robbery. 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 Murphy's law is an adage or epigram that is typically stated as: "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong." Though similar statements and concepts have been made over the course of history, the law itself was coined by, and named after, Americ ...
'' in 2003. Murphy later launched his own label, UC ME Entertainment. Nelly went on to have a successful solo career and in 2011, he partnered with St. Louis-based
Vatterott College Vatterott College was a for-profit career training institute with programs at 16 campuses across the Midwest of the United States and online. It was operated by Vatterott Educational Centers, Inc., which was based in St. Louis and owned by the ...
to open a music production school in downtown St. Louis, called Ex'treme Institute (E.I.). In 2009, St. Lunatics were reportedly working on a new album, ''City Free'', to be released that summer. The record was later postponed until 2011. A song titled "St. Lunatics" was leaked in early March 2009, along with "Get Low 2 Da Flo", which was produced by
Play-N-Skillz Play-N-Skillz are a Latin/American record production/DJ group duo from Dallas, Texas, consisting of brothers Juan "Play" Salinas and Oscar "Skillz" Salinas. Their production has won several Grammys including the Grammy Award for Best Rap Perfor ...
. The first official single released from the album was "Money Talks", featuring rapper Birdman. The second single was "Polo". The record was never released, however. After his release from prison, City Spud issued the solo
mixtape In the modern music industry, a mixtape is a musical project, typically with looser constraints than that of an album or extended play. Unlike the traditional album or extended play, mixtapes are labeled as laid-back projects that allow artists mo ...
''Twelve-12'', in 2010. In 2023, City Spud performed " Hot in Herre" with Nelly at the 2023 Grammy Awards for the 50 Years of Hip-Hop' showcase. On September 19, 2024, the group filed a copyright infringement suit against Nelly for unpaid royalties and lack of credit on two albums—Nelly's ''Country Grammar'' and the group's ''Free City''—seeking $50 million from the defendant. Murphy Lee, City Spud, and Kyjuan pulled out of the lawsuit shortly after it was filed, claiming "they didn't consent" to joining in the first place. Ali, the last remaining plaintiff, dropped the lawsuit on April 10, 2025.


City Spud's legal issues

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.


Discography


Studio albums


Compilations


Singles


References

{{Authority control Musical groups established in 1993 Musical groups from St. Louis Midwest hip-hop groups American hip-hop groups