NELLY - NELLY PLAYS LARGE VENUES TO APPEASE SPONSORS

NELLY feels pressured to play "big joints" to honour advertising obligations - even though he prefers performing in smaller arenas due to the intimate crowd vibe.

The HOT IN HERRE singer reluctantly agrees to play large venues to keep his sponsors happy, but would opt to downscale the audience size in order to enhance the sound quality and feel more fulfilled as a performer.

Nelly says, "I like the smaller venues for some reason. The 3,000 to 2,500-seaters where the people are right there and the music sounds louder and it feels like motherf**kers is right there on top of you. Those are the ones I like better than the big joints.

"I know there's a lot of sponsors out there saying, 'No, no, no.' And probably a lot of the people around me, because the money ain't as big, but it ain't even about that for me."