A Barbie Outcry

Nicki Minaj has been in the music industry for about 12 years, with at least 57 hit singles and winning a total of 10 Grammy Awards. Her first debut mix tape “Playtime is Over”, in collaboration with Lil Wayne, was released in 2007 when she was only 22 years old. Since then, she’s had a huge break and paved the way for many of our female artists today. Many other celebrities would even consider her as a so called icon.

Starting off as only a backup singer, she took on a role for some local New York City rappers. Eventually, however, she decided to make her own material. She was first discovered by Fendi, the Dirty Money CEO, and later signed to his label. This eventually led to a collaboration between Minaj and Lil Wayne on a series of mix tapes, including “Sucka Free” (2008), and “Beam Me Up, Scotty” (2009). In August of 2009, she was signed to and became the first female artist on Lil Wayne’s label. In an interview with Billboard and this young rapper, he claims Minaj is, “still the queen of hip-hop.”  This huge break later led to more collaboration with other artists, such as Mariah Carey and Robin Thicke. 

Down the road of her career, Minaj decided to expand her talents and took on some roles of film. After her part in Ice age: Continental Drift (2012), she made a debut in the 2014 movie The Other Woman, alongside movie star Cameron Diaz. But as well as being featured in film, she got involved with advertising campaigns and even endorsement deals, like with Pepsi, MAC Cosmetics, and Adidas Originals. Minaj even has her own fragrance line called Trinigirl. 

Since her first mix tape and debut album, she’s become an idol to many, paving the way for other artists to express their inner rapper and “spit game”. However, this unfortunately, and abruptly, may have come to an end when the famous, worldwide known artist tweeted, “I’ve decided to retire and have my family. 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.” on September 5, 2019. This tweet stunned her listeners and an outcry poured from her fans, also known as her “Barbz”. She later clarified to a fan that the tweet was “abrupt and insensitive” and that she’d be discussing it thoroughly later on her Queen Radio. In the meantime, of course her rap career isn’t completely over considering PnB Rock’s new song she appears on called Fendi. Although, no more information on her retirement will be released until further notice from her on Queen Radio.