Rapper Nelly is grateful to have reconciled with his father after years of estrangement, because his daughters can now enjoy the bond he never experienced as a child.
The hip-hop star's father, Cornell Haynes, Sr., served in the military and was a strict disciplinarian at home, where he would beat his kids if they stepped out of line.
In an in-depth interview on VH1's Behind The Music, Nelly says, "My father led by fear. I did what my father said 'cause I was scared of getting my a** beat. His voice rang so vividly in my head... that it was just... a fear."
The harsh treatment stopped when Nelly was seven and his parents divorced, and he moved with his mother to St. Louis, Missouri.
The rapper's dad lost touch with his family and left Nelly's mum to bring up the star and his sister Jackie as a single mother, struggling to make ends meet.
Nelly only recently reunited with his father and allowed him back into his life after his dad apologised for the years of bad parenting - and the Hot In Herre hitmaker is thankful to have made amends for the sake of his two girls.
The star says, "That's the important thing that reinstated my love for him, was his admittance of, 'You are f**ked up (because of bad parenting).'
"Just the fact that he's being a way better grandfather to my kids, being there, taking them places, doing things with them, stuff that he never did with me. I love my father, I love him more today than I ever loved him ever. Ever."