NEW ORLEANS (September 26, 2019) – Award-winning rapper, singer, songwriter and radio host Nicki Minaj, 36, took to Twitter on Sept. 5 to announce she “decided to retire and have [her] family,” which left most fans and critics in distress. However, it is hard to tell if this is a reality or simply a publicity stunt.
Minaj made her entrance into the music industry in 2009 when she signed to Young Money Entertainment. She is known for her iconic features alongside other rap stars such as Kanye West, Jay-Z and Rick Ross all before she released her debut LP. One year later, in Nov. 2010, Minaj released her debut, platinum-certified album, “Pink Friday,” which included features from the biggest names in music such as Eminem, Rihanna, Drake and will.i.am. Since then, Minaj has released three additional solo albums and has won a countless number of awards for her contributions to the music industry.
With such a massive debut, breaking Aretha Franklin’s record for the most Billboard Hot 100 entries of any female artist, Minaj has undeniably become one of the greatest female artists of all time and arguably the greatest female rapper of the 2010s decade. Her impact on the music industry makes this Twitter announcement seem rather abrupt. And the timing of this news made me question the validity of the tweet as a whole.
Most of the Twitter community agreed with how sudden the announcement was, which prompted Minaj to delete the initial tweet and respond to a fan saying, “Still madly in love with you guys, and you know that…The tweet was abrupt and insensitive, I apologize.”
While the “Moment 4 Life” superstar deleted the initial tweet and apologized, the verdict is still out on whether this is seriously the end of an era in hip-hop music.
In August 2018, Minaj released her latest LP “Queen,” which was not as huge of a commercial success as her previous albums. Since then, the rapper released the single “Megatron” in June, which also performed poorly on the Billboard charts.
Most recently, Minaj was featured in August on “Hot Girl Summer” alongside Megan Thee Stallion and Ty Dolla $ign. Outside of her declining music career, Minaj announced on her radio show in the beginning of August that she and boyfriend, Kenneth Petty, filed for a marriage license and would officially tie the knot “in about 80 days.” Factoring all this in, it makes sense that Minaj may want to step away from music and place her focus on other endeavors. However, with the large fan base and many successes she has had as a rapper, I believe if she were really retiring, the announcement would have been done differently.
Minaj is known to be a “Twitter terrorist” at times, meaning her tweets can sometimes cause a frenzy or an uproar, and I believe this instance was no different. This announcement simply was a means to get free publicity and make people talk, and it worked.
I predict Minaj will be back in the studio and releasing new music in no time and before the hype dies down, and I hope it will perform better commercially than her more recent projects.
