"Dilemma" was written by Nelly, Antoine "Bam" Macon and Ryan Bowser, alongside the "Love, Need and Want You" writers, Kenneth Gamble and Bunny Sigler.

It was filmed on Colonial Street with appearances by Larry Hughes and Patti LaBelle, and depicts Nelly attracted towards his new neighbor Rowland despite the latter being in a relationship.

American producer Ryan Bowser created an instrumental which sampled and contained elements from Patti LaBelle's 1983 song "Love, Need and Want You", written by Kenneth Gamble and Bunny Sigler.

Upon hearing the beat given to him by St. Louis producer Antoine "Bam" Macon, Nelly began writing lyrics for the track.

He decided to include "Dilemma" as a last-minute addition on his second studio album Nellyville (2002), which was completed prior to Bam giving him the track.

Nelly instantly thought of Destiny's Child member Kelly Rowland, whom he met during the Total Request Live (TRL) tour in 2001, and was encouraged by his sister to include her on the song.

[9][10][11] The "high-pitched intonation" used in the introduction prior to Rowland's vocals about "loving and needing Nelly" was initially rumored to be created on the Roland M-DC1 in 1995 as "Aaaah!

[18] James Hannaham of The Village Voice additionally wrote that it is "an infidelity ballad" which combines mack daddy content with TRL.

[6] In her review for Simply Deep, Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian wrote that it "practically peeled off its clothes on the spot",[20] and Nathan Rabin of The A.V.

Then-Washington Wizards player Larry Hughes appeared in the video as Rowland's boyfriend, while Patti LaBelle was cast as her mother.

[37] Rowland described the plot, stating that she was "the new girl in the neighborhood" who became infatuated with Nelly living across the street despite having a partner and children, which resulted in a "dilemma".

[35][41] Nelly defended the use of the application in an interview with Australian talk show The Project in November 2016, explaining that it was used during the time despite eventually becoming outdated.

[17][42][43] In subsequent interviews, Rowland admitted to not knowing what Microsoft Excel was, which elicited a response from the application's official Twitter account.

[37] Rowland and LaBelle portray a mother-daughter pair who have recently moved into the house opposite the street from Nelly, with the latter sporting a 4XL t-shirt and headband.

[38] Rowland messages Nelly on her phone from inside her bedroom in another scene,[17][42][43] as sequences of both musicians flirting together in front of a car are sporadically intercut.

[46] In the final scene, LaBelle opens the front door of her house and repeatedly demands for her daughter to return inside,[37] while the couple continue dancing outside throughout the night.

[6] In a retrospective review, Ashley Perkins of Vibe acknowledged how the music video contained "just the right amount of dramatization to allow a glimpse into how much of a dilemma Nelly and Kelly's situationship was".

[46] Bassil opined that the visuals contained "sartorial [color] coordination" and commented that Nelly's "dickhead"-styled clothing allowed him to dance alongside Rowland throughout the night.

It was the third hip hop music video released before the website's existence to record one billion views, following "In da Club" by 50 Cent and "Without Me" by Eminem.

[53][54] "Gone" was written by Nelly, Rico Love, Earl Hood, Eric Goody II, and the producer Jim Jonsin.

Munn initially imitated Nelly's appearance by wearing a hat, bandana, and band-aid, but removed the accessories in order to portray Rowland.