On Thursday afternoon (Sept. 5), Nicki Minaj revealed her plans to retire in order to start a family with her partner Kenneth Petty. “To my fans, keep repping me, do it til da death of me, in the box — cuz ain’t nobody checkin me. Love you for LIFE,” she tweeted. After she addressed her fans, they had a bevy of mixed reactions to the “Majesty” rapper’s decision, leading Minaj to expand upon the situation on Twitter again.
“I’m still right here,” she began. “Still madly in love with you guys & you know that. In hindsight, this should’ve been a Queen Radio discussion & it will be. I promise u guys will be happy. No guests, just us talking about everything. The tweet was abrupt & insensitive, I apologize babe.”
I’m still right here. Still madly in love with you guys & you know that. In hindsight, this should’ve been a Queen Radio discussion & it will be. I promise u guys will be happy. No guests, just us talking about everything. The tweet was abrupt & insensitive, I apologize babe ♥️🙏 https://t.co/eS0oHipwtg
— Mrs. Petty (@NICKIMINAJ) September 6, 2019
In August 2018, Minaj returned to the music-sphere with her fourth studio album Queen. The soundscape boasts singles like “Chun-Li,” “Barbie Dreams,” “Good Form,” and “Bed.” Queen entered the Billboard 200 chart at No. 2 and received mixed reviews. Since that time, Minaj continued to solidify her presence in the music industry by being featured on remixes and singles like Pop Smoke’s “Welcome To The Party,” Megan Thee Stallion’s “Hot Girl Summer,” and Da Baby’s “Suge.”
Like Jay-Z, Lupe Fiasco, and Mase who announced retirement but eventually returned, Minaj’s fans hope this will be the same for the head-Barb-in-charge. In an interview with Vogue, Minaj responded to a question on what she hopes her place in rap history will be.
“I don’t know. I think that’s for other people to say. I want to be seen as a hard-working businesswoman who really takes pride in writing and rapping in a way that still shows that I’m hungry. I’m still hip-hop—and that’s never going to change,” she said. “But I do know that I’ve worked really, really hard to perfect my craft and give people something that I can be proud of. I’m my worst critic and I always want to give people something better than I gave them before.”
