Who are Busta Rhymes' children’s mothers? All about family amid VMAs honor

American rapper, record producer, and actor Busta Rhymes was honored with the inaugural Rock the Bells Visionary Award at the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards for his “boundary-breaking cultural impact and indomitable musical career.”

The event was held at the UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, on September 7.

Before accepting the award, the artist delivered a memorable performance of his several hit songs, including Gimme Some More, Scenario, Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See, and Pass the Courvoiser: Part II. Busta was joined by the likes of GloRilla, Joyner Lucas, and Papoose for his performance.

“I know I usually do these long speeches. I’m not gonna do one today. But next time y’all take 35 years to give me one of these, they’re gonna let me talk as long as I want,” Busta Rhymes quipped while accepting the honor.

He also gave a shoutout to his friend and collaborator LL Cool J, who honored him with the Visionary Award and was also the event’s host for the evening. The Coming rapper also paid tribute to the late MTV VJ and TV show host, Ananda Lewis, who died in June from cancer.

Rhymes, whose real name is Trevor George Smith Jr., has six children with four different women. The mother of his three older sons is his former girlfriend, Joanne Wood. His eldest daughter, Mariah’s mother, is Jill Miskelly. The names of the mothers of his two younger kids remain undisclosed, per E! News.

While his six kids attended the 2023 BET Awards with him, Busta Rhymes was joined by his son Trillian and T’ziah, and daughter Cacie on the red carpet of the 2025 MTV VMAs on Sunday.

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Everything you need to know about Busta Rhymes’ family

Busta Rhymes was born on May 20, 1972, in the East Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City. His parents are Jamaican immigrants, Geraldine Green and Trevor Smith Sr. He attended high school with Jay-Z, The Notorious B.I.G., Special Ed, and Chip Fu of the hip-hop trio, Fu-Schnickens.

He later spent time in England in the early 1980s with his mother and younger brother, at his maternal aunt’s home, with many cousins.

Busta Rhymes’ three sons are T’ziah Wood-Smith, T’Khi Wood-Smith, and Trillian Wood-Smith, who were born in 1993, 1999, and 2001, respectively. Their mother is Joanne Wood.

T’ziah, 32, attended Quinnipiac University and graduated with a degree in marketing. He now works at New York Life Securities as a financial advisor, according to his LinkedIn. T’ziah has also worked for Jay-Z’s Roc Nation as an A&R consultant as well as a road manager/ assistant to his father. He paid tribute to his dad on his 50th birthday in 2022.

According to Hollywood Life, T'Khi, 26, is an alum of Pace University and played on the school’s football team as a defensive back. He graduated in May 2023.

As for Trillian, 24, he is a rapper, percussionist, social media influencer, and podcaster who hosts the podcast The Last Drink. Managed by his older brother T’ziah, he is also the CEO and founder of an event company turned record label, Breadwinners Entertainment, and owns a clothing brand called Loner.

Trillian, who attended Lincoln University in Pennsylvania and studied mass communication and media studies, is a social media marketing consultant for the school’s Office of Career Development.

He also runs a non-profit called To Build a Black Nation Foundation, as per his Instagram bio. He rose to fame as a rapper in 2024 with his songs Show Me Your Love, Start-Up, and 10 pm in Miami. The remix of the latter featured his dad and Cash Cobain.

During his 2025 interview with Hot New Hip-Hop, Trillian spoke of Busta Rhymes’ legacy. He said:

“His legacy is his legacy. The only thing I’d be doing is upholding the legacy and creating my own, not disrespecting the legacy, not tarnishing the legacy. I can’t literally step into my dad’s shoes and be Busta Rhymes. I could just be Trillian and continue on my path.”

Likewise, in March 2025, ahead of the Glastonbury Music Festival in England, the Grammy-nominated rap icon praised his son Trillian during an interview with Fox’s Good Day Today.

“What I love about how he creates is the most beautiful thing that you can have as a father and a son: that he ain’t even trynna do what Dad is doing – he found his own path, his own way, his own journey, his own style,” Rhymes noted.

Mariah Smith, who was born in 1998, is the eldest daughter of Busta Rhymes and Jill Miskelly. As per her Facebook, the 27-year-old studied finance at the University of Southern New Hampshire and works at Concentrix.

Busta Rhymes’ other daughter, Cacie, was born in 1999. The identity of her mother remains unknown. Cacie is a model and influencer. Her Instagram features her lifestyle content and her luxurious life in LA.

Not much is known about Rhymes’ youngest child, son, Sacario Smith, who was born in 2006.

Following the 2023 BET Awards, where Busta arrived with his five older children and his brothers. He shared a picture on Instagram at the time with the caption:

“THE BLESSED LEGACY I’M MOST PROUD OF... MY BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN, THE YOUNG KINGS & QUEENS & MY BROTHERS @spliffstar_mrlewis @djscratchator and @special_ent_ FAMILY FOR LIFE AND BEYOND!!”

In August 2024, Busta Rhymes also released his song, Legacy, featuring Cacie, Mariah, and Trillian. In February 2025, on the occasion of Trillian’s birthday, the proud dad gave a shoutout to him and all his other children.

“THE BLESSINGS DON’T STOP, SO WE WILL NEVER STOP!! MY GREATEST BLESSING IN LIFE IS MY BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN, AND I WOULD LIKE TO WISH ONE OF MY INCREDIBLE CHILDREN A HAPPY BIRTHDAY ON HIS DAY!!” he wrote on Instagram.

According to Entertainment Now, Rhymes has been honored with a mural by artist Dare Coulter, which is placed in Raleigh, North Carolina. It is a tribute to his fatherhood journey.

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Busta Rhymes made his MTV VMAs debut in 1997 and has performed various times on the stage of the event, including the closing gig in 2021. This year was the first time he received an award after being nominated 16 times in the past.