It’s not unusual to see athletes appear in music videos. However, not all cameos are as good as Stephon Marbury and Kenny Anderson playing basketball against Fat Joe in Big Pun’s Watcha Gonna Do music video. Sometimes they are kind of confusing or disappointing. Like when Fred Brathwaite and Fernando Viña appeared in the Welcome to Atlantaremix music video with the St. Lunatics.
If you forgot about the St. Lunatics, they were Nelly’s group that is best known for the song Midwest Swing. They also appeared in most of his music videos at the time and sometimes got to drop a verse. In the remix of Welcome to Atlanta, Murphy Lee gets to rap while Nelly, the rest of the St. Lunatics, Fred Brathwaite and Fernando Viña pose in the music video.
Related: Nelly makes it to the big leagues in Batter Up
Song: Welcome to Atlanta (Coast 2 Coast Remix)
Artist: Jermaine Dupri featuring Ludacris, P. Diddy, Murphy Lee and Snoop Dogg
Year: 2002
Quote it:
“I’m so St. Louis, ask my tattooist,
I was like “The Waterboy,” now they sayin, “YOU CAN DO IT!”
Best Video Moment: Fernando Viña creepily trying to duck around Murphy Lee while he’s rapping. It’s at 2:23 in the video.
See More: Rap Music Video Reviews from The Touchback
Can we start with my biggest pet peeve about the Welcome to Atlanta remix music video? What season is it in St. Louis when this thing is being filmed? Some guys are in t-shirts and then there is Viña rocking a long-sleeve sweatshirt under his jersey. It’s sunny, but also seems like it may be cold outside.
Also, choosing the Busch Stadium for the background is an odd choice for a music video. Jermaine Dupri is hanging out in front of a strip club, P. Diddy is sitting on top of the Madison Square Garden entrance and Nelly and friends show up in a generic stadium with AstroTurf. And given how tight all the shots of Murphy Lee, Fred Brathwaite and Fernando Viña are in the music video, it appears as if they weren’t allowed to venture all that far beyond the dugout.
Why are Fred Brathwaite and Fernando Viña in the music video?
Picking local sports stars makes sense, but why did Nelly and the St. Lunatics decide to use Fred Brathwaite and Fernando Viña in the music video? Clearly, they weren’t the only players hanging out in the city at this time. While it’s impossible to know when the video is being filmed because of the varying attire, the MLB and NHL don’t have any overlapping breaks.
That means at least one, and possibly both, teams would have been in town. Yet, they went with the defensive second baseman and not Albert Pujols. What’s more, the 2001 St. Louis Rams went 14-2 and were kind of a big deal during this time. You even see Nelly rocking a Marshall Faulk jersey. Anyone from the Rams would have been an upgrade on the St. Louis Blues backup goalie.
