Rapper Nelly celebrated his 50th birthday in Las Vegas over the weekend, surrounded by family, including his wife Ashanti and his kids.
Ahead of the celebration, the couple gave Entertainment Tonight an inside look at life with their three-month-old baby boy Kareem Kenkaide Haynes — lovingly nicknamed “KK”.
For Ashanti and Nelly, parenthood has been nothing but pure joy, with Ashanti embracing the role of motherhood wholeheartedly.
“I don’t get a chance to see him. I’ve been relegated to very small portions of our life,” Nelly joked.
Adding with pride, “She’s an awesome mom. To watch someone care so much, willing to give their all…sometimes it could be too far, but you’d prefer to have a parent who goes too far than one who doesn’t go far enough.”
Ashanti’s attention to detail even extends to Kareem’s style.
According to Nelly, their son has multiple outfit changes each day eventhough he doesn’t leave the house.
“She treats him like a Build-A-Bear. The boy is three months old,” Nelly laughed. “He changes outfits three times in the house.”
“Put his diaper on in a onesie and let him thug,” he added.
The parents also reminisced about a recent pumpkin photoshoot they staged, with Nelly directing the cozy fall-themed scene.
“He’s such an incredibly happy baby,” Ashanti shared.
Nelly agreed, adding that his son’s whole demeanor changes when he sees his dad. “He loves his daddy. He loves his mommy when it’s time to eat,” he joked.
“When he sees daddy, the vibes definitely changes,” Ashanti said.
As for Nelly, who’s raised boys before, he’s been re-learning the art of changing diapers. “When you’re changing them, you have to duck. I’ve been peed on so much!”
Nelly and Ashanti welcomed their son Kareem in July 2024. Nelly also has an older daughter, Chanelle, born in 1994, and a son, Cornell, born in 1999, with his ex-girlfriend Channetta Valentine. In 2005, after the passing of his sister Jackie Donahue from leukemia, he adopted her children, Shawn and Sydney Thomas, raising them as his own.