Nelly and Ashanti Announce Birth of Their Son

Nelly and Ashanti have welcomed a baby boy together.

Ashanti shared a post on Instagram on Wednesday, August 21, showing off her postpartum body and hinting at the exciting news. She wrote, “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! 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, baby.”

A rep for the couple confirmed the newborn’s name, gender, and birthdate with People magazine earlier today. “Ashanti and Nelly welcomed their baby boy, Kareem Kenkaide Haynes, on July 18, 2024,” the statement reads. “The proud and happy parents are so in love with KK!”

Ashanti has also explained the meaning behind her and Nelly’s son’s name and where it came from. “His dad named him with a lot of pride,” the singer told Entertainment Tonight. The R&B artist also opened up about naming her son Kareem, which means generous, kind, noble, dignified, bountiful, and having dignity.

“We were going back-and-forth for a long time on his name and he was very adamant,” she continued. “[Nelly] was like, ‘This is what I want. I love this.’ And I thought it was so amazing, and so thoughtful and so sweet because Kenkaide is my dad’s name. And obviously, my dad has only girls. And Nelly was just like, ‘I think that would be really, really dope. And this was all his idea.”

News of Ashanti’s pregnancy began to emerge back last December, followed by engagement rumors in April. It was later reported in June that Nelly and Ashanti had been married for months.

Source: People, Entertainment Tonight