Named after its parent album , the music video is set in the fictional middle class African-American town of Nellyville . It begins with several shots of the neighborhood , while the same-titled '' Nellyville '' album track is played as the intro to the clip during the first seconds . Rowland and LaBelle portray a mother-daughter pair who move in across the street from resident Nelly . Instantly attracted by the former , he calls his friends over to help them carrying their boxes into the house . However , Rowland 's character has a boyfriend and a child , both complicating their interest in each other . Commenting on the plot , Rowland added : " It 's just chemistry from there on ... He Nelly wants to talk to me but I ca n't do it . It puts us in a dilemma , which is the name of the song . And the video tells the story perfectly . " The final video premiered at the end of MTV 's '' Making the Video '' episode in September 2002 . " Dilemma " was later featured as an enhanced video on the European maxi single as well as on the 2007 Wal-Mart exclusive Kelly Rowland DVD '' BET Presents Kelly Rowland '' . At the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards , it was nominated for Best R&B Video . At one point in the " Dilemma " video , Rowland can be seen attempting to text Nelly via the spreadsheet application on her Nokia 9210 Communicator . Preceding instant messaging services such as WhatsApp , it became a prominent internet meme in the mid-2010s . Further elaborating on this in an interview with Australian talk show '' The Project '' in November 2016 , Nelly said . " That was the thing at the time ! That was the new technology at the time . It looks a little dated now . " The official remix was produced by Jermaine Dupri and features Kelly Rowland and Ali of the St. Lunatics . It was included on Nelly 's remix album '' Da Derrty Versions : The Reinvention ''
2003 MTV Video Music Awards
2003 MTV Video Music Awards
Dilemma (song)