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The Tragedy of Tupac’s Daughter

Photo credit: Saltseagal_official/TikTok and Officialbabygrl/X

Recently, one of Diddy’s alleged victims claimed to be Tupac’s daughter.

Ally Carter Alleges Tupac Is Her Father

TikTok followers were amazed to hear the story of how Ally Carter revealed her alleged connection to the late rapper and longtime rival of Diddy.

@saltseagal_official #AllyCarter#Tupac#Diddy#Industry#MusicIndustry#Rap#Hiphop#GhettoGospel#Hollyweird#Hollywood #JusticeWillPrevail ♬ original sound – Saltseagal🐋

She explained that she was born in St. Bernardine’s Hospital in California, where she returned years later to collect her birth certificate.

But when she asked for the file, she claimed that the nurse started crying and apologizing after reading her last name.

Ally claimed that she was told that her father’s name was missing from her birth certificate because of a shift change at the hospital.

However, she also added that she didn’t know the complete truth, and that sometimes, she thought that she might not even want to know.

But whoever shared the video must have believed her story.

In the caption, they told viewers not to be close-minded about Ally’s story being possible.

It went on to say, “If you’re aware of what’s happening, this wouldn’t sound far-fetched.”

Tupac’s Daughter Ally Confesses Attending Diddy’s Freak-Off Parties  

This is because Ally continued to face truly heart-wrenching tragedy throughout her life.

She once said that due to being a high-risk child, she went to a staggering 19 schools in one year during her youth.

But it was the stories of harm that she claimed to have experienced at the hands of Diddy that really lit up the internet.

In social media clips, she made some truly horrifying allegations that went viral about what she went through while attending Diddy’s infamous freak-off parties.

A lot has already been said about the debauchery that took place behind closed doors at the events that the rap mogul hosted.

Ally Carter Describes Diddy’s Freak-Offs At ‘Satanic’

But according to Ally, the stories so far barely scratch the surface. 

She actually described them as “satanic” and hinted at occult, “ritual” behavior taking place.

Ally made her claims in an interview which later went viral after clips of it were shared on X.

Ally alleged that she had been at the party as a minor and suggested that there were others at the parties who weren’t adults. 

She stressed that young people who were allegedly at the freak-offs were not getting nearly enough attention.

And that instead, everyone was still focusing on the adults, particularly the celebrities, who are believed to have been regular guests of Diddy.

After all the other horrific stories that Ally has shared online about her upbringing, many were devastated to hear what she had allegedly been through.

Who is Jaycee Shakur?

And the rumor about Tupac being her father only made the conversation surrounding her more intense.

Some, of course, were also skeptical about Ally’s claims.

There have been several other people who have come online to claim that Tupac is their real father.

One particularly famous case is TikToker Jaycee Shakur, who is so sure that she’s Tupac’s daughter that she goes by his last name.

She has been reported to have been born between 1994 and 1996. 

In which case, she was almost definitely born before Tupac’s life was taken in Las Vegas. 

Jaycee Shakur Claims Tupac Is Her Father 

On July 20, 2021, she made a TikTok video in which she stated that she was Tupac’s daughter. 

As the rapper was not thought to have had any kids when he was alive, this caught the public’s attention in a big way. 

The video soon went viral, and it has since been viewed over one million times. 

Mostly because, when you see her, she does look almost exactly like him.

Before this announcement, Jaycee was already making a name for herself as a content creator on TikTok and YouTube. 

However, after she posted the video with her claim, she saw a massive spike in attention directed at her. 

She saw her follower count go up to around 100,000. 

Evidence Potentially Proves Tupac Is Jaycee’s Father 

Obviously, this got a lot of people talking on both sides of the debate. 

Some were curious about Jaycee’s claims. 

They pointed to the one piece of evidence that seemed to pop up again and again that suggested that Tupac might have had a kid. 

It was an old photo of Tupac smiling next to a woman holding a baby. 

The woman in question was confirmed to be Tupac’s beloved mother, Afeni Shakur

A lot of people have always been convinced that this baby was Tupac’s. 

Not only that, but they were sure that the baby in the picture was a girl. 

In August 2020, Jaycee shared that very photo on her Instagram account. 

The caption on the post blew people’s minds. 

Jaycee wrote, “Father and Daughter,” underneath the picture. 

So when she finally came forward to claim that the baby in the picture was her, some Tupac followers wanted to believe her. 

Is Tupac’s Alleged Daughter Jaycee Chasing Clout?

However, there was a whole other section of Tupac’s supporters who wanted to shut the claims down. 

They believed that the only reason Jaycee was saying this was to try and chase fame for herself. 

The people who believed Jaycee also pointed out that there was a physical resemblance to her supposed father. 

But with very little other evidence, more and more people started to doubt what Jaycee was telling them. 

When asked about the picture, a lot of them suggested that the baby was much more likely to be Tupac’s niece or another relative. 

Who Is Jaycee Shakur’s Mom And Other Family Members?

And the fact that so little is known about the circumstances of Jaycee’s birth made her statement difficult to prove.

However, it also made it difficult to disprove.

Nothing has been uncovered about the identity of Jaycee’s mom or any of her other family members. 

In fact, very little else has been found out about Jaycee at all. 

Judging from the videos she has posted on social media, she has lived a pretty comfortable life. 

To some, this confirmed that she must have been the wealthy rapper’s daughter. 

At the time of his passing, Tupac was thought to be worth between $20 to $30 million. 

So it would be expected that any children he had publicly or in secret would be well looked after. 

But this was not enough to convince everyone.

Tupac’s Secret Daughter Taliyah Bria

Other rumors, however, have seemingly been accepted by people who were really close to Tupac.

13 years ago, speculation began on Twitter that the rapper’s secret daughter is called Taliyah Bria. 

The story of how it took so long for her name to be uncovered shocked many.

Allegedly, Tupac hid his daughter in Canada, where Taliyah is from. 

This alone would not have been enough for a lot of people to hear and accept the rumor.

But when Tupac’s former hip-hop group, Outlawz, were seen publicly tweeting Taliyah, the rumor started to gain serious momentum. 

Taliyah is a popular and successful music blogger, who has shown a clear interest in the music from her alleged dad’s era, as she only blogs about the golden era of 90s rap. 

Her Twitter account boasts a following in the tens of thousands. 

And it was her account that Tupac’s fans soon flocked to to see if there was anything more that they could find out about their hero’s secret. 

Taliyah Bria Confirms Tupac Is Her Father With Rare Photo

The rumors built up when Taliyah herself started posting pictures of the late rapper. 

Some of these pictures were ones that even Tupac’s most loyal fans had never seen before. 

One picture in particular captured a lot of imaginations. 

Taliyah posted a picture of Tupac playing with a young girl in a water park. 

The picture was confirmed to be of Tupac thanks to the Rolex he was wearing on his left wrist. 

Taliyah captioned the tweet with just the word “dad”. 

So, while Ally might not be the only woman claiming to be Tupac’s daughter, it would be hard to find anyone with more harrowing allegations about their experience with certain others within the music industry.

The Tragic Life Of Nelly’s Late Sister’s Kids

Photo credit: Lil Shxwn/YouTube, Stink_mylife/Instagram and Ashanti/Instagram

Nelly recently faced major backlash after his decision to perform at Donald Trump’s inaugural ball

During a live conversation he had with rapper Willie D, Nelly defended himself by saying that he didn’t know that his followers supported him because they cared about who he voted for.

He claimed that he didn’t know that he had to agree with their political choices.

He went on to say that if people followed what he did, referring to the charitable and honorable things he’d done in life, then there shouldn’t have been an argument about his decision.

Why Nelly Adopted His Sister Jackie’s Kids

Over the years, Nelly has done a lot of philanthropy.

But not everyone knows that he also did something seriously admirable in his personal life, too.

In 2005, his sister Jackie Donahue lost her battle with leukemia, according to TODAY.

She left behind a son named Shawn and a daughter named Sydney

Their father reportedly wasn’t a part of their lives, which meant that they were almost like orphans.

However, Nelly stepped up and chose to raise the two children as his own by officially adopting them

It was a big sacrifice, especially since he was already raising his two biological kids pretty much by himself.

Before he hit it big with his debut album Country Grammar in 2000, Nelly had already welcomed a daughter and a son with his then-girlfriend, Channetta Valentine

Their daughter Chanelle was born in 1994, and then their son Cornell came along 5 years later. 

Nelly’s TV Show ‘Nellyville’ 

The world got to know Nelly’s family when his reality show Nellyville aired on BET in 2014. 

The show followed their lives as the rapper tried to balance his career with fatherhood. 

A report by the Atlanta Blackstar revealed that in one episode, Nelly told the cameras that people should remember that there weren’t only single mothers out in the world.

He reminded everyone that there were single fathers, too. 

He added that it was very important. 

Nelly Speaks Out About Adopting Late Sister’s Kids

Nelly spoke about what it was like to take his niece and nephew in after he lost his sister during an interview on the Tamron Hall Show.

He explained that after Jackie passed away, it was a ‘no-brainer’ situation for him. 

He didn’t think twice about it. 

It was just what needed to be done.

Nelly shared: “That’s what family is there for. We pick up the pieces, and we mold each other and help shape each other.

But the rapper didn’t want to take all the credit. 

He knew that it would take a village to raise the children.

He credited his half-sister’s biological mom for helping out, as well as his brother and other family members who each did what they could to lend a hand. 

Nelly admitted that he was the one who had to bear the financial side of taking care of Shawn and Sydney. 

He reportedly was also responsible for the discipline part when it was needed. 

But he made it clear that he couldn’t have looked after all the children alone. 

Nelly later confessed to Tamron that his 4 kids helped raise him as much as he helped raise them.

He went on to say that he didn’t know where he’d be without them, without their genuine spirit, and without having that love around.

Nelly’s Nephew Shawn Follows Nelly’s Footsteps 

Jackie’s oldest child, Shawn, was only 8 years old when he tragically lost his mother. 

When he got older, he took a page out of his uncle’s book and turned to making rap music under the stage name Lil’ Shawn.

The last post he shared of himself singing on his YouTube Channel was in February 2024, with 400 views. 

But his most popular music video got 86 thousand views.

Nelly’s Nephew Shawn Becomes A Father 

A report by PEOPLE revealed that Shawn started his own family with his girlfriend Kristia.

In July 2020, the pair welcomed a daughter named Mahalia.

Nelly’s nephew often shares pictures of his family on Instagram

In January 2025, he posted a photo of him and Kristia posing in front of a mirror together.

He captioned the picture with: “Me and Mine.

And in July 2024, he and Kristia took Mahalia to Disney World for the first time to celebrate her 4th birthday.

One month later, Shawn uploaded a picture of their little girl on her 1st day of preschool.

She held up a sign that said that she loved the color pink, giving hugs, dancing, playdates, and her mommy and daddy.

The sign also showed that she had dreams of becoming a dancer one day.

All About Nelly’s Niece Sydney

According to PEOPLE, Nelly has a funny nickname for his niece Sydney. 

He lovingly refers to her as ‘Stink.’

An article by The List claimed that Sydney had her sights on becoming a professional model when she was younger. 

It’s not known how much success she had with that line of work, but her Instagram reveals that she went in a more entrepreneurial direction.

She uses her social media to promote her own make-up company. 

She reportedly began a business called That Girl Collection.

The official website describes it as a vegan lipgloss company, with products that smell nice, last long, and are very pigmented but not sticky.

Nelly’s Niece’s Baby Father Dies 

In 2020, Sydney also made Nelly a grandfather.

She and her baby’s father, Christian Wimbley, welcomed a little son into the world, who they named Cross.

Sydney’s life has been filled with a lot of tragedy, though. 

Because on top of losing her mom, she and her baby also lost Christian. 

There aren’t many details about what happened to him, but it is known that he left this world before his time. 

So, Sydney had to raise Cross as a single parent. 

Over the years, Sydney has also used her Instagram to post updates on her child as he grows.

She shared a cute reel with her 180,000 followers of Cross on his first day back to school, geared up with his oversized Batman backpack.

And in January, she announced that she was the mother of a 5-year-old as she celebrated Cross’s birthday by sharing photos and videos of him. 

Nelly’s Niece Sydney’s Relationship With A Woman 

But there’s more that can be learned from Sydney’s social media about her personal life than just how her son is doing. 

Because in August 2024, she shared something that a lot of online users found shocking. 

She revealed that she had someone new in her love life.

But some people were surprised by the pictures that she shared of the two of them posing together.

The photos revealed that there was a side of Sydney that she’d never shared with the public before. 

Because the other person in the photo with her was a woman.

The pair shared a joint post of a photoshoot they’d taken where they were smiling and hugging each other. 

She captioned the post with: “Me & my Bookie.”

Online Users Defend Nelly’s Niece

Though the post got some negative comments from a few users, many of Sydney’s followers defended her and said that they were happy for her. 

As a response to online haters, one person wrote: “Y’all gotta be so miserable in y’all life to sit up on someone else’s page and criticize who they date… Get a life!

Other social media users commented on how nice the couple’s smiles looked in the photos, and they told Sydney that she deserved happiness.

In November 2024, she shared a video of her and her partner snuggling together as they posed in front of a bathroom mirror, and she captioned it with a heart emoji. 

Nelly Speaks Out About Challenges Of Parenthood

In the past, Nelly has openly spoken about the challenges of parenthood.

But he also recognized that in this day and age, it’s not easier being a kid or a teenager, either. 

While speaking to the HuffPost, Nelly claimed that life for his kids was “definitely different” than how things were for him when he was growing up.

He explained that as much blame as people gave their kids for what they were not doing, he also would try to give them as much credit for dealing with things that he didn’t have to deal with.

Nelly said: “Bullying was one-on-one and face-to-face. Now it’s all over the internet.”

He went on to talk about the unique problems that come with being the children of a celebrity, and the bullying and discrimination that came along with that from their school peers.

An example he gave was that his kids were sometimes targeted for just expressing an opinion.

He said: “Everybody voices their opinion and then when it stops at them, all of a sudden their opinion is coming because of who their father is.

The rapper said that he would regularly have to remind his children that they couldn’t just bank on their father’s name when it worked for them. 

Sometimes, they had to deal with the downsides of fame, too.

Why Kelly Rowland Blocked Nelly from Performing

Photo credit: Kelly Rowland/Instagram and Ashanti/Instagram

Nelly performed some of his most popular songs at President Donald Trump’s inaugural ball.

But there was one hit track that he did not sing. 

Kelly Rowland Was ‘Stunned’ About Nelly’s Decision 

And it had everything to do with Kelly Rowland.

Nelly’s decision to perform at the president’s inauguration was considered pretty controversial by a lot of people.

He received a lot of backlash.

And there were many people who couldn’t understand why he’d chosen to do it – including Kelly herself.

According to a Daily Mail insider, she was completely blindsided by Nelly’s choice.

The source said: “She was stunned when she learned that Nelly was to perform and informed his camp that he does not have her consent to perform the song.”

A few months ago, Kelly joined her friend Beyonce on stage at a Kamala Harris campaign rally in Houston, where they both grew up.

So, the last thing that she wanted was for one of her songs to be played at the inauguration of the presidential candidate that Kamala lost to.

The insider claimed that Kelly informed Nelly’s camp that he did not have her consent to perform their song Dilemma

Her team was allegedly prepared to issue a takedown notice if he defied her order.

Wide Open Country said that blocking Nelly from performing one of his biggest tracks at the inauguration was a real statement. 

Why Fans Are Disappointed At Nelly 

Online users have been pretty vocal about how disappointed they were in Nelly.

A YouTube user wrote that Nelly made his decision, which he had a right to do, just like they did, too. 

And their decision was to no longer support Nelly in any aspect, music or otherwise.

Nelly Explains Decision To Perform At Donald Trump’s Inauguration Ball 

After facing a ton of criticism, Nelly explained why he chose to perform during an interview he had with rapper Willie D.

According to a HipHopDx report, he made the claim that people tend to sometimes have a quick response to something that, on the surface, may seem messed up because they don’t agree.

He insisted that he was not political. 

He was not trying to tell anyone who they should vote for. 

Nelly admitted that he was ‘clueless on a lot of things’ when it got down to it, so he suggested that people did their homework and made their own decisions.

Later on in his interview, the rapper said that he wasn’t doing it for money, but because he felt that it was an honor.

He compared performing for the president to the service that U.S. soldiers did. 

Nelly reasoned: “Just like our men and women, our brothers and sisters who protect this country have to go to war and put their lives on the line for whoever is in office.”

He argued that if soldiers can risk their lives for the president, then he could perform for whoever was in the White House.

Nelly Defends President Donald Trump 

When the subject of how some people believe that Donald Trump is a white supremacist came up, Nelly defended him.

He asked if people weren’t allowed to change. 

Nelly also recognized that the president has flaws, which was why he didn’t tell people who to vote for.

But he argued that Donald Trump won, so for him, there was no politics involved anymore – he was just serving his president. 

Social Media Users Claim Nelly Is ‘Tone Deaf’

His reasoning did not sit well with a lot of online users, though. 

A report by Sportskeeda revealed that one Instagram user commented that Nelly’s response was tone deaf and made the issue worse. 

Another wrote that if a person stood for nothing, they would fall for anything. 

A third user argued: “The military doesn’t go to war for ‘whoever’ is in office… they go for the country.

They went on to claim that Donald Trump didn’t even hold the title of president with dignity and respect, and they told Nelly to ‘save it.’

Nelly Said Donald Trump ‘Surprises Me As A President’ 

It’s also been pointed out that Nelly hasn’t always shown Donald Trump the same kind of respect that he is showing now. 

In a Page Six interview from 2017, he shared that he used to like Donald Trump, but he just didn’t like him as his president.

Nelly explained: “He doesn’t surprise me as a person, he surprises me as a president because you don’t expect certain things, certain attitudes.”

He also claimed that he wouldn’t be staying at his famous hotels while he was on tour that year.

How Nelly’s Decision Affected Ashanti 

One of the Daily Mail’s sources alleged that Nelly wasn’t worried about the backlash he’d gotten because he was expecting to make more money from his performance than he had made from his music sales in recent years. 

However, the insider mentioned that his wife Ashanti might face some negative effects from his choice. 

They claimed: “Her music career is doing better now, and she could lose her main fans.”

Sure enough, Ashanti is already dealing with the consequences of her husband’s decision. 

The person who managed the ‘Ashanti News’ fan account on Instagram announced that they would shut it down, and that decision was down to Nelly’s recent actions

In a statement that they shared with their 110,000 followers, the account manager stated that because of the recent news about Nelly and his choices, they could no longer run @AshantiNews or support the direction the couple were going in.

They added: “For over 20 years it’s been amazing connecting Ashanti fans around the world and sharing news, videos and photos. I will miss a lot of you!”

The person finished by sharing that it was beyond disappointing. 

Fans Defend Ashanti For Nelly’s Decision 

Instagram users also expressed their disappointment when they heard the news.

One person said that they hated that Ashanti had to face the backlash from her husband’s choices

The commentator added that it was a prime example of how the choices a person’s partner makes could affect them as well.

Somebody else wrote that if Nelly didn’t do anything else, the ONE thing he would do was embarrass Ashanti.

Are Nelly And Kelly Rowland In A ‘Dilemma’? 

Some people have also pointed out that it was a shame that Nelly and Kelly were reportedly not in a good place after she found out about his performance at the inaugural ball, because it was only a few months earlier that they’d taken to the stage again to perform Dilemma for the first time in years. 

An article by PEOPLE talked about how the two singers were reunited thanks to the 2024 Baby2Baby Gala event in Los Angeles.

Nelly was invited to perform, and during his show, he called Kelly onto the stage.

The Brooklyn Paper revealed that Kelly is a board member of Baby2Baby and has spent many years supporting the charity.

While on stage, Nelly complimented Kelly, calling her an angel.

And he said that since he had a Baby2Baby representative with him, he thought that it would be a great chance for them to perform together.

The rapper said: “I think it’s only right since I had this request from everybody that, you know, we work some magic.”

After thanking Kelly for joining him on stage and making the moment happen again, 

Nelly signaled to the DJ to start the music.

When the intro to Dilemma played, the crowd pretty much just lost it.

Some of the celebrity attendees in the audience included Chrissy Teigen, Ciara, Jennifer Garner, Jessica Alba, Paris Hilton, Heidi Klum, and Anna Kendrick.

Nelly And Kelly’s Song ‘Dilemma’ Success 

Dilemma is one of Nelly’s most successful songs.

It came out in 2002 and topped the Billboard Hot 100 for 10 non-consecutive weeks, replacing his previous hit, Hot In Herre

The single received a nomination for Record of the Year at the 45th Annual Grammy Awards and ultimately took home the award for Best Rap/Sung Performance. 

It features a sample from Patti LaBelle’s 1983 track Love, Need and Want You.

Not many people know that the legendary singer even made an appearance in the music video for Dilemma.

The video became one of the first hip-hop videos on YouTube to ever reach 1 billion views.

Will Nelly And Kelly Release ‘Dilemma’ Part 2?

In 2009, Nelly and Kelly worked on a new song together titled Gone, which, at one point, was going to be called Dilemma Part 2.

MTV News reported that Nelly later changed his mind.

He explained: “I don’t want to say it’s a sequel. I don’t want to diminish anything with ‘Dilemma’ or have an expectation you can’t live up to when you do that.”

The rapper also claimed that the chemistry between him and Kelly had already proven itself to be good, whether it was onstage or in the studio.

He said that it was something that they wanted to reconnect with.

But it doesn’t look like something like this will be happening again any time soon.

All About Nelly’s Mother Rhonda Mack 

Photo credit: Truly.nyelle44/Instagram and Ashanti/Instagram

Nelly has always sung high praises of his mom.

In interviews, he’s talked about how hard she worked when she was raising him, and how much respect he had for her.

Nelly’s Mother Rhonda Mack Allegedly Disapproves Of Ashanti 

But lately, something has reportedly come between the mother and son which is said to be testing their relationship.

There are reports that Nelly’s mom, Rhonda Mack, does not actually approve of Ashanti.

Family sources claim that she doesn’t think that the couple is right for each other, so she’s given her son an ultimatum. 

He supposedly has to choose – either her, or his wife.

The rapper is known for his famous song with Kelly Rowland, Dilemma

And now, it’s been reported that he has found himself in his own dilemma.

Rumor That Nelly’s Mom Doesn’t Want Him To Marry Ashanti 

Rumor has it that Rhonda doesn’t want Nelly to marry Ashanti. 

The pair announced their engagement in April 2024

In an interview she had with Essence, Ashanti referred to Nelly as her fiance.

She later talked to Entertainment Tonight about how the pair were planning a big and luxurious wedding. 

Ashanti said that it was going to be a combination of fashion, glam, and Caribbean vibes. 

She added that it was important to her that it took place on a beach with palm trees, next to the ocean, in the sunshine. 

But Rhonda’s alleged request that Ashanti and Nelly don’t tie the knot together reportedly fell on deaf ears. 

Because TMZ reported that the duo had already gotten hitched.

According to public records seen by the outlet, the marriage date was listed as the 27th of December, 2023.

The documentation didn’t reveal exactly where the duo had allegedly gotten married.

But it became official in Missouri, so TMZ claimed that this probably meant they wed in Nelly’s hometown of St. Louis.

Why Nelly’s Mom Doesn’t Approve Of Ashanti

If the hearsay about Rhonda is true, then some people speculate that she might also be disappointed that Ashanti is the mother of her grandchild, Kareem Kenkaide Haynes.

People can always get a divorce, but having a baby together means that they will be connected for the rest of their lives.

So, Ashanti will always be a part of Nelly’s life.

The Celebrity Insider claimed that Rhonda didn’t approve of Ashanti because of her own personal beliefs and family values.

It’s also been alleged that Ashanti was devastated that her mother-in-law was reportedly asking Nelly to choose between them, because she loved him and wanted nothing more than to be in his life.

Why Nelly Doesn’t Like Ashanti’s Mother Tina Douglas 

This isn’t the first time that there have been reports of a disapproving mother involved in Nelly and Ashanti’s relationship.

But in the past, it was about Ashanti’s mother, Tina Douglas.

According to PEOPLE, Nelly and Ashanti were together on and off for about a decade, between 2003 and 2013.

And it was during that time that reports came out that Tina was allegedly making things difficult for Nelly and Ashanti because of her controlling nature. 

It was claimed that her supposed behavior was what prevented Nelly from making a permanent commitment to his then-girlfriend.

A 2008 report by AceShowBiz alleged that Nelly couldn’t stand Tina.

It said that, according to a Star Magazine insider, Ashanti’s mother stuck her nose in everything because she was also her manager.

They claimed that she was always pushing Ashanti to make more money and to always look great, which would stress the R&B singer out.

Nelly Wants Ashanti To Stand Up To Her Mother

And Nelly didn’t like that.

The report also made the claim that he was trying to get Ashanti to be more independent and stand her ground more.

But she reportedly found it really hard because of the tight grip that her mother had on her.

The source said that Tina had such a strong personality that her daughter was kind of scared of her. 

They added that it was getting in the way of their long-term plans at the time.

Nelly allegedly wanted to know that Ashanti could make decisions on her own before he committed to spending the rest of his life with her.

He supposedly had hopes that she would put her mom in her place eventually.

Nelly Speaks Out About His Mom’s Struggle

Despite having his own reality TV show in 2014, Nelly is actually a pretty private person.

So he’s never publicly shared how he feels about his mother-in-law, or how his own mom feels about his wife.

But he has talked about the ways that his mom inspired him while growing up.

The rapper has shared how his mom had struggled before he made it big as a famous rapper

She went through some seriously trying times, both in her personal life and her professional life.

During an interview he had with the YouTube show The Shop, Nelly opened up about the reason he got to be so good with money.

It was all down to his mother, because it was her strong work ethic that inspired him to hustle and learn how to make, save, and invest money.

Rhonda was a single mother, which meant that she needed to work super hard to pay the bills so that she could put food on the table for her son and daughter.

While speaking to Access Hollywood, Nelly revealed that Rhonda would sometimes have to work two jobs at the same time. 

She worked in the fast food industry for almost 40 years.

Nelly said that anyone who had worked in a fast food franchise would know how difficult that line of work was.

The rapper told the co-hosts of The Shop that it was non-stop, and that it could be very taxing. 

How Nelly’s Mom Rhonda Mack Inspired Him To Hustle

He also talked about a memory he had of when wanted to go to his high school’s homecoming but his mother could only give him $50 dollars for it.

In the end, she offered to get him a job working at a food truck so that he could make some extra cash for himself. 

He was just a fourteen-year-old at the time.

Nelly confessed that he ended up making $140 dollars by the time the homecoming came around, which was a lot of money to him back then.

When he got a little older, he started working the grill at a McDonald’s in his hometown, and he stayed there throughout high school.

Obviously, he didn’t end up staying in the fast food industry.

But he credited his mom with teaching him the meaning of hard work. 

A report by Last.fm revealed that Nelly and his friends formed the St. Lunatics in 1993, and they quickly made a name for themselves.

He later rose to superstardom with the release of his hit album, Country Grammar, which quickly reached the Billboard 200.

How Nelly Surprised His Mom At Her Job

When he knew that he had enough money to take care of his family, he wanted to show his mom how grateful he was to her for everything that she’d done for him by making a grand gesture.

He told Access Hollywood that one day, he decided to surprise Rhonda at the fast-food joint that she was working at.

She was in the middle of a shift at Rally’s when her son pulled up to the drive-thru window and gave her some good news.

Nelly said: “The best memory that I had was being able to pull up to her job and tell her she doesn’t have to work there anymore.”

He admitted that it felt incredibly rewarding to have done that for her after how hard she’d worked her whole life in order to support him.

Rhonda Mack Speaks Out About Son Nelly 

But what has Rhonda said about her son and what he did for her that day?

The incident came up in an interview she had with the Baltimore Sun to talk about how much her life had changed since Nelly’s debut album Country Grammar skyrocketed his career.

There was a song on the album titled Luven Me with a verse about Rhonda.

The proud mother said that one of her favorite lines from it was: ‘You don’t have to work no more.’

When she first heard the song, she couldn’t help but cry.

According to her, she was always supportive of Nelly’s dream, and when he quit his job with UPS to pursue his budding rap career, she was behind him.

Rhonda said: “I knew he had it in him. He worked hard to get there and he had to make sacrifices to get there.”

Why Nelly’s Mom Wants To Work Again

The funny thing is that while Nelly’s big gesture was touching, it reportedly wasn’t exactly what his mom wanted.

She told the Baltimore Sun that she had plans to work again.

At that time, she was working at Nelly’s 4Sho4Kids foundation, which helped disadvantaged youth.

But she felt like getting a regular job again. 

Rhonda explained that she was grateful for everything that Nelly had done for her and that she was really blessed. 

But she’d reportedly gotten to a point where she felt like she was losing her independence. 

According to her, she loved the world of fast food, and she’d be happy to stock shelves again.

The Tragedy Of Ice Cube’s Kids

Photo credit: Ice Cube/Instagram and O’Shea Jackson Jr./Instagram

Ice Cube’s children were born into a life of luxury.

By the time he had his first kid at the age of 22, Ice Cube was already an up-and-coming rap star.

Are Ice Cube’s Kids ‘Nepo Babies’? 

So, his children grew up with everything they needed and more.

Obviously, being the kid of a famous artist comes with other perks, too.

If they want to follow in their parent’s footsteps and become a star themselves, they often have a gateway into the industry.

Which is why the children of celebrities who then grew up to become performers themselves have come to be known as nepo babies.

Think about entertainers like Lily-Rose Depp, Rumer Willis, Scott Eastwood, Dan Levy, and Lily Collins. 

They all have famous parents.

But does that mean that they just followed their parents’ footsteps and automatically got to have successful Hollywood careers without really earning them?

O’Shea Jackson Jr.’s Big Break 

Or did they still have to work hard to get there?

According to actor O’Shea Jackson Jr., Ice Cube’s eldest son, being the child of a famous parent doesn’t necessarily mean that everything is handed to you.

The Independent reported that he didn’t agree with the title ‘nepo baby’ that media outlets like Vulture classed him as.

He claimed that his movie career was up to him.

O’Shea got his big break by playing his father in 2015’s Straight Outta Compton, a movie that received critical acclaim and grossed more than 200 million all over the world.

It was executively produced by Ice Cube.

O’Shea Jackson Jr. Defends Himself

O’Shea took to Twitter to join the nepo baby debate and defended himself against the idea that the lead role was just handed to him on a silver platter.

He explained that his dad told him that in a perfect world, he would play him in Straight Outta Compton. 

He was already in college for screenwriting at USC, and he ‘accepted the challenge.’

In a Q&A session, the director of the movie shared that when casting for it, they weren’t really looking for actors who looked like the members of the rap group N.W.A.

They placed more importance on performance skills and if the actors could really portray the characters well.

So, O’Shea had to audition for the part of Ice Cube, just like everybody else.

O’Shea Jackson Jr. Was Put Through The Wringer

In an interview with PEOPLE, he said that he was put through the wringer.

According to Ice Cube, he did not give his son any special treatment during the casting process.

He told the outlet that he knew that people would think that he just gave him the job, so he wanted O’Shea to be more than ready. 

He said he wanted him to be a great actor by the time they started to shoot.

For two years, O’Shea was going to acting classes, learning techniques, and going to auditions and callbacks.

It was only after going through all of that effort that he finally got the part.

It was a lot of work, but O’Shea shared that it was worth it because he wouldn’t have been able to sit in a theater and watch as someone was portraying his father the wrong way.

After Straight Outta Compton, it was up to him. 

He wrote on Twitter that Ice Cube couldn’t hold his hand through his career.

He said that he had to put his nose to the grindstone and make it work. 

O’Shea Acknowledges Father For Paving The Way 

Though he wanted the world to know that he didn’t have things just handed to him, he also acknowledged that he wouldn’t have gotten to where he’d gotten without his dad’s help.

He wrote: “None of that happens that way without the love of my father. The work he put in to get us to a place of opportunity”.

O’Shea admitted that for him to ignore that, or not to accept and use it as a guide, would’ve been foolish and disrespectful.

He shared that he was grateful and he used Ice Cube’s teachings every day.

The actor went on to advise other entertainers to not let anyone get it in their head that they should feel bad or that their accomplishments were less than. 

He encouraged them to keep working hard.

He finished with: “It is not a shadow for you to get out of! It is an empire to which you are growing!” 

O’Shea Jackson Jr. Calls Father Ice Cube His ‘Hero’

The subject of nepo babies came up when O’Shea was on The Kelly Clarkson Show too.

He told the show’s host that he was forever grateful for everything that his dad had done to give him the opportunities that he’s gotten.

And if he was to run away from that or shy away from it in any way,  then that would be disrespectful to everything that he’d had to go through. 

So, when he’d meet people for the first time and they’d recognize him as Ice Cube’s son, he’d welcome it by saying that he 100% was, and that his dad was his hero.

O’Shea Jackson Jr. Said ‘I Pride Myself On My Professionalism’

O’Shea went on to say that having a famous parent meant that doors were open to their kids, but it was up to them to walk through them. 

He talked about how a lot of people had this idea of who he was before they’d even met him just because he was the son of Ice Cube. 

So, they’d expect him to walk up to a movie set with an entourage and a sense of entitlement. 

But he would prove them wrong by arriving at the job with a strong work ethic. 

He told Kelly: “I pride myself on my professionalism.

After Straight Outta Compton, O’Shea continued to make a name for himself as an actor with movies like Den Of Thieves, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and Just Mercy

He also made Ice Cube and his wife, Kimberly Woodruff, grandparents when he welcomed a daughter named Jordan Jackson in 2017.

Ice Cube’s Son Darrell Follows Father’s Footsteps 

Ice Cube’s second son, Darrell, is two years younger than O’Shea.

Taking a page out of his father’s book, he too decided to pursue a career as a rapper, under the stage name Doughboy.

It’s the same name as the character in Boyz n The Hood that Ice Cube played.

He’s even rapped on songs with both his dad and his older brother.

Darrell reportedly works for his dad’s record label, Lench Mob Records, per PEOPLE.

He’s also part of the family’s other business, Cube Vision, the film and TV production company that his father created.

Darrell even got to be a part of the Straight Outta Compton movie.

He was credited as an associate producer.

Basketball is another passion of his. 

He’s reportedly involved with Big 3, a pro basketball league which was also founded by his dad.

Darrell tied the knot in 2022.

Ice Cube’s Daughter Karima

Ice Cube’s only daughter is named Karima.

Not much is known about her since she stays out of the limelight and stopped posting on her Instagram in 2018.

An interview with The Guardian in 2020 revealed that Karima was still living at home with her parents at that time. 

She would’ve been 26.

Every now and then, she’s spotted at Hollywood events.

PEOPLE revealed that she was photographed on a red carpet with her older brother O’Shea at an Obi-Wan Kenobi screening. 

Ice Cube’s Youngest Son Shareef

Ice Cube’s youngest son is named Shareef.

Like his sister, he’s pretty much stayed out of the spotlight. 

It’s been reported that he is a sports fan, though, and he has often been photographed wearing NBA clothing.

Shareef frequently goes to watch a lot of basketball, baseball, and football games with his dad, too.

Ice Cube Speaks Out About Fatherhood 

Over the years, Ice Cube has spoken a lot about what it’s like to be a father. 

In an interview with Access Hollywood, he said that the thing he was most proud of his kids for was that they were all good people, who weren’t trying to wrong anybody. 

When he was asked what his biggest failure as a dad was, he confessed that he wanted to be there more for his children when they were growing up, but being who he was, it was impossible for him to not miss out on some special occasions in their lives.

Ice Cube also shared that fatherhood changed him by turning him from a boy into a man, and it also helped him realize what was most important in life.

The Tragedy of Janet Jackson’s Family

Photo credit: Poppa3t/Instagram and Janet Jackson/Instagram

2024 ended in a very sad way for the Jackson family

One of the beloved Jackson 5 members passed away suddenly. 

How Did Tito Jackson Die?

According to PEOPLE, Tito Jackson was in New Mexico when he suffered a medical emergency which was later reported to be a fatal heart attack.

He was the third Jackson family member to lose their life. 

His brother Michael passed away in 2009, as did their father Joe in 2018.

The Jacksons might not always get along with each other, but the loss of a loved one can often bring families together.

Not long after Tito passed away, people close to him went on social media to publicly share their condolences.

Tito Jackson’s Sons’ Heartbreaking Statement About Father’s Death

His three sons were the first to officially break the news of his passing. 

A report by Hello! magazine revealed that TJ, Taryll, and Taj released a joint statement to let the world know of their father’s passing and to express the grief they were feeling. 

They began by saying that it was with heavy hearts that they were announcing that their beloved father was no longer alive.

The brothers shared that they were shocked, saddened, and heartbroken. 

Their father was an incredible man who cared about everyone and their well-being. 

They finished by writing that he would be missed tremendously, and it would forever be ‘Tito Time’ for them.

Janet Jackson Speaks Out About Brother’s Death

While many of Tito’s family members were quick to leave messages for him on social media, there was one relative who stayed quiet for quite a while.

His younger sister, Janet Jackson, did not say anything to the public about him.

Hello! claimed that she took some time to just be with her family before sharing how she felt with the rest of the world.

She also canceled the performance that she had planned for the DStv Delicious festival in South Africa where she was set to headline. 

One month after losing her brother, Janet shared a heartfelt post to her Instagram to honor his memory. 

She posted a black and white photo of her and Tito from when they were in their youth.

Janet captioned the post by writing: “May you rest in eternal peace… I miss you so much.”

It was speculated that she chose to wait until that specific date before she posted anything about him because it was on what would’ve been his 71st birthday.

Michael Jackson’s Kids Pay Tribute To Tito 

Tito’s niece and nephew also left tributes to him online. 

The Daily Mail reported that Paris Jackson uploaded a vintage photo of her uncle with her father, Michael Jackson, and added that she hoped that he would ‘rest in transition.’

Meanwhile, her brother Prince left a message on his social media that simply read: “Love you forever Poppa T.

It’s been reported that he had an especially close relationship with his uncle. 

One of Tito’s sons commented on his post saying that he always spoke so highly about Prince and was so proud of the man he had become.

He then thanked Prince for being such a great nephew to his dad.

Tito Jackson’s Funeral

Tito’s funeral took place in November 2024, and it was a star-studded occasion.

Paris and her 2 siblings were in attendance, along with other members of the Jackson clan, like La Toya and her brother Marlon.

Another celebrity guest was fashion designer and family friend Kimora Lee Simmons.

Tito’s ex-wife, Delores Jackson, was also photographed outside Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale, California, where the musician was laid to rest.

Tito’s family recently made headline news for making a request that they all felt strongly about. 

Estate Of Tito Jackson’s Lawsuit

An article by KOB4 claimed that the estate of Tito Jackson filed a lawsuit with the hopes of preventing his autopsy records and photos from being released to the public. 

The Office of the Medical Investigator has the authority to share all kinds of sensitive information, like pictures, the autopsy findings, and other related materials about his passing.

According to the lawsuit, there wasn’t a legitimate reason for those things to be made available for public viewing.

The estate’s lawyers made the claim that if that personal content were to get out, it would be a major invasion of the family’s privacy, and it could lead to some serious damage. 

Tragic Final Moments Of Tito Jackson 

But what does the public already know about Tito’s sudden passing?

It was PEOPLE that wrote about how police officers heard that there was an individual in need of medical attention and quickly requested an ambulance. 

That person later turned out to be Tito, who was visiting a mall in Gallup, New Mexico when he became unwell in just a matter of moments.

He was quickly taken to the hospital but sadly, it was too late for him. 

Tito’s friend and business associate, Terry Maltbia, was with him at the time.

He later told the Daily Mail about the tragic final moments of the Jackson star.

The two men were on a road trip with their friend Ronald Balfour. 

The plan was to drive some of the singer’s vintage cars from L.A. to his new home in Oklahoma, where’d reportedly bought a ranch in order to escape from the hustle and bustle of the city. 

Tito Jackson’s Friend Confessed ‘It Got Really Bad’  

They’d stopped at the American Heritage Plaza shopping center to grab a bite to eat when all of a sudden, Tito noticed that something was wrong. 

Terry shared that they’d finished eating their turkey and chicken meals, and were laughing and talking while they put the top on the convertible because it’d started to rain. 

That was when Tito told the others that he had to stop because his chest was hurting. 

He reportedly began to sweat a lot. 

Luckily, there were officers nearby. 

Terry called them over, and Tito was rushed to the hospital. 

Once there, the musician asked his friends to find his insurance card in his bag as he was taken into the emergency room. 

Terry said: “I figured everything was going to be OK since we got him to the hospital and he was still talking.”

But eventually, a doctor came and told the two friends in the waiting room that Tito wasn’t doing so well.

They let Terry go see him, and he confessed that ‘it got really bad.’ 

He made a call to Marlon to let him know what was going on, but it was at that moment that Tito passed away.

Terry and Ronald made the touching decision to continue on their journey and deliver the cars to their friend’s ranch in Oklahoma.

Tito Jackson Speaks Out About Tour With Brothers

It was only a few weeks before his passing that Tito went on a trip to Germany.

PEOPLE said that while he was there, he visited a beautiful memorial dedicated to his brother Michael in Munich. 

He later took to Facebook to write: “We’re deeply grateful for this special place that honors not only his memory but also our shared legacy. Thank you for keeping his spirit alive.

Though he was in his 70s when he lost his life, he was still an active traveler and showed no signs of slowing down. 

While speaking to Fox 5 San Diego, he talked about the tour that he was on with his brothers, and shared that he still loved traveling and performing. 

A Splash Mags article revealed that Tito was meant to join the other Jackson 5 members on stage for two more shows left in the tour. 

Everyone was wondering if the siblings would still go ahead without him.

Sure enough, ‘the show must go on’ mantra was applied, and the Jackson 5 band went ahead with the final concerts, finishing in Cincinnati. 

Tito Jackson’s Brothers Speak Out

A YouTube video of one of their shows in Atlantic City revealed that Marlon took a moment on stage to talk about the loss they’d experienced. 

He shared that his brother had called him just an hour before he ended up in hospital, and that they were on the phone cracking jokes with each other.

Marlon told the crowd that September 10th, 2001, was the Jackson 5’s last performance with Michael included. 

And coincidentally, on September 10th, 2024, they had their last show with Tito. 

Meaning Of Tito Jackson’s Last Single

Tito’s last single, Love One Another, came out in 2021. 

The song was recorded during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In the description of the video for it on YouTube, he wrote that his aim was to convey a message of love, unity, and peace, offering a balm for troubled times.

He added that it was a call for people to join hands, embrace love, and exhibit kindness to one another, drawing inspiration from the enduring legacy of the Jackson Family.

Tito finished by saying that through his music, he was dedicated to spreading a positive message of harmony and togetherness.

The Truth About Lil Wayne and Lauren London

Photo credit: Lil Tunechi/Instagram and Lauren London/Instagram

A lot of people only really became interested in Lil Wayne and Lauren London’s relationship after they broke up.

The news started spreading that even though they weren’t together anymore, Lauren was still having his baby. 

When Did Lil Wayne And Lauren London Meet? 

And once she became one of his baby mamas, she reportedly got a lot more attention for that than she ever did for her actual acting career. 

But the history between Lil Wayne and Lauren started long before the pregnancy.

People find it hard to believe, but the pair actually met when they were super young.

Lauren was only 15, so Lil Wayne would’ve been around 17.

Lauren London Speaks Out About Relationship With Lil Wayne

After they had a child together, Lauren would be asked about her ex a lot in interviews. 

And as time went on, she clearly became less and less comfortable talking about him and their relationship with the public.

In an interview for Hot 97, radio host Angie Martinez spoke with the actress about how everyone was so surprised when they found out about her relationship with Lil Wayne.

Lauren admitted that she didn’t know why it’d become such a big deal, because she’d known the rapper for so long and she said that for many years, nobody really paid attention to her. 

She also revealed that since she was so private, she never publicized their relationship, either. 

But when social media started to get big, all of a sudden, she found herself more linked to him in the media. 

She was later also on Hot 97’s The Realness but was a lot more reluctant to talk about their relationship. 

She wouldn’t answer all the questions about him. 

He was hospitalized for having seizures in 2013, and when the radio hosts tried to bring it up with Lauren, she quickly shut them down.

She said: “I’m not talking about it! I’m not his publicist.

Lauren London Opens Up About Misconceptions

Lauren has been open about her general struggle dealing with the press attention she’d gotten ever since she became Lil Wayne’s baby mama.

But according to her, there was one misconception that especially irritated her. 

A report by Essence shared that over the years, Lauren has been called all kinds of mean things by the media, including being labeled as desperate. 

The report revealed that during an interview with author Kathleen Cross in 2020, Lauren addressed the rumor that bothered her the most. 

She said that the biggest misconception about her was that her son was the result of some kind of one night stand or groupie encounter with his father.

She explained: “I struggle with deciding when to answer or ignore the constant speculation about my private life, because I feel like that doesn’t belong to anybody but me.”

Were Lauren London And Lil Wayne Engaged? 

Since she usually keeps her personal life under wraps, people were surprised that she really opened up to Kathleen about what happened between her and Lil Wayne.

She talked about how they’d met and fallen in love in 1998 when she was just a teenage girl, and though they tried to keep it going over the next ten years, they couldn’t make it last in the end.

The actress admitted that the pair were even engaged at one point.

RELATED: Tamar Braxton Announces 2nd Engagement

But even though their romantic relationship ended, they found a way to co-parent and put their child first.

Lauren London Considers Lil Wayne A ‘Dear Friend’ 

Lauren had nothing but good things to say about Lil Wayne during her interview.

She said that people saw the ‘Lil’ Wayne’ persona and thought that they knew who he really was.

She added that her son’s father was an intelligent, loving, and lovable person who would always be a dear friend. 

Lauren London’s Relationship With Lil Wayne’s Other Baby Mamas 

Lil Wayne has children with three other women. 

Essence wrote that in a confession that she shared with Kathleen, Lauren spoke about how she and the other baby mamas have a good relationship. 

She explained that they were all good-hearted women who loved their children and wanted them to know each other.

She added: “Real friendships have grown from that foundation, and the result has been more love, less drama, and less trauma for our kids.”

Insider Alleges Lauren London And Lil Wayne Weren’t Happy About Pregnancy 

One of Bossip’s sources gave more details on how Lil Wayne and Lauren reportedly reacted when they first found out that they were expecting.

Because the news came after they’d already broken up, the insider alleged that the ex-couple weren’t happy about the pregnancy initially.

But they eventually accepted it and chose to raise the baby together.

According to the source, everyone was all smiles after that, and they were very excited about the new baby.

Lauren reportedly said that she was not worried about the pregnancy affecting her career, and she didn’t really care about what people thought. 

She allegedly stayed very positive throughout the entire time. 

The insider added that she and Lil Wayne decided not to live together or get back together.

Lauren London Became Friends With Lil Wayne’s Baby Mama Nivea 

Finding out you’re going to have a baby after breaking up with someone is already a pretty complicated situation to be in, but in Lil Wayne’s case, things were reportedly even messier because of another relationship he had.

In the late 2000s, he was also going out with another woman that he’d had an on-again-off-again relationship with – a singer named Nivea.

And he actually got her pregnant around the same time as Lauren. 

Their son was born just two months after the baby he had with Lauren. 

But instead of having a big drama, Nivea and Lauren supposedly ended up getting close to each other during their pregnancies.

They even became friends.

Lil Wayne And Nivea’s Relationship 

PEOPLE reported that Nivea spoke about the experience in an interview with VladTV. 

She talked about how a year after she’d gotten divorced from rapper The Dream, Lil Wayne reached out to her.

He reportedly wanted to apologize for the way the relationship had ended before.

They were together at the start of the millennium and were engaged to be married in 2002, but Lil Wayne called it off.

Nivea revealed that they got back together, even though, at the time, he was expecting a baby with his ex, Sarah Vivan. 

RELATED: Exposing Diddy’s Secret Baby Mama

Nivea supposedly didn’t mind that he was having a child with another woman because it had happened while they weren’t together. 

She had three kids of her own that she said Lil Wayne had accepted, so she didn’t see why she wouldn’t accept his unborn child. 

In 2009, Lil Wayne proposed to her and she said yes. 

Nivea Speaks Out About Lil Wayne Having Another Baby With Other Baby Mama 

Not long after that, Nivea suspected that she was pregnant with her 4th child.

Little did she know then that it was Lil Wayne’s 4th child, too, because he’d gotten Lauren pregnant just months earlier. 

But it didn’t take long for her to discover that news.

She said: “I found out the day I was confirmed pregnant with our son that he had another one that should be expected three months ahead of ours.”

She said that at first, she tried to continue her relationship with Lil Wayne. 

She considered herself to be ‘a different type of woman,’ and she thought that having his love would be enough for her. 

However, she later realized that it was not what she wanted, and she ended the relationship. 

Lauren London Supports Nivea During Tragic Time

As if that wasn’t already difficult enough to deal with, Nivea’s mother then passed away, which was very crushing.

In her VladTV interview, she shared that after she broke things off with Lil Wayne, she and Lauren started spending more and more time together.

Nivea revealed that Lauren was a good friend to her when she lost her mom. 

She admitted that it sounded weird, but they were two people going through something that was ‘along the lines of humiliating.’

She asked: “Who else could you share this oddly unique situation with?” 

The two women would call each other to get information because they’d both had previous relationships with Lil Wayne in their younger years as well.

Nivea said that she and Lauren talked about all kinds of stuff from the past, which helped them to connect as friends. 

She also said that their good relationship was a testament to the type of man Lil Wayne was, because all of his baby mothers got along with each other.

She said: “We are the best mothers that I’ve ever seen in a group with the same baby father.”

Lauren London’s Son With Nipsey Hussle 

According to PEOPLE, Lauren went on to have another son named Kross Asghedom with rapper Nipsey Hussle. 

Tragically, when Kross was just a toddler, his father lost his life when it was brutally taken away from him at his own clothing store in L.A. 

In 2021, Lauren told Entertainment Tonight that everyone had a purpose, and it was important for her sons to see her moving forward with grief, not just curling up in a ball, because she’d curled up in a ball for a long time.

Nelly’s Inauguration Ball Nightmare

Photo credit: Ashanti/Instagram and Nelly/Instagram

When Nelly was asked if he would perform at Donald Trump’s inaugural ball, he reportedly said that he’d be honored to.

But his decision to say yes was met with huge backlash.

Fans, social media users, and even some of his friends in the music industry were very vocal about how disappointed they were that Nelly agreed to perform on January 20th, 2025. 

He was accused of all kinds of things.

Some said that he was letting the Black community down; others alleged that he was a sellout and that he was only doing it for the money. 

Nelly Defends Himself

The criticism against him only got worse when Nelly tried to defend himself. 

HipHopDx reported that during a live conversation he had with rapper Willie D a day before the inauguration, Nelly addressed all the online hate that he’d been getting.

But what exactly were his reasons for accepting the president’s offer?

He began his defense by saying that people sometimes had a quick response to something that, on the surface, might seem wrong to them because they didn’t agree.

Nelly stated that he was not political. 

He wasn’t trying to tell anyone who they should vote for. 

He then said: “I’m clueless on a lot of things when it gets down to it, So what I tend to say is… do your homework and make your own decisions about it.”

Something that Nelly kept stressing throughout the interview was that he wasn’t performing for the money – he was doing it because he respected the office.

Is Nelly A Donald Trump Supporter? 

He claimed that there was no politics involved because Donald Trump had won.

He wasn’t competing against anyone else anymore. 

He was officially ‘the commander-in-chief.’

Willie D asked his guest if he was a Donald Trump supporter, and Nelly kept his answer pretty neutral.

He said that he supported the office of the president of the United States regardless of who was in it. 

He repeated that he respected the office.

Nelly insisted that if President Joe Biden had asked him to perform, he would’ve performed. 

If Vice President Kamala Harris had won and asked him to perform, he would’ve performed.

An article by Buzzfeed pointed out that he made that claim just moments after he’d openly criticized Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, who, at that time, were technically still in office.

At one point in the interview, he also noted that he was never asked by Kamala Harris to perform during her campaigning.

He said: “I didn’t get none of that 1.5 to try to help somebody get voted.

Nelly’s Support For President

Nelly also talked about how he’d been born on a military base.

A Fox News insider said that many of Nelly’s uncles and aunts had served in the army for the democracy of the U.S. and the right for everyone to vote. 

When speaking to Willie D, the rapper made a comparison between what he was being asked to do by the president and what he believed was expected of U.S. soldiers.

His reasoning was that if soldiers could risk their lives for the president, then he could perform for whoever was in the Oval Office.

When he was asked what he thought about the allegations that Donald Trump is a racist, Nelly brought up his own question in response. 

He asked Willie D if he was talking about ‘candidate Trump’ or ‘President Trump,’ because they were two different people to him.

Nelly claimed that he wasn’t defending Donald Trump and that people had the right to be angry if they were affected by the election. 

But he then doubled down on his excuse that he was performing for the office that he’d been taught to respect.

He finished by making the argument that if politics was above and beyond anything other than what a person stood for, or what a person had done, then he apologized if he “quote-unquote” let anyone down.

Online Users Express Disappointment In Nelly And Other Rappers

Saying that the online reaction to Nelly’s defense of his performance was less than positive would be a serious understatement.

A Twitter user wrote that him not doing it for the money made it worse. 

They claimed that it was also a lie. 

Someone else on the platform said that watching Rick Ross, Soulja Boy, Nelly, and Snoop Dogg all perform at Donald Trump’s inaugural event added an extreme amount of validation to what Malcolm X once said about some Black celebrities being puppets.

A person on Instagram commented: “The military doesn’t go to war for ‘whoever’ is in office… they go for the country.

Another online user wrote that respecting the office was one thing, but ignoring the harm caused by the person in it was another. 

They added that accountability mattered.

Kelly Rowland Speaks Out About Nelly’s Inauguration Performance

One of Nelly’s celebrity friends was also shocked by his choice to participate in the event, according to the Daily Mail.

A source for the outlet said that Kelly Rowland, who collaborated with the rapper on their hit song Dilemma, was not happy when she heard the news.

In October 2024, she supported Kamala Harris by speaking at one of her rallies alongside Beyonce

The insider said: “She was stunned when she learned that Nelly was to perform and informed his camp that he does not have her consent to perform the song.”

They alleged that Kelly had blocked Nelly from performing Dilemma at the inaugural ball.

She reportedly even told him that if he sang their song during his performance, she’d be willing to get legal, and her team would issue a ‘takedown notice.’

Nelly Speaks Out About Donald Trump 

Something that’s been brought up by a number of news outlets is how Nelly had previously stated that he was not a fan of Donald Trump getting political.

In a 2017 interview he had with Page Six, Nelly revealed that he used to like Donald Trump, but he didn’t like him as his president.

Nelly explained: “He doesn’t surprise me as a person, he surprises me as a president because you don’t expect certain things, certain attitudes.”

He also made the claim that he wouldn’t be staying at any Donald Trump hotels while he was on tour that year.

Another Daily Mail insider alleged that Nelly wasn’t worried about the backlash he’d gotten because he was supposedly expecting to make more money from his performance than he’d made from his music sales in recent years. 

Trick Daddy Defends And Congratulates Nelly

A report by Newsweek revealed that rapper Trick Daddy recently made a shocking claim about the amount of money he’d heard Nelly got paid for being a part of the inaugural ball.

When he was interviewed on The Beat Miami, he publicly congratulated Nelly for reportedly getting $1.5 million for his show. 

He defended Nelly by saying: “It’s not nothing personal when it’s your business. If my worst enemy booked me to do a concert, I’m going to do that concert.”

Reddit users commenting in a thread about Trick Daddy’s claim shared that they didn’t agree that Nelly could’ve earned that much for his appearance.

One person alleged that the rapper was playing country bumpkin festivals and would probably be earning $50k for a show these days.

Another person wrote that Nelly’s integrity had a price, and they wished him luck getting paid.

According to Taste of Country, artists usually don’t get paid for performing at inaugurations, but things like their travel costs might be covered. 

The creative director who was responsible for both of Barack Obama’s inaugurations revealed that the performers at the ex-president’s 2009 event were invited to perform, but they supposedly did not get any payment. 

The article claimed that it wasn’t clear if it would be the same for this latest inauguration.

Snoop Dogg Faces Backlash For Performing At Donald Trump’s Inauguration Ball

Another famous person who got flak for performing at one of the inaugural events in 2025 was Snoop Dogg.

People also claimed that he was a hypocrite. 

In 2016, the Hip hop icon went on Instagram and cursed Donald Trump out. 

He told him to go get a new hairdo, and he reportedly even said that if anyone performed at his inauguration, they were a sell-out.

But by 2021, he was singing a different tune.

In an interview with The Times, he said that he had nothing but love and respect for Donald Trump.

But people were surprised when it came out that he’d be performing at the Crypto Ball on January 17th.

Forbes reported that he lost more than 571,000 followers on Instagram after the news came out, and he supposedly lost 20,000 on Twitter, too.

Nelly and Ashanti Made a Big Mistake

Photo credit: Ashanti/Instagram

News recently came out that Nelly and Ashanti would be producing and starring in their own reality TV show about their lives.

But is it a good idea?

Will Nelly And Ashanti Fall Victim To ‘The Reality TV Curse’?

People are in two minds about whether the couple has made a mistake by allowing cameras into their home. 

Celebrities getting their own shows and then breaking up afterward has become such a common pattern that it’s now known as ‘the reality TV curse.’

The Daily Mail pointed out that its victims include stars like Khloé Kardashian and Lamar Odom, Britney Spears and Kevin Federline, and Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey.

And that’s just to name a few.

Many other former couples fell under the curse, and now, fans are worried that Nelly and Ashanti might meet the same fate.

YouTuber Speaks Out About Nelly And Ashanti 

One YouTuber heavily criticized the pair’s decision to get into reality TV together. 

He alleged that it was going to be the beginning of the end of their marriage.

He made the claim that when celebrities invite people into their private lives too much, it creates issues. 

He also added that it was a big mistake that he’d seen a lot of people make, and it always caused problems. 

He went on to add that both of them made plenty of money, so he couldn’t understand why they’d want to have their personal lives filmed.

Since Nelly and Ashanti spun the block, their relationship has been getting a lot of media attention.

Some people speculate that that’s the reason why they’re jumping on the opportunity to make a show about their love and their marriage.

All About Nelly And Ashanti’s Reality TV Show

Deadline reported that the husband and wife are releasing a docuseries that will look at their lives as new parents, and it’ll document their upcoming wedding

The pair got married in December 2023, according to court documents seen by TMZ, but they’ve yet to have their official wedding party.

The show will air on Peacock.

In addition to starring in the show, Ashanti and Nelly are also producing it, alongside Jenny Daly and Oji Singletary at Critical Content Studios. 

Critical Content is known for producing Sly on Netflix and MTV’s Catfish.

Production for the show supposedly started a few months ago, just after Ashanti and Nelly welcomed their son, Kareem Kenkaide Haynes.

Reality TV Isn’t Nelly’s First Rodeo

The new docuseries won’t be Nelly‘s first taste of reality TV.

He had his own show on BET in 2014 called Nellyville, which ran for two seasons and chronicled the lives of the rapper, his ex-girlfriend Shantel Jackson, and his four children.

Around the same time, Nelly also appeared on the mockumentary Real Husbands of Hollywood, playing himself.

In 2020, he showcased his dancing skills and secured 3rd place on the 29th season of Dancing With the Stars.

Fans Support Nelly And Ashanti’s Reality TV Show

Though there are some people out there who are concerned that the upcoming TV show could spell bad news for Nelly and Ashanti, others think that the pair will be just fine. 

An article by COLLIDER looked at the different reasons why the power couple stands a strong chance of not falling victim to the dreaded reality TV curse.

It made the argument that unlike other celebrities, who had on-again-off-again relationships, these two were together for 10 years the first time around, so they knew what they were getting into when they started up again. 

The article claimed that they probably came to the realization that they were each other’s ‘the one that got away.’

Another theory about why Nelly and Ashanti weren’t going to split up anytime soon was because of how attracted they still were to one another.

COLLIDER wrote that they both took care of themselves and were aging super well.

The outlet also reported that the two artists were having comebacks in their careers.

They were still making music and going on tours. 

So the duo had work and reputations that existed outside the world of reality TV.

The article explained that the so-called reality TV curse often negatively affected couples who were new to fame and struggled with the problems that often came with it.

But Ashanti and Nelly, who have been in the spotlight for over two decades, are well-versed in dealing with the ups and downs of stardom.

Nelly Faces Backlash

Something happened recently that might have affected the couple’s popularity, though.

Because Nelly made a career decision that might have affected his and his wife’s reputation, their relationship, AND the success of their upcoming docuseries. 

In mid-January, CBS News and other outlets reported that the rapper was planning to perform at Donald Trump’s Inaugural Liberty Ball on January 20. 

The news was not well-received by a lot of people.

Why Kelly Rowland Blocked Nelly

Including one of his celebrity friends.

According to a Daily Mail source, Nelly’s decision landed him in hot water with Kelly Rowland, who featured on his iconic hit Dilemma.

The source alleged that she blocked Nelly from performing Dilemma at the inauguration to stand in solidarity with her Presidential choice Kamala Harris.

Kelly supposedly told him that her team would issue a ‘take down notice’ if he ended up singing their song.

The insider said: “She was stunned when she learned that Nelly was to perform and informed his camp that he does not have her consent to perform the song.”

Fans Calls Nelly A Sellout 

Social media was up in arms about the rapper’s decision to perform.

They accused him of selling out and going against his beliefs, as well as letting down the Black community.

Sportskeeda revealed that one Instagram user wrote that Nelly needed to learn history, and why Black people needed to stand in solidarity and unite. 

Another user suggested that his and Ashanti’s reality TV show should be canceled.

A source told the Daily Mail that Nelly wasn’t afraid of the criticism he was receiving.

He will reportedly earn more money off the back of the gig than he had from his record sales in recent years.

How Nelly’s Decision Affected Ashanti 

The insider added that Ashanti could feel the consequences of his decision, though. 

They said: “Her musical career is in a better place and she could alienate her core fan base.”

The backlash has already affected the R&B singer

The owner of the ‘Ashanti News’ fan account on Instagram recently shared that they’d be closing it down because of what Nelly did.

They released a statement for their 110,000 followers which read: “In light of recent news about Nelly and the decisions he has made… I can no longer run @AshantiNews or support the Haynes in the direction they are going.”

They finished by adding that it was beyond disappointing.

Fans Disappointed At Nelly’s Decision

People shared similar comments on Twitter, too.

One online user commented that they’d been looking forward to Nelly and Ashanti‘s little reality show, but they had to cancel him and even her by association.

Another person added that Ashanti needed to sit her man down, as he was about to ruin her image and career alongside his own.

Nelly Speaks Out About Performing At Trump’s Inauguration 

After the online backlash, Nelly decided to share his reasons for performing during an interview with rapper Willie D.

He claimed that he was not doing it for money.

He was doing it because he considered it an honor.

Then he compared the offer to perform for the president to soldiers who served in the U.S. Army.

Nelly said: “The same way our men and women, our brothers and sisters who protect this country have to go to war and have to put their life on the line for whoever in the office.”

He argued that if they could put their lives on the line for whoever was in office, then surely, he could perform for whoever was in office.

When he was asked how he felt about the accusations that he was propping up a white supremacist, he responded that he’d like to know where Donald Trump was a white supremacist.

He didn’t deny that the president wasn’t without his flaws, and he didn’t encourage people to vote for him, but he reasoned that he was now the president of the U.S. 

The hypocrisy of Nelly’s words was pointed out by news outlets that quoted him from a 2017 interview with Page Six.

In it, he shared that he used to like Donald Trump, but he just didn’t like him as his president.

He said: “He doesn’t surprise me as a person, he surprises me as a president because you don’t expect certain things, certain attitudes.”

Nelly Mocks Ja Rule

Photo credit: Nelly/Instagram and Ja Rule/Instagram

Celebrities know that their fans enjoy seeing them hanging out with their famous friends.

And recently, Nelly and Ashanti gave their social media followers an inside peek of what a double date looks like between them and their friends, Ja Rule and his wife, Aisha Atkins, by sharing a video.

The four celebrities were spending time together at a bowling alley that they’d rented out for themselves, and they were in the middle of a friendly competition, couple versus couple.

What Did Nelly Do To Ja Rule?

But the reason the video got so much attention was because of Nelly

After getting a strike in the game, he began singing his own rendition of Ja Rule’s famous song Put It On Me that he released back in the early 2000s.

However, the thing that people found the most entertaining was the way he was singing.

Nelly was having a little fun at the expense of his rapper friend by imitating Ja Rule’s super recognizable voice and style. 

Ashanti tried her best to sing the backup vocals without laughing too hysterically, but it was obvious that she found her husband’s performance hilarious.

Luckily for Nelly, Ja Rule and his wife were laughing along with him. 

The two couples have reportedly been close ever since Ashanti and Nelly spun the block in 2023.

Bowling night meant that the pair, who’ve just become new parents, got to take some time off from their parenting duties to have fun with their friends.

Online users took to the comments section of an Instagram post that included the video clip of Nelly mocking Ja Rule. 

One fan wrote: “They’re so happy and I love that for them.”

Someone else added that Ashanti and Nelly have been smiling and laughing ever since they got back together.

Ja Rule And Ashanti’s Chemistry

Ja Rule and Ashanti have been friends and collaborators for over two decades.

They were both the biggest names at Irv and Chris Gotti’s infamous hip-hop record label.

Page Six reported that the pair first enjoyed success together in 2001 with their hit song What’s Luv? 

They went on to make around 10 more songs together, and they have often teased the idea of doing a joint album together.

There was always speculation that the pair might’ve dated each other in secret at one point because of how comfortable they were around one another.

But Ashanti has repeatedly denied the rumors.

A report by Capital Extra revealed that Ashanti told her friend Fat Joe in an interview that it was crazy to have that kind of chemistry with someone that she wasn’t in a relationship with. 

She said: “Our chemistry was so ill. We never messed with each other like it never was even a thing.”

Ashanti went on to share that they could not see each other for months, but then they’d be at an awards show and perform on stage together, and it’d look like they’d been together the whole day.

She claimed that sometimes, they would even be coordinated with their outfits, just by chance. 

HotNewHipHop described the duo as having a ‘sibling-like relationship’ and noted that they affectionately call each other ‘bro’ and ‘sis.’

Nelly’s Tour

Though the pair have shared the stage together even as recently as 2023, it’s Nelly who’ll be performing alongside Ja Rule throughout 2025.

According to KTLA, Nelly is taking his Where The Party At Tour on the road soon, and he’ll be joined by some other big names from the early 2000s. 

Aside from Ja Rule, he’ll also take the stage with singers like Eve, Fabolous, Jermaine Dupri, Chingy, and his former rap crew, the St. Lunatics.

The tour is said to be celebrating the 25th anniversary since Nelly put out his debut album, Country Grammar.

It’s said to start in New Zealand and finish in the US, with 54 dates in total. 

It’s reportedly the rapper’s most expensive tour ever.

So, it’s clear that over recent years, Ja Rule has gotten close to Nelly, too.

Ashanti Credits Ja Rule And Fat Joe For Her And Nelly Reuniting

In the past, Ashanti jokingly credited the hip-hop star for her and Nelly getting back together.

In her interview with Entertainment Tonight, she said that she had to give thanks to Ja Rule, Fat Joe, and DJ City, who was the one who reportedly gave Nelly her phone number.

It was thanks to Ja Rule and Fat Joe’s Verzuz battle in 2021 that she and her husband reconnected.

According to PEOPLE, Ashanti and Nelly were both blindsided.

They weren’t expecting to see each other at the event.

At one point, Nelly crossed the stage to give his then-ex-girlfriend a hug.

Ashanti did an Instagram live with her friend Ja Rule after the show, and she shared how surprised she was to see Nelly there.

She said: “I haven’t seen him or spoken to him since we broke up… So, I didn’t know what to expect.”

She went on to add that when they first saw each other, Nelly’s eyes got big and she didn’t know what was going to happen.

She didn’t know what to expect. 

But it ended up being positive.

Ja Rule even gave his take on the couple’s surprise reunion when he went on The Tamron Hall Show.

He said: “I don’t wanna blow sis up… But the chemistry was there.

He predicted that they missed each other, and the way they clicked, it just came back so fast.

Ja Rule Speaks Out On Time Irv Gotti Calls Out Ashanti 

But Ja Rule hasn’t always had Ashanti’s back – at least not as much as he could’ve done, according to some people.

In 2022, he appeared on a controversial episode of Drink Champs along with the founder of the label that he first signed with, Irv Gotti.

An XXL MAG article revealed that during the episode, Irv claimed that he and Ashanti were together at one point, and he shared some pretty racy things about their alleged relationship.

He also kept calling her the B word. 

Not long after the interview, Ja Rule took to Instagram to share that he didn’t condone the way that Irv was talking about his friend.

He posted a throwback photo of him and Ashanti performing on stage, and captioned it by saying that he loved his ‘sis’ and he loved his ‘bro,’ but he did not agree with Irv’s behavior and the way he handled things on the show.

Fat Joe Calls Out Irv Gotti And Ja Rule

Fat Joe also used his social media platform to call Irv out for the things that he’d said about his friend Ashanti

But in his post, he also shamed Ja Rule for not defending the R&B singer enough, even though he was right next to Irv, listening to him speak badly about her.

Ja Rule fired back at Fat Joe in an online comment where he alleged that he did defend her by telling Irv not to call her the B word.

But an article by Andscape made the accusation that while he did eventually tell Irv to stop insulting her, he was still laughing at a lot of the offensive things that he was saying about her.

How Nelly Proposed To Ashanti 

Judging by the video at the bowling alley though, Ashanti is not holding any grudges against Ja Rule.

And in her ET interview, she revealed that the three men that she’d credited with helping her get back together with Nelly were all overjoyed when they found out that they were engaged and expecting a baby.

When talking about her engagement she shared that it was an intimate moment just between her and Nelly

He caught Ashanti off-guard by asking her to marry him while they were casually hanging out in their bedroom.

She confessed that she was completely shocked, but then admitted that she’d felt like it was going to come soon.

She just didn’t know when.

Ashanti went on to reveal that the way that it happened was just so funny, because she was just sitting in their bed watching TV with boxers on.

She was then asked about her reaction, and it was obvious from her answer that she was touched. 

She shared that she started to cry, and she then gave her new husband-to-be “the biggest hug and kiss ever.”

Nelly And Ashanti’s Wedding

Not long after the news of their engagement came out, TMZ alleged that Ashanti and Nelly were actually already married

According to public records seen by the outlet, their marriage date was listed as the 27th of December, 2023.

But they’re still planning to have a big wedding. 

Ashanti has teased that she would like it to be somewhere tropical by the sea.

In July 2024, she and Nelly also welcomed their son, Kareem Kenkaide Haynes.

He’s her first child, and Nelly’s fifth.