AJM/Empics/Abaca
Not all celebrities follow the trend of picking wild-out-of-the-box names for their little ones. Take Ne-Yo, who thoughtfully selected “a very strong, very stout name,” for his second child, son Mason Evan.
“We needed him to have a name that felt like a gentleman, like somebody you have to respect, ” the singer tells PEOPLE Wednesday at New York’s Liberty Theater, where he launched Malibu Red at a private concert.
“Mason Evan Smith, you have to respect that name.”
And while, he’s a bit picky when selecting his kid’s names, don’t expect the musician to be a stage dad.“I’m not going to be that dude that predestines my children’s future,” he says. “I’m just going to do my best so that my daughter doesn’t end up on a pole and my son doesn’t end up on the corner. And whatever they do outside of that is pretty much their decision.”
Admittedly, it’s difficult to work full-time with two tots at home. In addition to 5-month-old Mason, he and Monyetta Shaw are also parents to daughter Madilyn Grace, 16 months.
“I missed [Madilyn]‘s first words,” the R&B vocalist shares, adding, “I gotta say the best thing about having two kids is just having two kids.”
These days, the singer is trying to create a balanced family life. “Some people say, ‘One day at a time,’” he notes. “I say, ‘One minute at a time.’”
– Jenisha Watts
Filed Under: Exclusive, News, Parenting