August Alsina is recalling the devastating turn of events that led him to fatherhood.

On Monday (Nov. 21), the New Orleans native grew emotional as he opened up about adopting his three nieces after his sister, Chandra, passed away from cancer in 2018. “When my sister died, she asked me if I would take custody of my nieces, and I told her I would, so I became the legal guardian of my three nieces,” the “No Love” singer said during the finale of VH1’s “The Surreal Life.” “My relationship with my nieces is, I guess, a complex thing because I can sometimes feel like a bad parent — an absentee parent — because of parts of my life and I’m missing out on certain parts of their life. And I just feel for them and parts of their journey.”

Check out his previous post with his nieces below.

Despite not always feeling like the best parent, his nieces quickly cleared it up when asked what they love most about their uncle. One said, “I like that I can talk to him about anything.” Another chimed in with, “He understands me.” His third child said “[his] understanding” is what she loves most. Alsina’s sister passed away on Christmas Day in 2018. At the time, he took to social media to share a heartwarming tribute in her honor. “My sister, my friend, life-giver to my nieces, my hair magician, my biggest supporter, my number one fan,” Alsina wrote on Instagram. “We lost such a beautiful soul on Christmas night to the battle with cancer. I am utterly devastated and deeply shattered. Not only for myself but for my three little nieces, who are now robbed of both parents.” The children’s father was shot and killed in 2010.

As previously reported by REVOLT, Alsina’s co-star Tamar Braxton opened up about being on the reality television series alongside the R&B crooner. “This is the thing that I got from doing the show with August — he’s really, really deep, you know, and it’s very interesting,” she told the cast of “Black Girl Stuff.” “He puts a lot of things into perspective that you kind of really don’t think about, and so I really learned a lot. Because on my journey, I was really kind of into myself and, you know, evolving, and he just kind of allowed a safe space.”