Listen Live
Fantastic Voyage Generic Graphics Updated Nov 2023
Black America Web Featured Video
CLOSE

When rappers become dads, it’s hopefully a time of celebration. But when a rap star has a daughter, it can get complicated. They might think twice about the music they put out or become overly protective of even resistant to daughters who seek to follow in their father’s musical footsteps. And there are those painful moments when they realize that for all their money and fame, there’s not much a hip-hop dad they can do when a daughter grows up and wants to do her own thing. Here’s a look at some hip-hop daughters who’ve found the spotlight for better and for worse.

WILL SMITH

Daughter:  Willow, 11

Smith seems to have the most successful of the hip-hop daughters as of yet. At just 11-years-old, Willow already has a hit single, a record deal and the lead in the remake of “Annie.” But her growing celebrity has come with a backlash towards her and her parents for encouraging her to grow up too fast. Her eclectic outfits and hair have been roundly criticized in the blogosphere but it must not be getting Willow down as she keeps racking up new projects.

NAS

Daughter: Destiny, born in 1994

Nas’ daughter Destiny, unlike her mother, Carmen Bryan, who was the source of the much publicized beef between Nas and Jay-Z years back, has stayed pretty much out of the spotlight. She was enjoying the life of a privileged daughter of hip-hop until her Twitter postings thrust her into a spotlight she probably didn’t want.  After screen shots of her tweeting a box of condoms on her nightstand went viral, her Twitter was deleted and her father was moved to write about it. The resulting song “Daughters,” is Nas’ lament about how he was more of a homie than a daddy when his daughter needed it, something a lot of young dads can relate to. While mother Bryan objected, Destiny must not have been too upset, as she makes a cameo in the video for the song.

REV. RUN

Daughters: Angela, 24 and Vanessa, 29

Rev. Run can say he’s done pretty well by his kids. He brought them celebrity and opportunity through their MTV reality show “Run’s House” which Angela, Diggy and Vanessa took full advantage of. Diggy signed a record deal and became a staple on teen tours and Angela and Vanessa did both a spinoff reality show and a line of sneakers. While Vanessa has dropped out of the spotlight recently, Angela is a regular on gossip blogs and seems to be doing the Solange “look cute on the blogs and keep up my social media until I come up with a new project” thing.

LUDACRIS

Daughter Karma, 10

Despite his own history of sexually explicit music, Ludacris doesn’t seem to have a problem with his only child seeking a little shine of her own in the same industry that made him a star. His daughter Karma is releasing educational songs via her own website, www. Karmasworld.com. It’s an age-appropriate site suited for children with music that focuses on anti-bullying, education, life lessons and other things that would be of interest to children in her own age group. Karma must get it from her daddy because her music, and the site, which also offers lessons plans for teachers and parents, is actually pretty good.

LI’L WAYNE

Daughter Reginae, 13

Reginae may be the most openly spoiled and overexposed of the hip-hop daughters. At 13, she had a lavish Cinderella-themed birthday party and she’s been a part of her mother’s reality show “Tiny and Toya” when it ran on BET. She’s also been shown partying onstage with her dad at the BET Awards, which might have been cool had the song he performed that night not been about sex with multiple women. Sigh. Oh well, Reginae was once a part of the OMG Girlz, but dropped out of the group for unknown reasons. She does have several Tumblr and Twitter accounts dedicated to her, as well as those that seem to be her own. The oldest Carter kid is both acting and singing and is signed to her father’s Young Money label already with her friend Lourdes “Lolo” Rodriquez. Check out their You Tube channel here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qt5ehY88NvM&lr=1

T.I.

Daughter Zonnique, 16

T.I.’s stepdaughter is making her entertainment career happen with her group the OMG Girlz.  Tameka “Tiny” Harris’ daughter from a previous relationship, 16-year-old Zonnique has followed her famous parents right into the music industry. The OMG Girlz have released 6 singles and have been staples on the Scream tour. Having celeb parents certainly helps – the Girlz got their start on Tiny’s BET reality show “Tiny and Toya” and have been rolling ever since. Now that T.I. and Tiny have their own VH1 show “The Family Hustle” Zonnique and her group has gotten even more exposure. The OMG Girlz are expected to release their debut CD sometime this year.