Nelly was born in Austin, Texas and moved with his mother to suburban University City, Missouri as a teenager. He joined rappers Big Lee, Kyjuan, Murphy Lee, and City Spud to form the group St. Lunatics; the group became popular with its single "Gimme What You Got". Free City, recorded with the St. Lunatics, followed in 2001 with the single "Midwest Swing". Nelly recorded "#1" for the soundtrack to the film Training Day that year. Nelly appeared on the songs "Where the Party At" by Jagged Edge and "Girlfriend" by 'N Sync. Free City has sold more than a million units in the United States. He was soon signed to Universal Music Group, which released his major label debut Country Grammar in 2000. The success of its title track as a single (#7 on the Hot 100 and #1 Hot Rap Tracks) led to the album debuting at number three in the Billboard 200 in the U.S. Other singles from the album included "E.I.", "Ride Wit Me", and "Batter Up". The album was certified 9× platinum by the RIAA on April 27, 2004. Nelly’s rapping style has been described by Peter Shapiro as using "unforgettable hooks based on schoolyard songs, double-dutch chants, and nonsense rhymes" and has a "Missouri twang". Allmusic suggests Nelly's style is based largely on where he comes from - "Nelly's locale certainly informs his rapping style, which is as much country as urban, and his dialect as well, which is as much Southern drawl as Midwestern twang". Nelly explains his method of writing in the book How to Rap, describing how he freestyles most of the lyrics before going back over them to "make it a little tighter", he generally writes in the studio rather than at home, he normally comes up with a chorus for a song before writing the verses, and he likes to write to the music he will be rapping over. Allmusic also notes his "tongue-twisting" hooks, which are also often sung rather than rapped. Nelly runs the non-profit organization "4Sho4Kids Foundation." The "Jes Us 4 Jackie" campaign began in March 2003 by Nelly and his sister Jackie Donahue after Donahue was diagnosed with leukemia. The campaign attempts to educate African-Americans and other minorities about the need for bone marrow transplants, and to register more donors. Donahue lost her battle with leukemia on March 24, 2005, almost two years after the campaign began. Nelly has been equally active as a businessman; among other ventures, in 2003 he released his own energy drink called “Pimp Juice,” and in 2004 he became a minority owner of the NBA’s Charlotte Bobcats basketball team. He is also the CEO of Derrty Entertainment, his own company formed in 2003. Nelly has two clothing lines: Vokal (for men) and Apple Bottoms (for women).