Nelly concert short but sweet

Thousands of students went to the IU Auditorium Wednesday to see rapper Nelly perform. Union Board brought the concert to the student body as part of MTV's Campus Invasion. The sold-out concert featured four other bands that played before Nelly took the stage.\n"I have been rapping for years and have even released a previous album," said Alley Life, a solo artist who opened for Nelly. "I was on a small local label and it was not very successful, but now I'm on Interscope Records, and this is the new me."\nSticky Fingaz, also known as the former leader of the rap group Onyx, is starting a solo career. He opened for Nelly and featured fellow Onyx member Fredro Starr. \n"I wanted to perform with Sticky to promote his new album dropping May 22 and to get the public hyped about the new Onyx record we are working on," said Starr, who stars on the TV sitcom "Moesha" and has a role in the film "Save The Last Dance." \nTickets went on sale at ticket stations across Indiana. Freshman Annie Medsker said she believed that is why she got such a good deal. \n"I like Nelly, and this was a great time to go to a school event," Medsker said. "My dad got my tickets in another town, and I'm glad he did because we got front row."\nDuring the concert, promotion agents were eager to give away new artist merchandise to the crowd. They were running up and down the aisles throwing posters, CDs, shirts and videocassettes. \n"This crowd is so hype. I love to promote new artists; Alley Life is the hypest band out there right now, you'll see, check them out May 15 when they release their new album 'That's How We Roll,'" said freshman Ryan Stonehouse, a local promotion agent.\nMany of the new artists said they really did not have much clout in following Nelly on tour, but they were glad to be able to open for such a prominent artist. \n"I'm glad I got to follow Nelly because he's hot right now," Sticky Fingaz said. "We found out his tour dates and my schedule fit right into his, so my manager thought this would be a good opportunity for me."\nAlthough the auditorium was an electric environment throughout the concert, the crowd went wild when Nelly took the stage. Sophomore Mike Crafton said he liked seeing the other acts, but his main reason for coming was to watch Nelly perform.\n"I like Nelly; he's a great rapper who started small and made his way to the top," Crafton said. "The only problem I had with the concert was the ticket prices. They were just too steep."\nBut Shareeka Tolbert, a senior, said she thought the tickets were set at the right price.\n"I enjoy his music, plus he's very attractive," Tolbert said. "I think the price was very fair considering how close we got to the stage."\nAt midnight, Nelly came to the stage with the audience screaming and jumping at his arrival. He started his act with the hit single, "Country Grammar." When the part of the song came to give shout outs to Indiana, the crowd went wild. \nSome in the crowd said they were were disappointed that Nelly performed for only 25 minutes, but Nelly said the crowd was excited regardless.\n"The crowd was so hype tonight, Indiana surely represented. I love doing college tours, and I chose Indiana because they were one of the main ones that really wanted me," Nelly said in an interview with the IDS. "I really don't have a favorite song, but 'E.I.' really sticks out in my mind -- still I would not consider it my favorite; all my songs are good."\nNelly said he plans to become a music producer when his rap career is over, but he said he does not look forward to that any time soon. After he is finished with the Campus Invasion tour, he is going on a major city tour with Destiny's Child.