--- title: Nelly Defends Texting on Excel Sheet in His 'Dilemma' Video description: Nelly defends his use of an Excel spreadsheet to text with Kelly Rowland in his 2002 music video for his track, "Dilemma." canonical: https://time.com/4585061/nelly-excel-dilemma-video-interview/ author: Cady Lang article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-11-29T18:40:27.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:39:00.750Z og:title: Nelly Defends Texting via Excel Sheet in his Dilemma Video og:description: Just...why? og:url: https://time.com/4585061/nelly-excel-dilemma-video-interview/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Nelly Defends Texting via Excel Sheet in his Dilemma Video twitter:description: Just...why? twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Nelly Defends Using an Excel Spreadsheet to Text Kelly Rowland in That 2002 Music Video > Sponsored content. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically.  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Nov 29, 2016 6:40 PM UTC  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Nov 29, 2016 6:40 PM UTC It’s safe to say that [Nelly’s](http://time.com/4490160/savenelly-spotify-nelly/) prime was the [glorious time known as the early-aughts](http://time.com/4326642/jennifer-lopez-j-lo-ja-rule-im-real-first-line/); looking back on the normalized use of a Band-aid as an accessory or the proliferation of [Pimp Juice](http://www.vevo.com/watch/nelly/pimp-juice/USUV30300013), there’s no denying that Nelly established his influence as a cultural force. However, there’s one thing that even Nelly couldn’t make cool and that’s texting via Excel spreadsheet. In his 2002 video for the song “Dilemma,” his love interest Kelly Rowland contacts him using the decidedly labor-intensive method of texting in a method usually reserved for accountants’ files. Nelly, however, stands by his decision nearly 14 years later. During an interview with Australia’s _The Project_, he even defends it. “That was the thing at the time,” he said. “That was the new technology at the time. It looks a little dated now, I can see it.” Valid point, Nelly — but no one ever used it to get cozy with their boo. 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