"#1" is a song recorded by American

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

Nelly Cornell Iral Haynes Jr. (born November 2, 1974), better known by his stage name Nelly, is an American rapper, singer, actor and entrepreneur. He embarked on his music career with the hip hop group St. Lunatics in 1993 and signed to Universal ...

. It was released on August 29, 2001 as the lead single from the soundtrack to the 2001 film ''

Training Day ''Training Day'' is a 2001 American crime thriller film directed by Antoine Fuqua and written by David Ayer. It stars Denzel Washington as Alonzo Harris and Ethan Hawke as Jake Hoyt, two LAPD narcotics officers over a 24-hour period in the gan ...

''. It was also included on Nelly's second studio album ''

Nellyville ''Nellyville'' is the second studio album by American rapper and singer Nelly. It was released on June 25, 2002, by Universal Records and Fo' Reel Entertainment. The album's production was handled by Waiel Yaghnam, the Neptunes, Jay E, Trackboy ...

'' (2002)''.'' The song was most known for igniting the feud between Nelly and

KRS-One Lawrence "Kris" Parker (born August 20, 1965), better known by his stage names KRS-One (; an abbreviation of "Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone") and Teacha, is an American rapper from New York City. He rose to prominence as part of ...

, for which KRS-One perceived it as a diss for being too similar to "I'm Still #1" by his group,

Boogie Down Productions Boogie Down Productions (BDP) was an American hip hop group originally composed of KRS-One, D-Nice, and DJ Scott La Rock. DJ Scott La Rock was murdered on August 27, 1987, five months after the release of BDP's debut album, '' Criminal Minde ...

Music video

The music video for the song features Joe Perry of

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler (lead vocals), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums) and Brad Whitford (guitar). Their style, which is rooted in blues ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

. The plot of the video closely follows ''

'' with Nelly playing a dual role as both

Ethan Hawke Ethan Green Hawke (born November 6, 1970) is an American actor and film director. He has been nominated for four Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award. Hawke has directed three feature films, three off-Broadway plays, and a doc ...

and

Denzel Washington Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has been described as an actor who reconfigured "the concept of classic movie stardom". Throughout his career spanning over four decades, Washington ha ...

's characters of a rookie cop and a corrupt veteran cop.

Remix

The official remix features the group

Clipse Clipse, also known as The Clipse, is an American hip hop duo, chiefly active from 1994 to 2010. It consists of brothers Gene "No Malice" and Terrence "Pusha T" Thornton. Pusha T was known as Terrar during the group's early years, while No Mal ...

and Postaboy, and the song is on Nelly's remix album, '' Da Derrty Versions: The Reinvention''.

Track listing

US Promo *1 #1 adio Version 3:19 *2 #1 nstrumental4:08 *3 #1 nstrumental With #1 Chorus4:07 US Vinyl, 12", Promo *A1 #1 lbum Version4:23 *A2 #1 nstrumental4:08 *B1 #1 nstrumental With #1 Chorus4:07 *B2 #1 adio Version3:19

Charts

References

Nelly songs 2001 songs 2001 singles Songs written for films Songs written by Nelly Universal Records singles {{2000s-hiphop-song-stub