Nelly is speaking out following his arrest on drug charges last weekend in Tennessee.

On April 11, Nelly was charged with felony possession of drugs, simple possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia following a search of his bus where five rocks were found that tested positive for methamphetamine along with a small amount of marijuana as well as drug paraphernalia. The 40-year-old rapper (real name Cornell Haynes) has released a statement about the incident.

"I feel the need to take responsibility for my choices in needing to be more aware of all the people I associate with and allow onto my property," he told TMZ on Apr. 14. "While my instinct of course, is to be accessible to my friends, fans and acquaintances, the last thing I would want to do is compromise the respect and admiration of my friends, family and fans."

Following Saturday's arrest, Nelly attorney Scott Rosenblum released the following statement to Billboard.

"Nelly was one of several individuals that was on a tour bus that was stopped and searched while traveling through Tennessee. In fact, there had been 15-20 people that had access to the bus prior to the stop. Allegedly, a small quantity of contraband (MDMA aka Molly or Ecstasy) was discovered during the routine search. We are extremely confident that when the facts come out, Nelly will not be associated with the contraband that was allegedly discovered."