Solange Knowles has never let being the sister of superstar Beyonce cast a shadow over her, as she has gone on to have her own amazing singing career; she collected a Best R&B Performance Grammy for her song “Cranes in the Sky” in 2017. While making a name for herself in the industry, Solange also thrived as a single working mother, successfully raising her son Daniel Julez Smith Jr, who goes by the name Julez. Find out all about Solange’s only child, below!
Solange had Julez when she was a teenager.
The Grammy-winner gave birth to her only child, Julez, on October 18, 2004. At the time, Solange was 18, having become pregnant with her high school sweetheart, Daniel Julez Smith. The new parents had married when Solange was 17, only to divorce two years later.
Solange spoke out about being a single working mother to Brooklyn magazine in 2013, calling the experience a “balancing act.” At the time, she was recording an album during the hours Julez was going to school. “I do the best I can, which involves a lot of saying no to things, actually, and a lot of really organized scheduling and a lot of help, to be honest,” the singer said. She also touched upon the importance of having her family — including Beyonce and their mother Tina Knowles — living nearby, admitting, “It’s such a beautiful feeling, but also having that village is a necessary reality so that I’m able to pursue my passion both outside of motherhood and outside of my career.”
Solange went on to date music director Alan Ferguson. The two got married on November 16, 2014 and separated in 2019. She has more recently been linked to experimental jazz artist Gio Escobar.
Julez dad is a former NFL player and works for Jay-Z.
Julez’ father Daniel was an NFL star back in the day, playing for the Carolina Panthers. He then became a talent manager for Jay-Z, which makes the family dynamic quite cozy, as the famous rapper is also Julez’ uncle. Daniel has remarried since his divorce to Solange and has two more children.
Daniel often gushes about his son Julez on social media, sharing adorable father/son photos of the pair. For Julez’ 14th birthday, his pops posted a picture of them with their arms around each other and the caption, “Can’t believe u are 14 years old today SON,I remember when u was just a pup, now look at you growing into your own man!!!!!! So proud of who u are my lil g, lil smitty, my lil woodie, one third of my heart, the reason I know what TRUE LOVE looks like.”
Julez shut down rumors he was going to become a father this year.
In April, rumors flew that Daniel was to become a father after a woman who goes by the name Adore reportedly shared texts between the pair in a since-deleted Instagram post about them being pregnant. “We both wanted it and he never told me to get a plan B,” said one alleged message from Adore, per BCK, with another reading, “We planned what we were going to do. Nobody trapped nbdy. This was literally planned.”
Daniel took to his Instagram at the time to shoot down the rumors by sharing a text allegedly from Adore that said,”“Julezzzzz, tell them it’s fakeee. Pleaseeeee.” Daniel wrote to his fans, “This text was from today, she wants y’all to know it’s fake.” And in a text overlay, he added, ” “Now usually I wouldn’t speak on this typa stuff but this time I’m not gonna let y’all drag my family for something that’s [fabricated].”