ALL NEW VH1 “BEHIND THE MUSIC: NELLY” PREMIERES MONDAY, MARCH 7 AT 10 PM ET/PT

SANTA MONICA, CA –  VH1’s five-time Emmy-nominated series, “Behind The Music” returns with three-time Grammy winner and hip hop superstar, Nelly, Monday, March 7 at 10 PM*. “Behind The Music: Nelly” will examine the hip hop artist’s triumphs and tribulations over his decade-long music career as well as his rise to stardom from humble beginnings. Nelly candidly opens up about his life as a musician, actor and businessman and, for the first time, publicly addresses the death of his sister and his relationship with singer Ashanti, who is also interviewed for the special. Hear the poignant tale of Nelly’s life through in-depth interviews with his closest friends, family, and the person who knows it best — Nelly himself.

Growing up in St. Louis, MO, Nelly spent most of his childhood bouncing from home to home, sleeping on couches and changing schools with alarming regularity. The lack of parental supervision quickly led him to a life of crime. Years later, he joined a rap group called the St. Lunatics and finally found the family he’d been lacking. However, his loyalty to that family was tested when record labels came calling, saying, “We want you—not them.” With his group’s blessing, Nelly signed to Universal Records and released “Country Grammar.” The album sold nearly 10 million copies and forever changed the face of hip hop. Since then, life has hardly been easy for Nelly. From a decline in album sales and controversial music videos to his best friend’s incarceration and his sister’s tragic death from leukemia, Nelly has battled plenty of demons. Now with his sixth studio album in stores, “5.0,” Nelly sits down to discuss his journey from St. Louis to rap superstardom.

For extra interview clips not see in the on-air special, go to VH1.com.

“Behind the Music” debuted on VH1 in August of 1997 and was originally created and produced for VH1 by Gay Rosenthal, George Moll and Jeff Gaspin who were responsible for many of the channels 200-plus episodes of the series. The current series is executive produced by Shelly Tatro, Brad Abramson, Stephen Mintz and Jeff Olde for VH1. Executives in charge of music talent are Rick Krim and Leah Horwitz