A rep confirms that Ashanti and Nelly are the proud parents of a newborn son, Kareem Kenkaide Haynes.
The “Happy” singer took to Instagram on Aug. 21 to share a postpartum selfie and video about the birth of her first child. Ashanti made cheeky references to a few of her hit singles while posing in her comfy Frida Mom shorts.
“Funny how life’s plans aren’t…always on time.. lol. I’ve been waiting to be a mom for a long time now but nothing could prepare me for EVERYTHING motherhood brings!” she captioned her post. “This is what postpartum looks like. I’m loving these super cozy @fridamom shorts! I’m so proud of my body for giving me my baby, baby, baby, baby, boy.”
“Four weeks postpartum. You have no idea what this body can do,” Ashanti said in the video where she showed off her postpartum figure.
A rep for the famous couple confirmed the arrival of Ashanti and Nelly’s first child together and revealed the baby’s name.
“Ashanti and Nelly welcomed their baby boy, Kareem Kenkaide Haynes, on July 18, 2024. The proud and happy parents are so in love with KK!” a rep told People.
Ashanti first announced her pregnancy through a video in April. Fans had already started to speculate since Ashanti didn’t try to hide her baby bump while performing on stage.
While speaking with ET, Ashanti explained how Nelly came up with their son’s name: Kenkaide, a tribute to her own father’s name, and Kareem, which means generous, kind, and dignified.
“His dad named him with a lot of pride,” Ashanti gushed. “Having all of us in the delivery room and seeing his face for the first time, I cried, it was just so emotional and spiritual at the same time. Having a vision of this moment for so long…it was such an electrifying feeling.”
“KK had a dignified birth, coming just a little early, causing Nelly to fly in last minute to make it in time,” the outlet revealed.
In a separate video post, Ashanti shared how “amazing” she feels as a mom due to how “on time” she and Nelly are ensuring the baby is well-fed and cared for.
“I’m so freaking happy,” she shared.
The birth of their son follows Nelly and Ashanti privately tying the knot on Dec. 27, 2023. The pair wasted no time since reconnecting and rekindling their romance. Nelly announced the reunion in September 2023 during an appearance on “Boss Moves with Rasheeda.”
“It wasn’t anything that we planned. We both were pretty much doing what we do,” he explained. “But sometimes, being separate, you understand one another more. You could be like, ‘Well, yo, let me exactly see maybe what they see.’ We all can be defensive sometimes in our own relationships. We know we wrong, but we going to stand on it, you know what I mean? But we all a victim to that.”
Nelly is already a father to two adult children: son Cornell III (who goes by Tre), 25, and daughter Chanelle (who goes by Nana), 30. The “Country Grammar” rapper also helped raise his niece Sydney and nephew Shawn after his sister Jackie Donahue passed away from leukemia in 2005 at age 31.
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