NBA expansion team Charlotte Bobcats announced today that rapper Nelly is now a part-owner of the team.

Nelly joins a group of investors which includes BET's founder Bob Johnson, the team's majority owner.

"To be able to make this move with Bob Johnson and to be a part of the first-ever minority owned professional sports franchise in history is a great opportunity,” Nelly said.

“Nelly is a great entertainer and a smart businessman and those two traits will serve us well as we prepare to tip off our inaugural season this fall,” Robert L. Johnson, the team’s majority owner and the founder of Black Entertainment Television, said Monday in a news release.