Ashanti drops bombshell ahead of tour with baby: 'Prepared for the unexpected'

Ashanti, who is gearing up for a new chapter, has revealed that juggling motherhood and touring will be no easy feat.

Conversing with PEOPLE magazine, the 44-year-old singer-songwriter and actress shared that she loves being a new mom to her 7-month-old son, Kareem Kenkaide, also called KK.

The Coach Carter star, who shares her son with husband Nelly, is already making plans for how to balance work and being a parent.

Ashanti said, "It's going to be my first time going [on tour] as a mom. Obviously, we need extra hands. There's definitely going to be extra bags, because I already travel with too much luggage."

"But [we are going to be] a lot more cognizant of time and [spend more time] preparing, because you just never know what's going to happen," she added.

For the unversed, in April 2025, the Mother crooner will travel for the Bring It on Tour in the U.K. and Ireland with Sean Paul and Fat Joe.

Later that month, she will join the R&B Forever Tour in Brooklyn with Ginuwine, Tyrese, and others.

In early May, Ashanti will go to California for a one-night concert with Fabolous, Lloyd, and more.

Since baby KK will be with her on tour, the mom of one quipped that having a daily plan and schedule will help a lot.

She explained, "[I will be] cognizant of time and my surroundings, obviously not having a lot of people in and out, not allowing people to come in with shoes on, just germs and that kind of thing. I'm definitely in Mama Bear protective mode, wanting to protect the baby.”

The Fabolous hitmaker noted, "Everything's healed, I'm healthy, nothing crazy. It just feels good to be able to just move around and carry my baby and, you know, make moves. It's a beautiful thing."

"The one thing I will say is I really have to carve out the time to, like, really go hard in the gym and get back in there and get back to doing what I do," Ashanti concluded.