Singer and podcaster Emanny joined xoMan host Kiara Walker for a susceptible exploration of manhood, love, loss, and development. Identified for his soulful music and unfiltered commentary, Emanny opens up about how being raised in a home full of ladies, his experiences within the Bronx, and the heartbreaks of life have formed the person—and father—he’s right this moment.
Emanny mirrored on rising up along with his father and the sturdy affect of the ladies in his life after the early lack of his older brother. “The gift and a curse of having three women in a household, no matter what I went through, I could always rely on them to be there. My mother was my greatest protector and also my greatest crutch.” He defined how the streets and male mentors provided a contrasting lesson:
“The street and the other guy figures were kinda like, ‘No, fall. Fall. And I’m not picking you up. Figure it out.’”
Trying again, he admits, “I wish I fell more… there’s certain things that I went through that I really weren’t prepared for at all.” Later, the lack of each mother and father—his father in 2014 and his mom in 2023—introduced surprising revelations.
“I didn’t see a world where I didn’t have her around… With my mom, she still lingers in ways that, like I feel like mentally I still need just to be okay in certain instances.”
Now, as a father of three sons (15, 11, and seven), he navigates the world with out the protection internet his mom as soon as offered: “To walk around and really feel like that parentless child… it really gives you an outlook on the world that you don’t even recognize.”
His father’s quiet power continues to affect him deeply. “The one thing I will say about my dad is that I never saw him talk bad about anyone… Be a man of character. Be the person that if you say you’re going to be this, be this… Be who you say you are.”
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Featured picture by YouTube/xoNecole
