What happened to Brian McKnight's son, Niko? Singer's estranged child passes away after health struggles 

On May 30, 2025, Back At One singer Brian McKnight's brother, Claude, took to TikTok to share the news of Brian's estranged son Niko's demise after battling cancer. Niko passed away at the age of 32 on May 29, 2025.

Claude mentioned that Niko was fighting with cancer for "the last two years or so", adding that he was one of those kids who were "quirky and curious and ridiculously talented."

Brian McKnight's brother remembered Niko as an amazing singer and guitar player. He shared that his late nephew had a "great eye as a photographer" and was the kind of person that one would always want to be around.

Moreover, Brian's former partner and Niko's mother, Julie McKnight, also shared shared a statement via Instagram on May 30, 2025. She wrote:

“Nikolas was a cherished husband, son, brother, grandson, uncle, and nephew whose warmth, laughter, and love touched the lives of all who knew him. Nikolas was a self taught artist of music and photography. His passing is an immeasurable loss to his family and all those who held him dear.”

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Claude acknowledged "family drama" in the video confirming the demise of Brian McKnight's estranged son

In addition to talking about his memory of Niko, Brian McKnight's brother, Claude, mentioned that the purpose of his TikTok video wasn't to discuss the singer's "family drama."

For the unversed, Brian McKnight reportedly had a troubled relationship with his older children, Brian Jr., Niko, Briana and Clyde. In a video dated April 2024, McKnight responded to a netizen's criticism of praising his step-daughter, Julia and abandoning his biological kids, including daughter Briana.

Responding to the fan claims about seemingly removing his biological children from his life to find happiness, McKnight said:

“In order to live a life that you love, you have to get rid of the evil and the negativity, even if that evil and negativity is related. We want everyone to live a life that they love but in order to do that you have to get rid of that evil and negativity.”

At the time, McKnight's estranged son Niko was quick to react to the singer calling his children "a product of sin." He took to X and wrote:

“I’m evil. That’s wild: The guy who used to make me clean his used c*ndoms out his bathroom at 15 before Lisa got home is calling me evil Fashoooooo."

Niko also claimed that McKnight used to forge his children's signatures and put forth another revelation about the Crazy Love singer as a father. Niko admitted:

“When I was about to die in the hospital from complications from my cancer, I just wanted to bury the hatchet and hear him say he loves me and he told me he couldn’t arbitrarily tell me he loves me. Still cuts so deep."

Additionally, during one of his weekly Instagram Q&A sessions in April 2024, Brian McKnight claimed that he "jumped into action" upon knowing about Niko's cancer diagnosis. The singer said that he spoke to his ex-wife, who mentioned handling the situation by herself, adding:

"It became quickly evident to us that since they didn’t have insurance and they didn’t have access to the proper doctors, naturally—and even though all this nonsense has been going on for years—we jumped into action.”

McKnight alleged that while he was making arrangements for Niko's treatment, his ex-wife Julie called him. She told him to stop contacting his estranged son, adding that Niko didn't need help from the singer.

Shortly after McKnight's Q&A session, Julie told Page Six:

“This is, once again, a response to bait myself & my family into his false narrative. He is a liar.”

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While there are no reports of Brian McKnight or his current wife, Leilani Malia Mendoza, commenting on Niko's demise, the singer had addressed the situation with his older kids in 2019, per People magazine. At the time, he mentioned that he wasn't abandoning his kids and that they were estranged.