Though Kai Cenat is now a viral sensation, the 21-year-old came from humble beginnings.
Cenat joined Speedy Morman for the latest episode of Complex’s 360 with Speedy. The host started the conversation by delving into Cenat’s background, and the time he spent in shelters as a kid.
He described being born in Brooklyn and spending time in Flatbush before moving to the Bronx. Cenat—who now lives in Atlanta—spent time in a shelter in New York and Georgia, as well.
“I live in Georgia now but we was in a shelter, we was also in Georgia. My mom was going through a lot of stuff, we was in a shelter actually here, where we are right now. And after, when we got on our feet a little bit, we went to Brooklyn and just tried to get things done. After everything changed, we went back to the Bronx.”
Cenat briefly touched on the memories he has from the experience.
“My mom still got the shelter sheets in her crib,” he said. “I just remember the craziest stuff, the people from there. My mom doing things by herself. She’s a hero. I’m not gonna lie, I always think to that moment and realize where I came from and don’t take nothing for granted."
It was just Cenat, his mother, and his siblings who spent time in shelters, without his father. When asked if he has a relationship with his dad, Cenat responded, “Yeah we do. It’s on some more like I could call him but I just choose not to. We don’t have a close connection because my mom’s been there majority of my life.”
In a another chat with Complex, Cenat commented further on growing up in shelters with his family.
"I didn't really understand how bad it was, but growing up it definitely made me ... understand how bad it was," he said. "I hated [the shelter] because my mom ... had four kids and we couldn't afford proper jackets to make sure that we were warm. We couldn't afford to have a good enough living environment to where we were all comfortable enough.
"It was tough growing up—my mom wasn't the parent that always had it financially," he continued. "I was only getting one pair of sneakers for the whole year. ... I never complained about [it], you feel what I'm saying. I understood what was going on and my mom, she did her best to provide."
