Nick Cannon welcomes baby boy

Rapper, actor and TV presenter Nick Cannon has become a father for the third time.

Mariah Carey's ex-husband welcomed a son named Golden 'Sagon' Cannon on Tuesday (21Feb17) with his ex-girlfriend Brittany Bell, and took to Instagram on Wednesday (22Feb17) to announce the tot's arrival to fans.

"Weeping may endure for a night, but Joy cometh in the morning!" he captioned a black-and-white shot of father and son.

"No matter how hard the world may hit you, God always reminds us of our purpose! #TrueHappiness Welcome to Earth Son! Golden 'Sagon' Cannon 2/21/17 #Awakened".

Little Golden joins half-siblings Moroccan and Monroe, the five-year-old fraternal twins Nick shares with Mariah.

Bell, a former Miss Arizona, was first rumored to have fallen pregnant with Nick's child in early November (16), and the star subsequently confirmed the news in a candid radio chat with New York's The Breakfast Club crew.

"I've got a baby on the way... absolutely," he revealed, before joking, "God said be fruitful and multiply. I'm doing the Lord's work... Everybody get a baby! I'm passing them out."

Nick is believed to have enjoyed a brief romance with Bell earlier in the year (16), before parting ways just before the pregnancy news emerged.

The star will have plenty of spare time to spend with the newborn as Golden's birth comes days after he declared he was quitting his role as host of reality show America's Got Talent, a job he's held for the past eight seasons.

He reportedly fell out with network executives at NBC after making negative remarks about the organization during a recent stand-up comedy routine.