Nelly Picks This 2002 Hit as His Wife’s Best Song: ‘That’s One of My Favorite Ashanti Records’

Nelly and Ashanti know a thing or two about making hits. The couple stopped by Cocoa Butter on Tuesday (July 1), where the St. Louis native played a game to narrow down and pick his favorite song by his wife.

For the first round, Nelly went with “Baby” over “Foolish.” He had Ashanti cackling after he asked her about which video actor Larenz Tate starred in, which happens to be “Rain on Me.”

He continued to ride the “Baby” train while choosing the 2002 hit from Ashanti’s self-titled debut album over “Happy” and “Rock Wit U.”

Nelly had to do some thinking when it came to “Rain on Me,” but the timing of the track’s arrival in regard to their relationship rubbed him the wrong way. “‘Rain on Me’ was at a different time in our relationship,” he said. “We gon’ slide ‘Rain on Me’ along like that and stick with ‘Baby.’”

Next in the gauntlet came a couple of Ja Rule-assisted anthems with “Always on Time” and “Mesmerize.” “See all of these are great records,” Nelly said. “Yeah, some of them are with my brother Ja [Rule], ‘Baby’ is just my wife, [so] I’m gonna ride with ‘Baby.’”

Perhaps it’s because Nelly and Ashanti welcomed their first baby last July, but the Country Grammar artist is sticking with “Baby. “I’m a Scorpio man, so I stick to what I know and love and that’s ‘Baby,’” he claimed.

So it ended up being “Baby” supremacy for Nelly. “I love ‘Baby.’ That’s one of my favorite Ashanti records,” he added.

“Baby” served as a standout on Ashanti’s 2002 self-titled debut. The Chink Santana- and Irv Gotti-produced hit — which samples Scarface’s “Mary Jane” — reached No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100. Actress Nia Long makes a cameo in the Murder Inc. anthem’s video.

Ashanti and Nelly embarked on a recent press run in support of their Nelly & Ashanti: We Belong Together reality series, which was released June 26 on Peacock. The unscripted show will give fans a peek behind the curtain of life as partners and parents for the celebrity couple, who rekindled their romance in 2023.

Watch the clip below.