Nelly is in Iraq.
There's no better way to write that lede so we're going to leave it at that.
The American rapper made a surprise visit to Kurdistan, a semi-autonomous region in Iraq, to meet with local officials and perform at a charity event on Friday.
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The singer, who made no mention of the event on his Twitter and Facebook pages, took the stage at a charity soccer tournament organized by the Rwanga Foundation, a Kurdish group whose self-stated mission is to help the "most vulnerable people."
"We wanted to invite an international artist to come to Kurdistan in order to get [people] familiar with Kurdistan, and to show it’s a safe region,” Zirak Hamad, a spokesperson, told local website BasNews.
Hamad denied rumors that Nelly was paid to perform after reported complaints by locals.
"We just paid the travel expenses and accommodation,” Hamad said, adding that the money would go towards refugees and martyrs in the fight against the Islamic State. The rapper Akon was previously rumored to perform.
Nelly is coming to Erbil and I still haven't bought the tickets — shanga (@HawshangDizae) March 12, 2015
In images shared on Twitter from the venue, the rapper was seen performing to a half-full open-air stadium while holding the red, white and green flag of Kurdistan.
Nelly in #kurdistan #twitterkurds #iraq pic.twitter.com/NFo3sgC59T— Wladimir (@vvanwilgenburg) March 13, 2015
Nelly live in #kurdistan #TwitterKurds pic.twitter.com/hsUunzW9yl— Wladimir (@vvanwilgenburg) March 13, 2015
In one Instagram video, Nelly performs "E.I.", his hit song from 2000's Country Grammar with lyrics that'll cross any language barrier: "Andele andele mami, E I E I, Uh-oh! What's poppin' tonight?"
Nelly in kurdistan A video posted by welat (@welatemir) on Mar 13, 2015 at 7:32am PDT
The organization's spokesperson, Taban Shoresh, says it is the first time an American artist has performed in Kurdistan. Mashable couldn't independently confirm that claim.
First American artist to come to Kurdistan...don't miss it pic.twitter.com/iQvBhmb3ei— Taban Shoresh (@tabanshoresh) March 12, 2015