Nelly Wants People to Forget Chris Brown's Past

'What people seem to forget is that this was a kid, a kid that made a mistake that, sadly, grown men make every day,' the rapper comments on Brown-Rihanna incident.

Rapper Nelly hopes fans can forgive and forget Chris Brown's attack on ex-girlfriend Rihanna, because he is adamant the singer has "learned his lesson". Brown saw his popularity plummet after he viciously beat the "Umbrella" beauty in 2009. He was later convicted of felony assault and sentenced to five years probation.

But Nelly, who enlisted the "Kiss Kiss" singer for his new album "Nelly 5.0", is adamant Brown is a different man from the "kid" he was at the time of the attack. He tells Britain's Daily Star, "What people seem to forget is that this was a kid, a kid that made a mistake that, sadly, grown men make every day. If we're going to give anyone the benefit of the doubt, it should be a kid."

"Chris has been through a lot, he's learned his lesson now. He's such a talented kid, such a great singer and I always knew that would prevail."