Rapper Nicki Minaj shocked fans around the world last week when she announced her retirement via Twitter.
In a Sept. 5 tweet, Minaj stated “I’ve decided to retire and have my family. I know you guys are happy now.”
In an added note, Minaj left a sweet message to her fans: “To my fans, keep reppin’ me, do it ‘till [the] death of me, ‘X’ in the box ‘cause ain’t nobody checkin’ me. Love you for life.”
The message is in reference to the remix of her hit “Girl on Fire” in collaboration with singer-songwriter Alicia Keys.
James Donio, an adjunct professor of music who has worked with the rapper in the past, is skeptical of the announcement: “I’m frankly not sure the announcement is really true.”
Donio isn’t alone; the abrupt tweet left Minaj’s devoted fan base, coined “The Barbz,” blindsided because she had been working on a new album.
On the morning of Sept. 6, Minaj deleted the tweet and began replying to countless distraught fans.
“The tweet was abrupt & insensitive, I apologize babe,” said Minaj in a tweet to a shaken fan. She wrote that “in hindsight” it would have been more appropriate to announce her retirement via her Beats 1 station, Queen Radio.
While one can infer from the original tweet that Minaj meant she is retiring from music, she never said in explicit terms whether or not she’d be retiring from the rap game indefinitely.
It also remains to be seen whether or not she will be retiring from her other endeavors as a producer and actress.
Though this may be an uncertain time for Barbz across the globe, one thing is certain; all questions will be answered with time.
IMAGE TAKEN from Trzcack
