St. Louis Music Press

Nelly’s 6th Annual Black and White Ball, Chase Park Plaza,  December 18, 2011

Nelly at the 2011 Black and White Ball. Photo credit: © Angie Knost

Grammy-winning hip-hop superstar Nelly hosted his 6th annual Black and White Ball on December 18, 2011 at the Chase Park Plaza in St. Louis, Missouri.  This celebrity gala event celebrated the launch of the 2012/2013 Black and White Scholarship Program and awarded two students with full scholarships.

Scholarship awardees Chelsea Smith and Carmen Rhodes on the red carpet. Photo credit: © Angie Knost.

Carmen Rhodes and Chelsea Smith accepting their awards from Nelly. Photo credit: © Angie Knost.

Emcees Darius Bradford and Curt Copeland. Photo credit: © Angie Knost

Special guests Marshall Faulk and Jermaine Dupri were in attendance, as well as members of the St Lunatics and many other local celebrities, including John Jay of the St. Louis Cardinals, Vickie Newton of Channel 4 News and Curt Copeland of radio station Z 107.7.  Performances by African acrobats Zuma Zuma (as seen on “America’s Got Talent”) and Johnny Gill entertained the crowd.  DJ Charlie Chan kept the dance floor moving, and later in the evening, Jermaine Dupri took over as DJ and crowd motivator.  Rapper Murphy Lee was also celebrating his birthday that evening, and made an appearance on stage to receive shouts of birthday greetings from the crowd.

Marshall Faulk and Nelly. Photo credit: © Angie Knost

Fashion designer Ola Hawatmeh. Photo credit: © Angie Knost

John Jay of the St Louis Cardinals and guests. Photo credit: © Angie Knost

The amazing acrobatics of Zuma Zuma. Photo credit: © Angie Knost

Zuma Zuma. Photo credit: © Angie Knost

Johnny Gill, formerly of New Edition. Photo credit: © Angie Knost

Johnny Gill giving roses to ladies in the crowd. Photo credit: © Angie Knost

DJ Charlie Chan. Photo credit: © Angie Knost

Jermaine Dupri. Photo credit: © Angie Knost

The 2011 Black and White Ball was presented by Remy Martin with additional support from Superior Products, Alliance Sports, Plaza Cadillac and SYNERGY Productions, LLC.

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