Nelly says new 'Heartland' album is a love letter to country music's 'last frontier'

Nelly is embarking on a country music journey that for many years he knew was an avenue he longed to explore, but simply never jumped right into out of respect for the genre as a whole.

Born Cornell Haynes Jr, Nelly quipped to Fox News he wasn’t at all sure how the country legend would react to being asked to hop on a soothing pop and R&B song sung by an emcee who wanted to try his hand at a different sound than what he was used to. The concoction of smooth serenading from Nelly mixed with McGraw’s rustic tone proved to be a recipe that some 17 years later, many fans of pop-era country music would love to appreciate. "If you listen to some of the renditions of 'The Star-Spangled Banner' – you've got Marvin Gaye's, Dolly Parton's and you've got Whitney Houston's. All of these are the same words…different vibes." "I was more nervous asking Darius Rucker [for a feature] than I was asking Tim McGraw [for 'Over and Over’] at that time. Insert "Heartland," Nelly’s first album in eight years, which he describes as "country-influenced." The record will have the familiar sounds of blues, R&B and hip-hop –  but with a modern country twist thanks to a roster of features from the likes of Kane Brown, Darius Rucker, Blanco Brown, Breland and Florida Georgia Line (FGL). As FGL fans know, the country duo and Nelly collaborated on the remix of "Cruise," which peaked at No. 4 on the chart.