Rihanna and ASAP Rocky's Son Was Named After a Wu-Tang Clan Member
He was formerly known only as "baby."
Up until now, Rihanna and ASAP Rocky's son's name has been a mystery.
In a March 2023 cover story for British Vogue, Rihanna repeatedly called the almost-one-year-old "baby," not revealing his name.
Now, though, the Daily Mail has obtained a copy of the child's birth certificate, and has revealed that his name is RZA Athelston Mayers.
RZA is the stage name of Robert Fitzgerald Diggs, a member of the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, while Athelston is almost the same middle name as his father's (ASAP Rocky's real name is Rakim Athelaston Mayers).
According to Vulture, naming children after famous rappers runs in ASAP's family: He himself was named after Rakim (real name: William Michael Griffin Jr.), one half of hip-hop duo Eric B. & Rakim.
Rihanna and ASAP first announced they were expecting RZA in January 2022, and he was born on May 13, 2022 in Los Angeles, as detailed on his birth certificate.
Then, Rihanna staged the most epic second pregnancy announcement by baring her baby bump during her Super Bowl Halftime Show performance earlier this year.
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As for why she didn't reveal her first-born's name, she told the Washington Post in November 2022, "We just didn’t get around to it yet, really. We’ve just been living. But I guess there’s a certain freedom that comes with kind of just like getting it out there."
In her British Vogue cover story, the Fenty founder revealed how smooth the transition has been to parenting with ASAP.
"We’re best friends with a baby," she said. "We have to be on the same page, but we’ve always kind of had that in our relationship. Everything changes when you have a baby but I wouldn’t say it’s done anything but made us closer."
Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of British Vogue, InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Refinery29 and SELF. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.
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