Nelly wants hip-hop stars to branch out

Nelly has claimed that his fellow hip-hop artists should promote the genre by branching out more.

The US rapper, who releases his new album Brass Knuckles next month, vowed to keep his fans guessing by organising unexpected collaborations for his future work.

"We boycotted the Grammys when they didn't televise the rap categories in the Fresh Prince days. But now hip-hop's not acknowledging other music; we should be doing songs with country, rock and pop stars," Nelly told The Guardian. "I wanted to work with Bruce Springsteen on this album but it didn't happen because of a scheduling conflict."

The star praised Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit, describing the bands as "white kids who make rock music with hip-hop roots".

He added: "Now hip-hop needs to do it; instead of keeping hip-hop locked into one thing, we should be blowing it up and expanding it. That's the way you stay at the top and the music remains dominant."