State Champ Radio Nelly
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Ashanti and Nelly reunited back in 2023, rekindling a romance that began two decades prior just as their respective careers were in full swing. Now, the beautiful couple have announced some big news that was delivered in super cute fashion.
Ashanti, 43, spoke exclusively with ESSENCE to reveal that their pair are now engaged and are currently expecting their first child together. This will be baby number one for the songstress while Nelly, 49, has children from previous relationships along with two adopted children.
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“This new year of my life is such a blessing full of love, hope, and anticipation,” she says. “Motherhood is something that I have looked forward to, and sharing this with my family, fiancé, and loyal fans, who have been so supportive of my career, is an amazing experience.”
The news was accompanied by a video showing Ashanti prepping for a performance while her team, which includes an appearance from her mom and manager, Tina Douglas. When asked how much time she’ll need to prepare, the “Happy” singer appears from the stage curtains to let her team know she’ll need nine months while holding a testing kit from the Proov company.
In the article, it is revealed that Nelly and Ashanti are co-owners of Proov alongside its founder, Amy Beckley, PhD. Proov provides at-home tests for couples who wish to conceive. How cool is that?
It’s always dope to see Black love shine like this and we couldn’t be happier for the couple. Is this the greatest “spin the block” story of all time? Let us know in the comments if so.
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Photo: Getty
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For months now it’s been known rumored that Ashanti and Nelly are expecting, and though the couple haven’t confirmed the news as of yet, Ashanti’s mother might’ve let the cat out of the bag…sort of.
Recently Ashanti’s mother Tina Douglas participated in an onstage interview with Antoine Edwards and after Edwards congratulated Douglas on her daughter’s rumored pregnancy, Douglas tried to downplay the news saying “There’s been no announcement,” which caused Edwards to apologize and say she thought it was already public. Douglas responded by saying “It is public. Don’t get it twisted, but it hasn’t been officially announced.” In other words, “Thank you, but no comment just yet.”
They tried to catch Ashanti’s mama slippin’ but she ain’t take the bait. Good sh*t Ms. Douglas.
Though the news of Ashanti’s pregnancy has been floating around since December neither she nor Nelly have officially announced the good news. While the two have been taking to social media to show the world just how deep in love they are these days, the “Happy” singer has been sporting loose fitting clothes in most of her posts. A far cry from the thirst traps her fans are used to seeing before she reconnected with Nelly last year.
As to why the two haven’t confirmed the rumors as of yet, that’s anyone’s guess. Maybe they plan to do so in extravagant fashion. Maybe they don’t want to jinx it as many couples choose to keep such news to themselves to avoid the “evil eye” of haters and so forth. Regardless of why they’re keeping everything under wraps, we’re glad the two are out there living their best lives and are potentially going to start a family together.
What do y’all think? Should Nelly and Ashanti just confirm the rumors at this point or keep it private until the kid is born? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
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Nelly’s resume is often downplayed but his impact can’t be denied. He says the era he thrived in was the hardest era of Hip-Hop ever.
Vibe Magazine is reporting the St. Louis Missouri native has got the Rap community in a heavy debate. The rapper was recently a guest on The Shop where he joined Maverick Carter and others in a discussion about not only his career but the culture overall. He was quick to point out that his success from his multi-platinum debut album was bitter sweet for a couple of reasons. “Country Grammar sold five million and I didn’t even get nominated Best New Artist” he said.
He would go on to claim that the competitive landscape around that time was the toughest it has ever been. “When I put out songs, I had to go against DMX, JAY-Z, Eminem, Lil Wayne, 50 Cent, [Ludacris] he began. “All of us are fighting for one spot. So from ’99 to 2008 – 2010, it’s the hardest ever to get records.” Naturally his statement got the cast and guests to start thinking about that distinct period in Rap and while everyone on the set didn’t agree everyone understood why the “Ride Wit Me” rapper felt like this.
You can watch the group discussion between Nelly, Cedric The Entertainer, Maverick Carter, Paul Rivera, and Becky Hammon below about Rap’s hardest era starting at the 18 minute mark.
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Congrats are in order since R&B crooner Ashanti is reportedly pregnant. We must also note that those devoted fans who patiently awaited all her thirst traps are definitely in their feelings now.
And before y’all even start—yes, her back on again boyfriend Nelly is the father.
US Weekly confirmed that the couple is expect their first child together. While it will be a Ashanti’s first, Nelly has a son and daughter from a previously relationship.
We compiled some of the assorted, and mostly excited, reactions to the news in the gallery. And you already know that Irv Gotti is casting full clips of strays on these Internet streets thanks to his part commentary.
Congratulations to Ashanti and Nelly.
This story is developing.
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It’s official, Nelly and Ashanti are once again an item, and honestly, we’re not mad at the news.
After months of rumors that the two were once again boo’d up and hanging out together, Nelly confirmed that they are indeed together and seemingly happy with the reunion. During an interview on Rasheeda and Kirk Frost’s podcast, Boss Moves With Rasheeda, Nelly lit up when asked about his rekindled relationship with the “Rain On Me” singer and revealed, “Yea, we cool again… I think it surprised both of us. It wasn’t anything that was planned.”
According to People, the two have been trying to keep their relationship under wraps for a while (the internet ruins everyone’s relationship at some point), but it seems like the two are ready to go public with their love… or at least Nelly is at this point.
People reports:
“We both were pretty much doing what we do,” he said in the new interview. “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.”
When asked by Rasheeda if his renewed relationship with Ashanti feels good now, Nelly replied in the affirmative. “I mean, because it’s no pressure,” he explained, “Before I felt like both of us are doing what we’re doing before career-wise. And when you got so many people in the middle of it, it can be tough.”
In the comments section of The Shade Room’s Instagram post featuring Nelly’s interview, Ashanti remarked: “Heyyyyyy bighead 😍❤️🤣 @nelly.”
Reps for Ashanti and Nelly did not immediately return PEOPLE’s request for comment.
We love it.
Hopefully this time the relationship will last and maybe a wedding might be on the menu at some point, but until then let’s just let these two lovebirds live and sing in harmony without any social media interference for the foreseeable future.
What do y’all think of Nelly and Ashanti reconnecting in 2023? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Nelly is now a certified veteran in the Hip-Hop scene who continues to tour extensively while reaping the benefits of his still-prominent fame. The St. Louis star praised rising Memphis rapper NLE Choppa, who paid homage to Nelly by taking some fashion cues from him for an upcoming video.
NLE Choppa, 20, teased a new video that comes out this Friday (Friday 28) with a series of images of him decked out in classic 1990s style with baggy jeans, a sports team jersey, an oversized t-shirt, and Nelly’s signature band-aid under one of his eyes. From another post showing the video in motion, it appears that the name of the song is “It’s Getting Hot,” which samples a particular song from Nelly that shouldn’t be hard to guess.
The “Hot In Herre” artist caught wind of NLE Choppa’s posts and saluted his younger counterpart by writing, “Go Up Nephew” complete with fire emojis with NLE Choppa responding with, “Nelly approved.”
It isn’t known what project the new song and video are attached to but comes after NLE Choppa’s second studio album, Cottonwood 2, which dropped this past April. Choppa made his official studio album debut back in 2020 with Top Shotta, which was preceded by a handful of mixtapes and an EP dating back to 2018.
On X (formerly known as Twitter), fans are reacting to the NLE Choppa mimicking the sound of Nelly. Check out those reactions below.
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Photo: Getty
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Busta Rhymes has been an electrifying force in Hip-Hop since before many of today’s rappers were born. Last month, the Brooklyn bred emcee took home the 2023 BET Awards biggest honor as this year’s Lifetime Achievement recipient.
Some of music’s greatest talents, including Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson and Diddy paid homage to the 12-time Grammy Award nominated rapper in a heartwarming video. Fans took to Twitter to share their favorite Busta Rhymes moments while reiterating that a Lifetime Achievement Award was overdue for the “mayor of Hip Hop.”
Busta’s award sparked an even bigger conversation about other icons whose contributions in Hip-Hop have seemingly gone unnoticed. Check out our list of Hip-Hop legends who deserve their flowers while they can smell them.
Ludacris
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Before rappers like Big Sean and DaBaby captivated fans with their animated delivery, wild punchlines and humorous videos, Ludacris had the game on lock. His major label debut album Back for the First Time, spawned several hit records that many fans deem to be instant classics — including the Neptunes- produced track “What’s Your Fantasy.”
While Atlanta was still finding their identity in Hip-Hop, Luda continued cranking out chart topping records and big budget music videos throughout the 2000s. But after years of hard work and a Grammy for Best Rap Album in 2007 for Release Therapy, he started to feel that his contributions to Hip-Hop weren’t being acknowledged. In May 2023, Luda appeared on the All The Smoke podcast and revealed that Jay-Z credited his outlandish videos as the reason why Luda doesn’t receive the lyrical credit he deserves. “People ask me, ‘Why don’t you think [you] get the credit?’ Because I played too goddamn much…And I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Luda said.
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Source: Bernard Smalls / @PhotosByBeanz
If kick a person while they are down was a person it would be 50 Cent. He recently teased Irv Gotti after Nelly and Ashanti were spotted together looking real cozy.
As spotted on TMZ the Queens, New York native did not waste any time when the former couple were spotted looking friendly at their joint performance at Tao Beach in Las Vegas. 50 Cent took to social media with the clip of their set and added a very unflattering photo of the Murder Inc. Records founder to the Instagram post. “Man Somebody Check On Irv Gotti ASAP! Know He Going Through Right Now” the header on the visual read. He upped the petty by quoting Irv from his infamous appearance on Drink Champs on the caption “I was in love wit her, and she just popped up with Nelly”.
In addition to their performance at the popular pool party, the two talents also attended the Gervonta Davis versus Ryan Garcia boxing match over the weekend. There Nelly held her hand as they walked to their seats prompting speculation that the singer and rapper are once again an item. Shani and Mo had a solid run as couple during the mid 2000’s but abruptly went their separate ways. The two saw each other at the Ja Rule and Fat Joe Verzuz back in 2021 and it seemed Nelly definitely wanted to rekindle their former flame. Irv has yet to respond to the slander.
You can view 50 Cent’s post below.
Photo: Bernard “Beanz” Smalls
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The rumor mill is swirling after Nelly and Ashanti were spotted holding hands following the boxing match between Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia, where the two were together ringside, according to Page Six.
While the duo have not confirmed that they are seeing each other again, fans are already celebrating on social media.
“Awww. Nelly and Ashanti are back together I’m here for it. They both aged beautifully,” one wrote.
Even fellow celebs got into the mix with fellow rapper Bow Wow writing in the comments section of an Instagram post from The Shade Room.“Yo mo! I know we not seeing eye to eye either really but from lil bro to big bro STOP PLAYING AND MARRY THIS WOMAN BRO!” fellow rapper Bow Wow wrote in the comments section of an Instagram post from The Shade Room. “You like 50 sit yo old ass down this your queen.”
The couple has been romantically linked on and off since the 2000s and this isn’t the first time that fans have hoped for a reunion. In December 2022, the pair performed their hit, “Body On Me,” in front of an audience where they were smiling and grinding on each other on stage. Later that month in an interview with Andy Cohen, Ashanti said she was surprised by the positive reaction from fans.
“My reaction was, ‘Wow.’ It was a lot of comments and a lot of people wanting that [us back together],” she said at the time, “What I will say is, we’re in a better place. You know, ’cause before, it was like [mimics fighting]. But we’re cool now. Yeah, we have some conversations, you know. So it’s cool.”
Cohen pushed the subject asking, “But you’re not getting back together?” The singer struggled to find words, simply responding, “I mean, I don’t…”
Fans on Twitter are celebrating the possible reunion with one making comparisons to the rekindled relationship between Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez which finally resulted in their marriage more than a decade after they broke up.
One user said that there was one person who really deserves the credit for the reunion.
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