Wanya Morris has the perfect musical protégés in his four sons, Big Boy, Chulo, Tyvas, and Rocco, who together make up the R&B group WanMor. The Boyz II Men crooner was formally a major public champion of his offspring and their endeavors, but now fans are questioning if the well of support he once showcased has run dry.
For starters, the Grammy Award winner’s Instagram page is void of any recent photos of the group. With the exception of a May post congratulating Wanya II on his high school graduation and daughter Anyá on completing her degree from Adelphi University, a search for images of the quartet takes users back to Christmas 2018.
This week, new videos of the young men in the studio with the “Queen of Hip-Hop Soul,” Mary J. Blige, have sent some social media users down a spiraling trail of quetions about the father’s perceived absence from his kids’ lives. Blige signed the group as her first act on her newly formed Beautiful Life Productions label in 2022.
Last year, they released their first single, “Every Pretty Girl in the City.” Now, a year into their contract and having already secured a performance at last year’s Grammy ceremony, they have returned with a second single, their rendition of the Boyz II Men classic “Please Don’t Go.”
The song choice and the undeniable familial similarities of their singing provoked comparisons to Wanya Sr., which inevitably led to a discourse about his failure to publicly acknowledge the boys’ latest milestone.
At least one person took on the role of devil’s advocate when they asked, “Does social media post equate to love and support?”
As stated in another tweet, one person wrote, “ALL OF THEM ARE NAMED WANYA. Plus a daughter named Anya. And Wanya Sr. got the BIG NERVE to not be an active parent after all that… but that’s another story.”
The user would double back to note, “From what I understand, he WAS around… until the new wife. Allegedly,” after an inquiry suggested the boys inherited their talent from their mother.
Wanya Sr. married Traci T. Morris in 2002, and they share six children, including their youngest daughter, Shayla. Details about their split are unclear, however, his estranged wife’s last family posts date back to 2018.
He reportedly married his second wife, Amber Reyes, the following year in 2019. They welcomed a daughter, Anela, earlier this year.
