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- No baby name or gender revealed; celebrity friends like Usher and Angel Reese guessed details at a jungle-themed baby shower.
- Latto announced her pregnancy in March after months of speculation, showing a digital pregnancy test in a scrapbook video.
- A male hand cradling her belly sparked fan speculation it was 21 Savage, who appears in several announcement clips.
- Public attitudes shifted: motherhood is now more accepted for female rappers balancing music careers and parenting.
- The Journal of Behavioral Sciences cites the maternal wall and motherhood penalty; Latto shows balancing studio work and parenting.
Big Mama is a real mama now that Latto confirmed she gave birth to her first child.
The 27-year-old chart-topping “Big Energy” rapper, whose real name is Alyssa Stephens, shared an Instagram post featuring clips of her sharing her pregnancy news with loved ones, working, and snacking, as well as audio of her being told to push. Fans immediately assumed that the clip was from her experience delivering her first child.
The audio came after the Southern spitter shared that she was 37 weeks in one section of the video. The next section featured the “push” instructions. According to the Public Library of Science, 39 weeks is the most common gestational age.
Information about the baby’s name and gender was not included in the post. There was a little clip of famous friends like Usher and Angel Reese trying to guess details about the pregnancy at an elaborate jungle-themed baby shower. Reese, who recently joined the WNBA team, the Atlanta Dream, is a good friend of Latto’s. She appeared in the rapper’s “Put It On Da Floor Again” video.
Latto announced her pregnancy in March after months of speculation from fans. Clips of her in uncharacteristically roomy clothing with a seemingly swollen midsection were making the social media rounds for months before confirming that she was pregnant. She shared the news about her bundle of joy in March. She posted a snippet of the visuals for her single “Business & Personal.”
In the video, Latto was assembling a scrapbook that contained a digital pregnancy test.
The post contained footage of a male hand cradling her belly. Fans believed it to be the hand of 21 Savage, the rapper whom Latto has been rumored to be dating for years. His real name is Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph. He was featured in several clips in the birth announcement post, palling around with family and friends and celebrating the upcoming bundle of joy.
Publicly acknowledging motherhood was once considered the career kiss of death for female rappers. They were expected to appear available to the public, placing their personal lives on hold to fulfill listeners’ fantasies.
Now, there are more rappers than ever balancing making Friday night music with PTA attending meetings, scheduling piano lessons, and late-night feedings.
Cardi B infamously revealed her pregnancy during a performance as a musical guest on Saturday Night Live in 2018. She hollered, “I’m finally free,” in the hallway afterward. The moment was met with praise from performer Remy Ma.
“I just woke up at 2:45 am and saw this video; I’m crying real tears – happy tears,” wrote Remy Ma on Instagram. “For so many years, they made us (women) feel like we had to pretend to be single, pretend to not have a real life, and put our lives on hold to ‘entertain’ the masses. Meanwhile, you feel trapped in your own body, a prisoner to your career, and so unhappy when you’re supposed to be having the time of your life. @IAmCardiB I am so happy for you.
Rappers are not the only women in the workplace to face what researchers describe as “the maternal wall.”
“In the workplace, mothers face a motherhood penalty, where they are perceived as being unfit for leadership roles, are evaluated as less competent and less committed to their careers, receive lower salaries, and are denied advancement opportunities,” according to a 2024 article from the Journal of Behavioral Sciences.
Pushback against that has allowed rappers to present themselves as people first and performers second.
Yung Miami, Monaleo, Coi Leray, Dream Doll, Kash Doll, Rico Nasty, Flo Milli, and LightSkinKeisha have shared details about their motherhood journeys with the public. It is now common for women rappers to share details about their family lives. They have been more forthcoming about parenting in interviews and frequently share slices of their lives across their social platforms.
Latto shared footage of herself in the studio, proving that you can balance creative endeavors with the responsibilities of motherhood. Other scenes in the video included her filming promotional content for her upcoming project.
Congratulations to Latto on openly expanding her family!
Resources
Journal of Behavioral Sciences.
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