Rapper Nicki Minaj caused a stir on Twitter yesterday when she announced in a tweet that she was retiring from rapping at age 36 in order to focus on starting a family with beau Kenneth Petty.
“I’ve decided to retire & have my family,” Minaj tweeted to her fans, in a message that has since been deleted. “I know you guys are happy now. To my fans, keep reppin me, do it til da death of me, in the box- cuz ain’t nobody checkin me. Love you for LIFE.”
Fans were thrown into shock by the abrupt announcement and many couldn’t believe the news. Some insisted that the rapper was only pranking her fans to get attention because she was feeling “unappreciated.”
y’all know damn well nicki is not retiring, she just throwing a fit cuz she feels unappreciated.
— king crissle (@crissles) September 5, 2019
You must be hacked ? https://t.co/AqChBeGAEN
— Young M.A (@YoungMAMusic) September 5, 2019
She trolling!!
— Fat Ass Kelly Price? (@RoRoStayThuggin) September 5, 2019
https://twitter.com/kingsleyyy/status/1169683999729405953
It’s either the Album dropping or she pregnant & gonna take time off
— BEJON TAYLOR (@BejonTaylor) September 5, 2019
Hundreds of other distraught fans took to Twitter to express their sadness over the shocking news.
https://twitter.com/aaliyahonika/status/1169678266678095872
— Amra Olević Reyes (@amrezy) September 5, 2019
My face all day yooo… Nicki stop playing with us. We are your family as well. pic.twitter.com/P2658eEb5b
— kdam nur? (@Nurlikh) September 5, 2019
about to look up the word “retire” hopefully it means dropping an album tomorrow, wish me luck ❤️ pic.twitter.com/2JCgmbEBjz
— Dom Corona (@domcorona_) September 5, 2019
Like yea it might be a bit dramatic but a lot of barbz are really shaken by this .I just need her to talk to us about it or something
— RUN&HIDE (Bailey) (@PXNKPRXNT) September 6, 2019
https://twitter.com/CALLM3CHUNLI/status/1169828867525070848
After many fans complained that Nicki’s abrupt announcement on Twitter was insensitive to the feelings of her dedicated fans, she deleted the tweet and posted an apology. She promised to do the right thing by addressing the issue on her Queen Radio show on Apple Music’s Beats 1 station.
“I promise u guys will be happy. No guests, just us talking about everything,” she said. “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
— YIKES (@NICKIMINAJ) September 6, 2019
Following that, fans are now debating whether her apology meant that she was rescinding her decision to retire or whether she would use the Queen Radio discussion she promised to make fans understand why she has decided to retire. But most fans were convinced that she was only taking a hiatus from work for her wedding and to have a baby.
Her announcement came after she changed her name to Petty last December and then revealed on her Queen Radio show in August that she and Kenneth Petty were planning their wedding.
However, many of Minaj’s fans have been critical of her relationship with Petty who is reportedly a registered sex offender in New York.
What is Minaj’s net worth in 2019, and when did she start rapping?
Celebrity Net Worth estimates Nicki Minaj’s 2019 net worth at $85 million, so even if she does actually retire she certainly won’t struggle financially.
Minaj, whose birth name is Onika Tanya Maraj, first gained recognition as a rapper and R&B singer-songwriter in 2007 when she released her mixtape Playtime is Over.
However, she started rapping professionally in 2004 after she signed with the Brooklyn-based group Full Force and performed with the quartet known as The Hoodstars, consisting of Safaree Samuels, Lou$tar and 7even. The group record WWE Diva Victoria’s theme song Don’t Mess With.
She signed with the Brooklyn label Dirty Money Entertainment in 2007, and after releasing her first mixtape Playtime Is Over (2007), she went on to release Sucka Free (2008) and Beam Me Up Scotty (2009).
She signed with Young Money Entertainment in 2009 after she was discovered by rapper Lil Wayne.
Minaj was born on December 8, 1982 in Saint James, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, to Robert and Carol Maraj. She moved with her mother to The Bronx in New York City when she was five years old.