Professor Green is a dad! Rapper welcomes first child

Professor Green has welcomed his first child with girlfriend Karima McAdams.

The rapper, 37, announced on Instagram on Friday that his partner, 36, had given birth to a son named Slimane Ray Manderson two weeks early on Monday.

In a lengthy caption alongside the shot of his newborn son’s head, he also detailed their difficult pregnancy, which he branded ‘a rollercoaster’ and confessed during ‘scare after scare’ they feared their baby ‘would not make it’. 

Pro Green – real name Stephen Manderson – was swiftly congratulated by his 865,000 Instagram followers, with many of his celebrity pals sending well-wishes.

Sharing a lengthy caption alongside the post, he penned: ‘I didn’t wake up Monday morning expecting to meet you. In my mind we still had a couple of weeks to get everything ready, but you had other ideas…

‘I’ve always said ‘the only way to be on time is to be early’; it’s nice to see you taking after me already, though you seem to have inherited your Mum’s looks…

‘Privately we’ve endured what so many parents-to-be have, your journey to us wasn’t a straight line whatsoever, it was a rollercoaster right up to your arrival…

‘I didn’t allow myself to express my excitement as much as I’d have liked to, I wanted to freely shout about how excited I was about you joining us, but I was frightened…

‘We had scare after scare during the worst of which, I said to your Mama ‘if he does make it, he’s grounded’…

‘Having met you, I’m sorry. It wasn’t your fault and you’re totally forgiven. You’re far too perfect to be mad at. As mum’s go, you’ve lucked out; you have the best example of what a brave, strong, passionate, loving, kind and both considered and considerate woman is…

‘One day I’ll tell you about how amazing she’s been throughout this whole process / ordeal and all the things she’s soldiered on through, with all of the optimism required to see this through…

‘All I’ve been able to do for Mama is be supportive, which despite my very best efforts still left me feeling a bit redundant at times and for good reason; I was! I couldn’t for a second take on even a part of what she was going through physically, which was a lot…

‘You’ll be glad to know she doesn’t feel as though she’s sacrificed a thing, neither of us have (well, boobs – temporarily – currently triple in size, leaking and sore but perfect pillows for you to nuzzle into while you feed, which you’re doing really well), we both feel incredibly privileged you chose us.

‘More good news for you Baby! You’re a born gentleman. Your mamma commands respect so you’ll quickly learn a gorgeous set of values and morals to navigate your way through this world with.

‘She’s everything I hope you find in a partner one day, but we’ve got years before we have to worry about the and the’s.My great-grandmother Nanny Eddie was 77 when I was born, be it by chance or by fate your Nanny Pat is too.

‘There’s loads more to fill you in on, but we’ve got plenty of time for all of that. From back to front, your name means great, wise, man of peace. No pressure… Mama and baby are healthy, and I’m good too; I’m the happiest and most grateful for anything I’ve ever been.

‘Thanks to Mama for all the hard work the last 9 months, you are an unbelievable being @karimamcadams Thank you to friends and family for keeping this shtum, it’s not been the easiest secret to keep, but the last few days have been magical.

‘Slimane Ray Manderson. Born in Homerton Hospital, March 15th at 4:50pm, only a stones throw from where Mama and Baba grew up and spent their lives very nearly crossing paths until only a short time ago they finally bumped into one another.

‘Thank you to the NHS who work so tirelessly and relentlessly for keeping mama and baby safe and for keeping our every visit secret, allowing us to navigate the weird, wonderful and largely anxiety inducing ‘thing’ that is pregnancy without unwanted attention. Lots of love, The Three of Us’.

Karima shared further insight, penning: ‘Slimane Ray Manderson. Arrived last Monday the 15th of March (also known as the Ides of March, Ides meaning the first moon of any given month). This date was once considered the new year, so; a day for rejoicing, celebrating and clearing debts…

‘Lastly it was the day Julius Caesar was murdered by Cassius and Brutus. Cassius was actually on my baby list for names, I thought it was a sign (any link to Cleopatra and I’m sold) but… the look of delusion coming at me from Stephen’s face was enough to park that idea, so we toasted Caesar and accepted the emergency obstetricians plea to ready ourselves for an earlier Caesarian than was planned (we had originally booked in for 11 days later)…

‘Crazy to find out my thinking that ‘it gets really tight when the baby moves’ was actually my womb contracting and I’d already been in labour all weekend without realising (high pain threshold or stubborn as an ox?)…

‘Things started moving pretty fast and it felt as though absolutely nothing was in place, my elected obstetrician was on his day off, my surgeon sister on hers too, our house was being redecorated, there was no clean space for the baby to land, our hospital bag packed only the day before with items missing galore…

‘Then there was vanity, hair: unwashed, clothes: worn for days, me: frazzled, all the while trying to tell every friend, midwife, doctor and surgeon I encountered that I could go home and come back on Friday the 26th as planned, I’d just ‘close my legs and it’ll be fine’ as unbeknownst to me contractions began to come in quicker succession…

‘That faithful Monday morning we woke to ‘the bloody show’ (it’s a cervix thing) and our good friends came to the rescue looking after all the things we left untied (you know who y’all are, so much love). So, Caesarian Vs. Canal…

‘Opting for the Caesarian (despite difficulty with canal births running in the family) slightly plagued me towards the end, I couldn’t help feeling like I might be missing out on the most natural miracle a woman can experience…

‘Turns out I’d get the ‘best’ of both. Waters bursting are far more theatrical than anything I’d ever seen in the movies, contractions coming minutes and seconds apart turned me into a mere husk of a woman; I dilated to 6cm, hit that gas and air (highlight though my memories are of everyone else laughing – probably for the best I don’t remember what I was saying) when my lovely surgeon arrived to complete the journey we had planned for my sons big head.

‘I love that throughout this entire pregnancy, even with all the scares (which unfortunately there were many) and all the planning (which we tried tirelessly to organise) this kid was pulling all the strings, he chose to be here, chose his birthday, chose us and fingers crossed he’d choose us again as parents in another life in another lifetime.

‘The NHS was/is the most incredible network of brilliant and kind human beings that relentlessly look after us no matter how annoying we can be in our many states. My love letter to them is almost impossible to write, I get too emotional thinking about what they do for us.

‘They delivered our son safely. Our experience was second to none. Homerton Hospital, we are forever grateful for the people we met and all the secrets that were kept. Y’all are the true Jedi’s.

‘Stephen, my darling, my beautiful Stephen, if I write how I feel I’ll probably make everyone puke, so I’ll save that for you to read in a letter one day, but you are my heart. You’re my best friend, you gave me my son and now I don’t care about anything else. He’s healthy, he’s perfect. Oxytocin is the best drug I’ve ever tried (can you make a shot of that @aguulp ?).

‘Life with both of you has me spinning with excitement, I love arguing with you over menial s**t, long may it last. And to Slimane, my baby slim, my son, my first born son, you’re already so freaking cool, I can’t believe we made you. Friends, when I land back from my tour of the solar system in the year 2025, I will call you, I promise. Peace out’. 

The couple announced the pregnancy in January. The star posted a snap to Instagram on New Year’s Day, of him in the bath and Karima sat on the floor in patterned pyjamas, looking at her bump. 

Pro Green captioned the snap: ‘And then, all of a sudden everything is different. It all makes sense.’

Admitting that Karima’s pregnancy had got ‘impossible to hide’, he sweetly added: ‘I’ve been overwhelmed with excitement, admiration and curiosity ever since we found out. I’m excited about meeting you. Holding you. Teaching you. Learning from you.   

‘Never have I admired anyone as much as I have your mamma. She’s nothing short of remarkable, remarkable in fact is an understatement.

‘To see the body change in such a way is fascinating, incredible, unbelievable, amazing, ASTOUNDING. Weird. Ridley Scott had to get his inspiration from somewhere…  

‘I feel a bit useless sometimes, pedestrianised; left to spectate from the sin bin as each phase plays out. It’s humbling; never do our strengths as men compare to that of a woman. I’m awestruck. Subservient (albeit reluctantly at times.

‘I’m curious about everything to come; about who and how you’ll be, what you’ll look and sound like… and who’ll be the stricter parent.

‘A friend told me the best thing you can do for your own anxiety is to have a child. It sort of made sense at the time, it doesn’t anymore; THIS HAS BEEN WILD.

‘My understanding of mortality and just how fragile life is have grown exponentially. Wishing you all (and hoping for) a very joyous and healthy 2021. Happy new year.’ [sic]    

Karima – who started dating the I Need You Tonight singer in summer 2019 – also shared the news, posting a similar photo of the pair in the bathroom, this one with Pro Green leaning out of the bath to kiss the mother-to-be.

Admitting that they weren’t ‘gonna say anything’, she penned: ‘So my mate and I are procreating.’

She added: ‘Also 2020 has been a trip/non trip of sorts and the only thing that has spurred me/us on is the longing to meet our little babe (also if I hear another friend tell me to lay off the deliveroo I might get violent).

‘Pregnancy… without going into detail, It’s been tumultuous, a process this delicate has been hard for this heavy handed Berber brute and I’m sure there are more surprises to come but I feel lucky – I REALLY loved biology and now I’m my own walking case.  

‘Women you are remarkable, some of you have done this multiple times, I’m on my knees giving you praise.

‘And so to 2021, let’s get it poppin’ – may our freedom come gentle and our dreams stand a chance once more. HNY everyone. I miss being out in the wild with y’all.’ [sic]

The couple received well-wishes from the likes of Ulrika Jonsson, Gordon Ramsay, Nicola Roberts, Laura Whitmore, DJ Fat Tony, Stacey Dooley, Jessie Ware, Pixie Lott, Ella Eyre and Erin O’Connor.

Professor Green and actress Karima were first linked in July 2019, after he quietly split from PR executive Milly Gattegno.

They were reportedly introduced through mutual friends and made their public debut at Glastonbury Festival in late June, earlier that summer.   

Karima is best known for starring in the spy series Deep State alongside Game Of Thrones actor Joe Dempsie.

The actress, who is half Moroccan and half Irish, was born in Bethnal Green, east London. The star spent her childhood in Morocco before moving to London when she was seven. 

She previously dated George Lamb for almost six years, before the couple parted ways in 2014.   

Pro Green had also dated Fae Williams, and prior to that was married to reality star Millie Mackintosh.

 The couple tied the knot at Babington House in Somerset in September 2013, but announced their split after two and a half years of marriage in February 2016.

The duo finalised their divorce in May 2016, the same week that Millie chose to go public with Hugo Taylor, her former Made In Chelsea co-star boyfriend with whom she had reunited.

  Millie and Hugo got engaged on the Greek island of Mykonos the following year, and tied the knot in Sussex in June 2018. They welcomed daughter Sienna in 2020.

Pro Green previously admitted his divorce hasn’t put him off getting married again.

He said in an interview with Closer magazine in March 2018: ‘I’d love to be dad one day, but I’m not broody yet – I can have them until I’m 50!

‘I’ve definitely learned something from every relationship I’ve had. If you don’t learn something then it is time wasted. But Millie hasn’t put me off tying the knot again.’