--- description: Nelly defends his use of an Excel spreadsheet to text with Kelly Rowland in his 2002 music video for his track, "Dilemma." title: Nelly Defends Texting via Excel Sheet in his Dilemma Video image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Nelly Defends Using an Excel Spreadsheet to Text Kelly Rowland in That 2002 Music Video  by [Cady Lang](/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 29, 2016 6:40 PM CUT  by [Cady Lang](/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 29, 2016 6:40 PM CUT It’s safe to say that [Nelly’s](http://time.com/4490160/savenelly-spotify-nelly/ "undefined") prime was the [glorious time known as the early-aughts](http://time.com/4326642/jennifer-lopez-j-lo-ja-rule-im-real-first-line/ "undefined"); 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 "undefined"), 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. Watch the full interview below. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4585061/nelly-excel-dilemma-video-interview/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4585061/nelly-excel-dilemma-video-interview/"},"headline":"Nelly Defends Using an Excel Spreadsheet to Text Kelly Rowland in That 2002 Music Video","datePublished":"2016-11-29T18:40:27.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:39:00.750Z","description":"Just...why?","url":"https://time.com/4585061/nelly-excel-dilemma-video-interview/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Entertainment","Music","Culture"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Cady Lang","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/cady-lang/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4585061/nelly-excel-dilemma-video-interview/","name":"Nelly Defends Using an Excel Spreadsheet to Text Kelly Rowland in That 2002 Music Video"}}]}] ```