Notoriously private rapper Joyner Lucas finally spilled the beans about his past relationship with vocalist Ashanti.
Rumors about the two artists dating started to emerge when she appeared as the leading lady in his music video, “Falling Slowly (Evolution) in 2020. Over the last four years, fans have viewed the 46 million and watched their undeniable chemistry— despite their eight-year difference.
While talking to Jason Lee on his self-titled show, Lucas called the Long Island singer “dope” and said she was easy to love. He claimed that the two had chats about having children but they broke up because he felt the two weren’t at the same place.
“Yeah so, you dated Ashanti. How was that?” Lee asked after discussing Nick Cannon and his 12 children.
“It was dope. She’s a really dope person. She really is. She is an amazing person,” Lucas said.
Lee then asked how they got together since both are oddly private about their relationships, and Lucas, 35, replied, “I’m a private n—ga. I don’t really be talking about it, but what I will say is that she’s an amazing person and I’m super happy for her.”
Adding, “She’s about to have a baby. I’m just excited, I know how much you wanted to be a mom.”
The Massachusetts rapper, who is currently promoting his new album, “Not Now, I’m Busy,” seemed to make reference to what the “Baby” singer’s mother has already confirmed. But Ashanti has not.
While sitting on a panel discussion last month, her momager, Tina Douglas, was told by the host “Congratulations, Ashanti’s having a baby. So congratulations, grandma.”
Douglas quickly snapped back saying, “There’s been no announcement. It hasn’t come out yet until I hear it from Ashanti and Nelly.” At the time, “it hasn’t been officially announced,” and still hasn’t despite months of speculation.
In a ploy to throw spying fans off the baby trail, the former Murder Inc. Princess has been posting throwback pictures of herself in her slimmest form.
But people are not buying it, as she wears big and blousy clothes when she performs as of late.
After Lucas commented on Ashanti’s desire to be a mother, Lee immediately jumped on the comment and said, “How did you know?”
“I mean, we had those conversations,” the “I’m Not Racist” star said, before stating that he was “not in a place” in his life that he wanted to have a child.
Still agog, Lee asked, “You guys talked about having a baby together?”
Affirming that they did, Lucas went on to say “We talked about a lot of s—t.”
“I would say I loved her, for sure. She’s a very easy person to be in love with though,” the recording artist said. “She’s dope, a super dope person and I’m not just saying that.”
When asked how he let her get away, he said, “I knew that what she wanted and what she needed, I don’t feel like I could have fulfilled that at that time.”
“I’m happy she got away, you know,” Lucas expressed. “I’m happy that she ended up going and spinning the block with Nelly. And now she’s having a baby. I’m super proud of her.”
Lucas admitted they never had any issues but he wasn’t prepared to move to New York away from his two children. He said, he “knew what she needed, which is what she has now” with Nelly.
Here a better angle of Nelly walking up to hug Ashanti 👀 #VERZUZ https://t.co/uJMJSRoVIB
— ♌️👑 (@LadiiJ88) September 15, 2021
A year after the video premiered, when asked about her dating situation, the “Foolish” singer played coy and would not share any details about their relationship.
In December 2021, during an interview on “The Breakfast Club,” Ashanti confirmed that she was dating someone but never shared his name. She said they were keeping the relationship “super low,” and told the public “We’ve been dating. It’s been a really nice, smooth ride.”
The next year, during an interview with Angie Martinez in October 2022, the now-42-year-old talked about being single and why she is not linked with anyone.
“I wanna get married, I still wanna have kids,” she said to Martinez. “You know and I feel like after I finish with this the rest of this year, then I’m gonna really sit down and you know take the personal stuff seriously.”
Nelly and Ashanti have not mentioned marriage, but have been happily in love since reuniting. The “Body on Me” collaborators dated on and off for 10 years in the early 2000s at the peak of both of their music careers.
After their onstage hug at Fat Joe and Ja Rule’s “Verzuz” match in September 2021, the two began being spotted together at boxing matches, concerts and dinners before officially revealing they were spinning the block.
Regardless of how and when it happened, fans are excited about Nelly and Ashanti’s happiness and baby, stemming from dozens of pictures and videos together showing all of their teeth.
