Vic Mensa is officially a dad!

The 31-year-old rapper and actor has revealed that he and his girlfriend, Melanie, welcomed their first child, a son named Mansa Musa Mensa, late last year.

In an exclusive interview with Us Weekly, Mensa opened up about why he and Melanie chose to keep their little one out of the public eye until now.

“With the world being the way it is and the internet, I just wanted to take my time,” Mensa explained. “I wanted to protect our peace and protect Melanie’s peace and the process of pregnancy and his infancy and [it] just felt like the right time,” he added.

Fans will get to meet Vic’s now 8-month-old son in the music video for his latest song, “I Wanna Be Ready, which Mensa directed himself.

“I really wanted to make this art piece to present his birth to the world through this art piece,” he said. “So, once I really put that together, then that’s when I felt like I wanted to share with the world.”

Mensa also explained the significance behind his son’s name, Mansa Musa, who goes by the nickname “Triple M”. The name connects his son to African history and Mensa’s own Ghanaian heritage.

“Mansa Musa [is] a 13th-century emperor of Mali and the Mali Empire was widely regarded as being the wealthiest man in all of human history … Mansa Musa is just a very well-known figure in African history and amongst African people of the diaspora all across the globe, primarily for his wealth.”

Fatherhood, Mensa shared, has deeply impacted him in many ways. “I think my perspective is forever altered and significantly shifted,” he said.

After battling alcohol and substance abuse issues, Mensa has remained sober for several years, which he says has led to a positive shift in his life.

“I don’t have many of the same things that I often turn to escape through drugs and alcohol, and so being more centered in that way definitely helps me to be a better father,” he declared.

Looking ahead to 2025, Mensa is focused on his music. “I’m finishing an album right now that I’ve been working on for about a year and a half that I’m really excited about,” he said. “It’s one of the first projects that I’m primarily producing.”