The Slope Day rumor mill has been in full swing the past few months. First, it was B.o.B, but then he — sources say — apparently couldn’t handle the trek up to Ithaca, and rejected the offer. Then, sources said that other sources said that other sources said that Nickelback was the Slope Day band-to-be, but that thought quickly lost its steam when the ever-reliable CollegeACB reported that Papa Roach was a lock to come. That turned out to be false, too. At one point, Andrea Bocelli’s name surfaced — whose song “Con Te Partiro” we hope everyone has had a good cry over at least once — but it’s safe to say that that probably would not have been a good choice.

We now know that the Slope Day headliner will be Nelly — his real first name, coincidentally or not, is Cornell — and we would be lying if we said that we weren’t completely amped up to be sipping on some “Pimp Juice” on Cornell’s most famous slope. To catch readers up to speed for the most anticipated day of the semester, we sent a crack team of Berry Patch reporters to dig up the top four moments that define the life and times of the incomparable Nelly.

“Air Force Ones”

Coming off his chart-topping hits “Hot in Herre” and “Dilemma” in 2002, Nelly proclaimed that he was here to stay with “Air Force Ones.” In “Air Force Ones,” Nelly put his lyrical genius on full display, conceiving an entire song about his desire for two pairs of shoes. Lyrics like, “I like the all white high top strap with the gum bottom, (big boy), there’s something ’bout them that’s dirty why I got ’em, (big boy),” solidified him as one of the all-time greats. The video only added to his legend. In it, Nelly and his crew have a dance party in a storage room filled with boxes of shoes and then take a trip to Footlocker to purchase the Air Force Ones.

“Over and Over”

In 2004, Nelly shocked the music world when he and country music great Tim McGraw came together for a heart-wrenching duet about a bad break-up. The video offers a split screen of McGraw and Nelly. Nelly — in a yellow du-rag and St. Louis Rams jacket — stands on a dark street corner, while McGraw — in a cowboy hat and leather coat — sits solemnly in a log cabin in front of a fireplace. The contrast couldn’t be more poignant.

The Nelly-Chingy Beef

With success comes the haters, and Nelly’s case was no different. In late 2004, Chingy took exception to lyrics in Nelly’s new song “Another One” that took a shot at Chingy’s 2003 hit “Right Thurr.” In the song, Nelly explains, “I like the way you do it right thurr, just remember when you do that right thurr.” Nelly defended himself, telling an MTV reporter that “I wasn’t going at him. If you listen to the song, it says, ‘I like the way you do that right thurr.’ I could have said, ‘F— the way you do that right thurr!’ It ain’t even like that.” Chingy was unconvinced, releasing his own song "We Got," a short time after, that ripped on Nelly back.

The Longest Yard

Nelly displayed his versatility when he won the part of Earl Megget in the 2005 remake of the classic movie The Longest Yard. In the movie, Nelly plays an inmate who is recruited to play in a football game for pride: “the convicts” vs. “the guards.” Nelly plays the star running back and delivers one of the movie’s most memorable lines, “Man, you lucky I ain’t on defense. I’d crack you in that egg-ass head of yours!”