The hip hop world was left perplexed on Thursday after Nicki Minaj declared that she's retiring from rap. "I’ve decided to retire & have my family," she wrote on Twitter. "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 😘♥️🦄."
Her Barb stans flooded social media as they lamented the news, while others were confused as to what brought about the unexpected announcement. The last few weeks have been quite a whirlwind for the rapper, as she's changed her name to Mrs. Petty while relentlessly defending her relationship and status in the rap game.
A fan sent Nicki a message asking her to elaborate on the retirement announcement, saying that the rapper left so many of her fans hurt. "I’m still right here," Nicki replied. "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 ♥️🙏."
Meanwhile, TMZ reports that their "sources" say Nicki is just taking a step back because the criticism is getting to be a bit too much. However, the outlet denies claims that she's retiring because she's pregnant.