St. Lunatic Nelly is back with a blazing new track “Just A Dream” and is prepping the release of his new album 5.0. Complex magazine recently caught up with the Midwest rapper to talk about a few things including his on-and-off again relationship with Ashanti. This summer, Nelly and Ashanti were spotted at T.I. and Tiny’s wedding holding hands which set off speculation that the two were back on again. Well, according to Nelly he’s focused on his career right now and Ashanti’s focused on handling her business as well.

Complex: Yeah. This kind of goes along with that. I don’t know what your relationship with Ashanti is like or what led to an alleged breakup, but then the gossip sites will say you said that you’re back together and have pictures of you two holding hands at T.I. and Tiny’s wedding. Is it an on-and-off situation because you’re not good at cutting people if they don’t hurt you, personally?

Nelly: We never admitted that we were together or back together or separated, but we heard that. Only thing we ever said was we friends and it’s the same way now. I’m focused on 5.0. I got an album coming out on November 16th, she’s working on her project right now.

Complex: But are there things that happened in the relationship that have gotten you to a point where you’re not going to be dealing with her in the same capacity?

Nelly: It’s not like that. My ultimate goal and our ultimate goal is to be individuals, to sustain what we been able to sustain. You wanna make sure that when you get into a time and place that you’re able to do what you need to do, and right now, that’s my album. You don’t want to be into a situation where you do an hour-long interview and 45 minutes is based on something and you’re like, “Yo, what about this?” And that’s something that we’ve been able to maintain. Like, whatever becomes of our relationship. Whatever, whenever, or however, that’s going to be something that we’re going to do and we’re going to judge. It’s not going to be manipulated by outside people looking in, who don’t even know what the fuck is going on. I think that the only way you can maintain that is to just do what you do. I have to be Nelly. She got to be Ashanti.

If these two want to be like Jay-Z and Beyonce and keep their relationship a mystery…well good for them. But, there can only be one Jay and B! I’m pretty sure Nelly is still tapping that anyway…

Check out these pics of Nelly’s fine a$$ on the set of the photoshoot for “Apple Bottoms” Fall/Holliday 2010 collection out in Malibu, CA. Judging by these pics Apple Bottoms is dropping the tackiness and is going high fashion, but what’s up with the size 0 models? I thought Apple Bottoms was specifically made for the thicky-thick chicks?! Boney models don’t have “apple bottoms”. #Imjustsayin

Sidebar: Do chicks even wear Apple Bottoms?

Before the New Orleans Saints and the Colts threw down on the field for Sunday’s big game, a few celebs got caught up in club brawls. Word is rapper Nelly got knocked the f*ck out after trying to mediate a fight between his bodyguards and bouncers at a pre-Super Bowl gig last Friday. Nelly was set to perform at Liv nightclub in Miami, but the night quickly took a turn for the worst when his body guard got into an altercation with club’s bouncer which left poor Nelly in dire need of an icepack. A snitch tells Page Six,

“His security appeared to get into an argument with the hotel’s security staff. Nelly got in the middle and got punched by mistake. Then it spilled out of the back door and continued outside.”

Nelly wasn’t the only celeb that got caught up in some drama Super Bowl weekend. Word is at the same night club around 5 a.m. a few hours after the Saint’s crushed the Colts, Rihanna was involved in some major bottle popping–but she wasn’t the one doing the poppin’! Apparently, Rihanna, Kim Kardashian and Timbaland were all sitting at the same table downing bubbly and having a great time, while the DJ was spinning “Run This Town” when suddenly five bottles of champagne were thrown from the balcony above almost hitting RiRi before smashing to the floor. Then some fool at RiRi’s table threw a bottle back and that’s when things escalated. It was like the Saints and the Colts were duking it out all over again,  as each time a bottle hit the floor partygoers shouted “touchdown”. Rihanna was going crazy, screaming at the top of her lungs until the DJ stopped her track and yelled “Everybody get the f*** out. Super Bowl is ruined.” RiRi and Kim made it out without any scratches and everyone else dipped as well. Meanwhile earlier that evening, Rihanna almost ran into her ex Chris Brown who was coming from the men’s bathroom.

Looks like Kelly Rowland is eager to put out a hit song by any means necessary! Back in 2002, Kelly and rapper Nelly hit the studio and collaborated on “Dilemma” which became an instant hit on the charts. Well, the two are back in the studio collaborating on the sequel titled “Gone”, and according to Nelly it didn’t take much to get Kelly to hop on the track. He tells Young Hollywood,

“We were in the studio in Miami and I called K and she was in the bed and just shot down to the studio. Adding, “We know we can’t in no way shape of form can we outdo part one. There’s no way. You’re in a lose situation if you go in trying to do that. What the new song is doing is a continuation of the story.”

Can’t wait to hear what they’ve cooked up ’cause “Dilemma” was the ish back in ’02!

After dropping his fifth studio album, Brass Knuckles last year, St. Lunatic Nelly is back in the booth working on yet another album. Although Nelly’s new project is currently untitled, he’s already worked with producers Play-N-Skillz on a track called “Angel Eyes” which samples Kim Carnes’ “Bette Davis Eyes” and he’s also sampled Miles Jaye as well as the late Notorious B.I.G. on a track called “Thousand Stacks”. Diddy, Jim Jonsin and Rico Love lend a helping hand in producing the album.

“In the booth right now, it’s kind of different,” he said about his guest stars. “I got Sean Paul, Akon … as far as the rappers go, Plies. Me and Jeezy talking about some things now. I’m not finished, but I’m a good portion on the way.”

Aside from the fact that he recently copped a plea and is expected to serve a year in the pen for possession of an illegal gun, rapper Lil Wayne isn’t letting his legal woes stop him from having a good ole’ time! Word is Lil Wayne and buddy Nelly were spotted partying it up at a Miami hot spot. A snitch reveals to the NYPost,

“They were with a big group of women and stayed until 4 a.m.”

Lil Wayne is expected to be sentenced in February, not to mention he already has to stand trial in March 2010 to face drug possession charges stemming from an 2008 arrest in Yuma, Arizona.

Word is Ashanti and Nelly are the latest Hip-hop couple to call it quits. These two supposedly ex-lovebirds managed to keep their relationship a secret for a hot minute until Nelly blew the whistle and finally admitted that Ashanti was indeed his girl. Earlier this year, talk of marriage was even swirling around after Ashanti admitted that a wedding was “absolutely in the cards” for them. According to the NY Daily News, Nelly wasn’t ready to settle down with Ashanti and commit to just only her. Snitches say that Nelly has moved on and found himself a new piece of arm candy. Word is video vixen Melyssa Ford is the new woman in Nelly’s life. Apparently, they’ve been spotted spending a lot of quality time together.

Damn, I guess four years meant nothing to Nelly seeming as though he’s already wifed up another broad.