Nelly has joined the ownership group of Bobcats Basketball Holdings

Robert L. Johnson, the founder of Black Entertainment Television and the majority owner of the first-ever all minority owned NBA team, the Charlotte Bobcats, announced that Nelly now joins him as part-owner of the sports franchise.

The ownership group which include former NBA player and executive M.L. Carr, NASCAR racing teams owner Felix Sabates, and former CEO of Bank of America, Hugh McColl. The owners of Bobcats Basketball Holdings, also owns the Charlotte Sting of the WNBA and Carolinas Sports Entertainment Television (C-SET).

"Bob and I share the same commitment to diversity, and we are both self-made, having worked up from the very bottom to reach where we are today," Nelly said. "I look forward to learning about the business of professional sports ownership from him, and I also look forward to meeting the Bobcats fans and becoming an active member of the Charlotte community in the future."

Of the many dreams that I have fulfilled in life, being an NBA owner is certainly one of the biggest achievements," said Nelly, born Cornell Haynes Jr.

Nelly's involvement adds to the African American holdings in the franchise acquired by Robert L. Johnson in 2003 for $300 million.

"This is a great opportunity for both the Bobcats and Nelly," says Johnson, the team's majority owner and the founder of Black Entertainment Television. "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."

Earlier this year, Jay-Z became the first rapper to hold interest in an NBA team when he took part-ownership of the New Jersey Nets.