Onika Tanya Maraj, more famously known as Nicki Minaj, is a 36-year-old Trinidad rapper that is well known in the U.S. She recently announced that she would be retiring, bringing an end to her prolific rap career.

Minaj was born on December 8, 1982, in Saint James, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. Although she was born there, she was raised in Queens, New York.

In 2010, she released her first single, “Massive Attack”, followed by “Your Love.” After only two months, she won the award for Best Hip Hop Female at the BET Awards in 2014. Her fame grew exponentially after that success with many more awards, collaborations, and chart-topping hits.
On September 5, Nicki Minaj announced on Twitter that she is going to retire.

“I’ve decided to retire & have my family. I know you guys are happy now.” Minaj said. “To my fans, keep reppin me, do it til da death of me, x in the box cuz ain’t nobody checkin me. Love you for LIFE.”

When Minaj fans saw this tweet, things became a little hectic. Everybody was shocked at this announcement.

“All of her music is very inspiring and fun to jam out to in the car,” junior Isabella Santos said. “I can’t believe she is actually retiring.”

Minaj tweeted again to apologize for being so abrupt about this big announcement. “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,” Minaj said. “I promise u guys will be happy. No guests, just us talking about everything. The tweet was abrupt & insensitive, I apologize babe.”

Many students are die-hard fans of her music. Hearing that a favorite artist of yours retiring can really be disheartening.

“Now that she is retiring, I honestly don’t know who my favorite artist will be,” junior Zariyah Brown said. “Some of her music really speaks to me and I don’t know why she would do this when she was doing very well in the game.”
In August, Minaj announced she is going to marry her current boyfriend Kenneth Petty in about four months on

Queen Radio show. At the time, Minaj came under fire because of Petty’s status as a sex offender and serving jail time for manslaughter.

She stated she did not want a big wedding any time soon. “I have to work on my album and I have a lot to focus on that I don’t want to do the big wedding now,” she said. “We’ll do the big wedding later.” However, her plans seem to have certainly changed.

Students are devastated to hear this news and are eager for Minaj to explain her retirement.
But, students have to wait for the explanation. There are many students who listen to Minaj in the hallways and during school.

“I have been waiting forever for her to drop an album,” junior Najma Abikar said. “But instead, she drops this huge news saying she is going to retire. She was my all-time favorite rapper and now I just have to listen to her old music.”