Ashanti and Nelly welcome first baby together and reveal adorable name… days after rapper's drug arrest

Ashanti and her husband Nelly have welcomed their first child together!

The 43-year-old singer revealed Wednesday on Instagram that she had given birth.

A representative for the couple also announced their new son's name around the same time. 

'Ashanti and Nelly welcomed their baby boy, Kareem Kenkaide Hayes, on July 18, 2024,' they said in a statement to People. 'The proud and happy parents are so in love with KK!'

Ashanti revealed her big news by posing in a set of Frida Mom disposable underwear and flaunting her postpartum curves.

Ashanti, 43, and her husband Nelly, 49, revealed they had welcomed their first child together on Wednesday; pictured together in June 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia

Ashanti, 43, revealed her big news by posing in a set of Frida Mom disposable underwear and flaunting her postpartum curves

'Four weeks postpartum,' Ashanti announced in an accompanying video on Instagram, before adding proudly, 'You have no idea what this body can do.'

In the self-shot clip, she moved the camera down her figure to reveal her significantly smaller tummy as she wore a white crop top and high-waisted gray panties, along with a lovely blue-and-white patterned robe.

'Funny how life’s plans aren’t…always on time.. lol,' Ashanti captioned her Instagram post. 'I’ve been waiting to be a mom for a long time now but nothing could prepare me for EVERYTHING motherhood brings!

She gushed that 'This is what postpartum looks like,' before praising the disposal underwear.

'I’m so proud of my body for giving me my baby, baby, baby, baby, baby,' she added sweetly.

In an interview published Wednesday with ET, Ashanti revealed the origin of her new son's name.

'His dad named him with a lot of pride,' she said, before revealing that his middle name, Kenkaide, is a tribute to Nelly's father, Cornell Haynes, while his first name, Kareem, means 'generous, kind and dignified,' which was a hit with his parents.

The songstress also revealed that Kareem arrived just shy of his due date, so the rapper, who was out of town, had to fly in at the last minute to support his wife as she gave birth.

'Having all of us in the delivery room and seeing his face for the first time, I cried it was just so emotional and spiritual at the same time,' Ashanti shared. 'Having a vision of this moment for so long... it was such an electrifying feeling.'

She added that her primary concern now was meeting Kareem's needs.

'I don’t care what it will take, what I have to do, I’m just going to give everything and my all to my son,' she said. 'This little boy has my entire soul wrapped around his finger.' 

She also advised other new mothers to trust their 'instinct[s],' and she warned that their babies are aware of their emotions at all times. 

'Your child absolutely feels your energy. Make sure that the baby feels secure and safe and you have to have space for you as well,' she said, while also warning not to 'get too lost into the world of the baby. 

'I think that it’s really important to create a balance,' she added, before acknowledging that motherhood was still new for her.

'Four weeks postpartum,' Ashanti announced in an accompanying video on Instagram, before adding proudly, 'You have no idea what this body can do.'

In the self-shot clip, she moved the camera down her figure to reveal her significantly smaller tummy as she wore a white crop top and high-waisted gray panties, along with a lovely blue-and-white patterned robe

Baby Kareem is the first child for Ashanti, but the fifth for her husband Nelly, who has two biological children with his ex Channetta Valentine and two he adopted after his sister Jackie Donahue died from leukemia in 2005; Ashanti and Nelly pictured in February in Miami

Baby Kareem is the first child for Ashanti, but the fifth for her husband Nelly, who has two biological and two adopted children.

The Hot In Herre rapper shares two of his kids — daughter Chanelle Haynes, 30, and son Cornell Iral 'Tre' Haynes III, 25 — with his ex-girlfriend Channetta Valentine.

But after his sister Jackie Donahue tragically died from leukemia in 2005, Nelly adopted her son Shawn and daughter Sydney, both of whom are now adults. 

Ashanti's marriage to Nelly was first revealed in June of this year, but the lovebirds had actually been married for months before the news broke. 

According to public records obtained by TMZ, the couple had tied the knot on December 27, 2023. 

That preceded news that the happy couple were expecting their first child together.

Although they were reported to be expecting in late December, Ashanti didn't officially announce that she was pregnant until April of this year. 

She revealed the news in an Instagram video filmed with her mother Tina Douglas, in which Tina asked her back backstage how much more time she would need before she was ready to start her performance.

'Uh, I'm gonna need about nine months,' she responded after she was seen opening a pregnancy test, which elicited a comically shocked expression from her mom.

At the time, Ashanti also revealed that she and Nelly had gotten engaged, even though they were already husband and wife. 

The couple's latest joyous event comes in the wake of legal trouble for Nelly, who was arrested earlier this month in a suburb of his hometown of St. Louis, Missouri, on suspected drug possession.

The Ride Wit Me rapper (real name: Cornell Iral Haynes Jr.) was also cited for driving without insurance, according to a police report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol, FOX 2 News reported.

But in a statement to DailyMail.com, Rosenblum said Nelly 'was not charged with drug possession,' but rather 'arrested for "No Proof of Insurance" from 2018 on a warrant issued [in] December 2023 that he received no notice' of.

Rosenblum claimed his client had been 'targeted by an overzealous, out of line officer,' after a successful evening at the Hollywood Casino and Hotel in which he won 'several jackpots.'

According to Rosenblum, Nelly won a jackpot at a casino he frequents regularly that's connected to a venue he has performed at in the past. 

When he tried to collect his winnings, the officer who would have supervised the transfer allegedly told the rapper he had to run a background check on him. 

However, Nelly believed this to be false — or at least inconsistently applied — as he had allegedly won similar or larger jackpots at the same establishment on previous occasions without having to undergo a background check to collect.

Ashanti's pregnancy was first reported in late December, but the songstress didn't announce she was expecting until an April Instagram video featuring her mother Tina Douglas

Earlier in August, Nelly was arrested near St. Louis on suspected drug possession, but his attorney said Nelly was 'targeted by an overzealous, out of line officer,' after a successful evening at the Hollywood Casino and Hotel in which he won 'several jackpots'; seen in 2022 in NYC

The attorney claimed that other people in a similar situation would have been told to take care of the warrant, rather than being handcuffed and 'paraded' through the casino, as he says Nelly was. 

Rosenblum also alleges that the officer had no probable cause to search Nelly, which resulted in the alleged ecstasy finding.

Notably, the attorney said that Nelly has to prove there aren't active warrants out on him when he travels internationally, and he claims this hasn't been an issue previously.

'I am 100 percent confident this case will go nowhere. And we will be asking for an inquiry into this officer's conduct,' Rosenblum concluded.