What’s going on between Nick Cannon and Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas? While tabloid rumors run rampant, the multi-hyphenate star recently sat down with Rap-Up TV to clear the air about his relationship with the TLC singer.
“Everybody’s going crazy because they’ve seen all this stuff with Chilli and I,” says Cannon. “And the chemistry is undeniable.”
Nick admits that he “had a crush on her from way back,” but that their recent connection spawned from his new Jeremih-assisted single, “If I Was Your Man,” which samples TLC’s classic “What About Your Friends.” Their chemistry is also on display in the upcoming music video, in which Chilli plays Nick’s leading lady.
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“Hat to the back, swagged out, lookin’ like Chilli,” he raps on the track, also alluding to TLC’s “Hat 2 Da Back.”
“I put that line in there just freestyling, not knowing what would come about,” he says. “A couple of weeks later, I was like, ‘Yo, how crazy would it be if Chilli was my love interest in the video?’ I put the call in, she said yes, and the rest is history.”
Coming off a high-profile separation from ex-wife Mariah Carey, Nick says he’s in no rush to be committed.
“I take everything one day at a time,” he explains. “I truly believe I’m definitely not ready to be in a relationship. I can’t get it right. I haven’t gotten it right yet, but I adore her and I truly have a passion for connecting with people that understand romance and understand connecting with one another. So you never know, but I’m so engulfed with today that I’m happy where it’s at.”
Fresh off hosting the season finale of “America’s Got Talent,” Nick is gearing up to release his King of the Dancehall film and is working on his ’90s-inspired R&B mixtape, which will contain “If I Was Your Man.” “That’s what’s inside me,” he says of the ’90s. “I’m a student of that. That’s when music felt good and was fun and that’s what I do well.”