Rappers Who Have Husbands That'll Definitely Turn Some Heads
No longer the rarity they once were, female rappers are thriving in 2020. From newer superstars like Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion to industry vets like Eve, the rap game is brimming with gifted lady lyricists. As these ladies are rewarded for their talents on the mic with bigger platforms and increased visibility, their significant others may very well not be the ones wearing the proverbial pants in the relationship.
For some of the most high-profile female performers, their husbands are lesser-known or even completely private, leaving fans surprised to learn about their dynamics at home. While many rap husbands live in low-key, totally unremarkable marital bliss with their fire-spitting spouses, some find that the spotlight — and in at least one case, being in the same industry — can take a real toll on a marriage.
From cheating scandals to messy fights, record label drama to child care issues and even jail, female rappers have dealt with it all in the public eye, working through rough challenges with their life partner as the world looks on. Oftentimes, little is known about the other half of these wonder women. Other times, though, what we do know about their hubbies can be as eye-opening as their provocative lyrics. Here's what we know about the husbands of the world's biggest rap stars.
Cardi B and Offset are a whole, dramatic movie
At the top of the rap wife-and-husband heap are Cardi B and her man Kiari Kendrell Cephus, better known as Offset of the group Migos. To say the pair have had their ups and downs would be an understatement. Since their secret wedding in Atlanta in 2017, the "WAP" queen and her bae have called it quits and reunited so many times they've practically cleaned out every florist and jeweler in the United States.
In 2018, Offset famously interrupted one of Cardi's concerts with flowers and a cake to ask her to take him back, which, as CNN reported at the time, did not go over well. In early 2019, Cardi confirmed to Harper's Bazaar that she left her husband in late 2018. Offset later admitted to The Breakfast Club that infidelity on his part almost cost him his marriage. Their daughter, Kulture Kiari, was born in 2018, and that may be one of the reasons Offset has tried so hard to woo Cardi back, again and again.
In 2020, Cardi filed for divorce, saying she was "tired of not seeing things eye to eye," according to US Weekly, but the "Bodack Yellow" star changed her mind a month later and they closed out 2020 still together. "I just be starting to miss [him]," she said, according to BBC News. "It's hard not to talk to your best friend." We've all been there!
Remy Ma and Papoose are relationship goals
Perhaps not as well-known as some of these other couples, Bronx-bred rapper Remy Ma and her husband, rapper Papoose, are a couple who should be an inspiration to everyone. In May 2020, Remy shared the news of their twelfth anniversary on Instagram. Throughout those years, Papoose has held his lady down through all kinds of drama, including Remy's feud with Nicki Minaj and of course, her six years in prison after she was convicted of shooting a friend in an altercation in 2008.
Remy is absolutely the more recognizable of the pair, with her high-profile verses on bops like "Lean Back" and "All the Way Up," not to mention her prominent role on Love & Hip Hop: New York. That only goes to prove how comfortable Papoose is being the supportive spouse, staying in lockstep with his lady and caring for their brood while she's off being the breadwinner. She has one child from a previous relationship, is a stepmom to his three children, and together they welcomed a daughter Reminisce Mackenzie in 2018 with one more on the way in 2020. From the looks of it, Papoose is not only a doting husband but a world-class father too. "I've never in my life saw a man so happy to be a father," Remy once wrote on her Instagram (via People). As for Papoose himself, he can't get enough of family life. "I love being with my family," he said in an interview with Fox Soul. Aww!
Nicki Minaj's man has serious baggage
Another rap queen with an eyebrow-raising husband is the New York-bred emcee Nicki Minaj. Born Onika Tanya Maraj, the proud Trinidadian lyricist and fashionista was in a long-term, well-publicized entanglement with rapper Safaree Samuels — a relationship that turned so turbulent there were accusations of violence, theft, and more as USA Today recapped in 2018. The pair dated from 2000 to 2014, which left Nicki available to try romance with another rap star, Meek Mill. But their romance turned sour too, ending with shots fired over Twitter and thinly veiled attacks on one another in their music.
Perhaps tired of playing the field, Nicki went back to a familiar face in 2018, reconnecting with her high school flame Kenneth Petty. They married in 2019, but not without some controversy. Petty, as reported in People, is a registered sex offender; he was convicted of attempted rape in 1995, following an incident when he was 15 and the victim was 16. That's not all, though; Petty also pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in the shooting death of a man in 2002, and he served seven years of a 10-year sentence from 2006 to 2013. Petty's past doesn't seem to phase Nicki though: the couple welcomed a baby boy in October 2020.
If you or someone you know has been the victim of sexual assault, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or visit RAINN.org for additional resources.
All about Eve's man, Maximillion
Eve and her husband, Maximillion Cooper, couldn't be more different on paper. She's a chart-topping rapper and actor who was raised in the housing projects of Philadelphia and once made a living as an exotic dancer; he's a UK-bred entrepreneur who studied design at the prestigious Central St. Martin's College of Art and Design before becoming a producer, race car driver, and creator of the "Gumball 3000" motor rally.
Despite their differences, the couple has stayed strong and committed since their 2014 marriage, with Eve being a stepmom to Cooper's four children (via Essence) and Cooper supporting Eve's much more public career. Eve has said that she's continued to get flack from fans who take issue with her being in an interracial relationship, telling Page Six that their conversations (and the negative online comments) intensified after protests over racial injustice erupted in June 2020. Their union, however, seems as strong as ever. Eve even quit her gig on The Talk in November of 2020 so she could remain in London with her family (via ET). That's true love!