Nelly is now speaking out after he was arrested over the weekend on his tour bus for possession of guns and a range of drugs, including methamphetamine. And now, the "Ride Wit Me" rapper is passing on the blame of possession and citing that he needs to be more "aware" of the people he surrounds himself with.
In a statement to TMZ, Nelly passed the blame onto the 15 to 20 people who may have had access to his tour bus before he boarded it, though at the end of the day he takes responsibility for allowing that access.
"I feel the need to take responsibility for my choices in needing to be more aware of all the people I associate with and allow onto my property," the rapper said. "While my instinct of course, is to be accessible to my friends, fans and acquaintances, the last thing I would want to do is compromise the respect and admiration of my friends, family and fans."
Nelly was arrested in Tennessee on Saturday (April 11) night during a routine sweep of his tour bus. Along with guns (that may or may not have been legally owned), drugs including marijuana and reported methamphetamine (though Nelly's lawyers claim it was MDMA) were seized.
Immediately following the arrest, Nelly's lawyers released a statement saying he will eventually be absolved of all blame: "Nelly was one of several individuals that was on a tour bus that was stopped and searched while traveling through Tennessee," it read. "In fact, there had been 15-20 people that had access to the bus prior to the stop. Allegedly, a small quantity of contraband (MDMA aka Molly or Ecstasy) was discovered during the routine search. We are extremely confident that when the facts come out, Nelly will not be associated with the contraband that was allegedly discovered."
