August Alsina dealt with another family tragedy in 2018 when his sister-in-law, Chandra, died from cancer. She had previously been married to the singer-songwriter’s brother, Melvin LaBranch III, who eight years earlier had been fatally shot in New Orleans.
Amazingly, Alsina subsequently agreed to become his three orphaned nieces’ legal guardian. “They are beautiful kids with beautiful energy,” the singer told People about Chaylin, Amaiya, and Kayden. “I’m excited to see life unfold for them, and I want to be as present as I possibly can within their life while still being able to show them what it looks like to have a career.”
Alsina, who described the trio as his “naughters,” also disclosed what Chandra said to him shortly before her passing after he agreed to take custody of them. “She texted me, ‘All this time you’ve been running from being a parent, from having kids, and now you’re forced to,'” he recalled. “I’m like, ‘I just play the cards that life deals me, and I’ll figure everything out.’ She said, ‘You always do.’ And she went to sleep and that was that.”
