Nicki Minaj Announces Retirement, Deletes Tweet, Confuses Everyone; What Are the Odds She’s Actually Finished with Music?
- Nicki Minaj announced she’s retiring from making music to start a family
- Minaj is set to marry fiance Kenneth Petty before the end of the year
- Is this really the end for the reigning Queen of Rap?
Always leave them wanting more? Whether she meant to or not, Nicki Minaj put that old show business adage into full effect yesterday when she announced her retirement from the music industry on Twitter.
I’ve decided to retire & have my family. I know you guys are happy now. To my fans, keep reppin me, do it til da death of me.” – Nicki Minaj via Twitter (Sep. 5th, 2019)
Minaj is engaged to Kenneth Petty and the two are planning to tie the knot sometime in the next 80 days (which is the duration of their marriage license).
But Minaj later deleted her retirement tweet and added the following, which created more confusion than clarity.
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. I promise u guys will be happy. No guests, just us talking about everything. The tweet was abrupt & insensitive, I apologize babe ♥️? https://t.co/eS0oHipwtg
— Mrs. Petty (@NICKIMINAJ) September 6, 2019
Could this actually be the end for the Queen of Rap as a recording artist? Don’t bet on it.
Nicki Minaj Retirement Odds & Props
| Prop | SBD’s Odds |
|---|---|
| Odds Nicki Minaj never releases another album | 24/1 |
| Over/Under release date of Nicki Minaj’s next single | Mar. 21, 2020 |
| Over/Under birthdate of Nicki Minaj’s first baby | Sep. 21, 2020 |
| Over/Under peak position of Minaj’s next single on Billboard Hot 100 | 9.5 |
| Over/Under peak position of Minaj’s next album on Billboard Hot 200 | 1.5 |
Well, you can’t actually bet on it, because the props above were created in-house just for kicks. But the fact remains, we have not heard the last from Nicki Minaj as a rapper.
Considering that Minaj quickly deleted her retirement tweet and seemingly recognized that it was a hasty, ill-conceived bombshell, it’s highly likely that she isn’t actually retiring for good.
Even if she is currently of the mindset that she wants to entirely eschew music for family life, she’s only 36 years old. She has half a life left to live and music is her passion. It’s not hard to predict what will happen in such circumstances. There’s ample evidence from rap history.
Jay-Z “retired” in 2005. He even had a massive farewell concert. He’s released five studio albums since then.
Jigga’s just one drop in the faux-retirement bucket. Retiring and coming back is par for the course in the rap game, and the music industry writ large.
Non-Exhaustive List of Rappers Who Have “Retired” and Comeback
| Rapper | Year of “Retirement” | Year of Next Album |
|---|---|---|
| Jay-Z | 2003 | 2006 |
| Kid Cudi | 2010 | 2010 |
| LL Cool J | 2014 | 2016 |
| Lil Uzi Vert | 2019 | TBD (Eternal Atake) |
| Lil Wayne | 2016 | 2018 |
| Waka Flocka Flame | 2018 | TBD (Flockaveli II) |
Outside of hip-hop, Justin Bieber, Cher, Barbra Streisand, Garth Brooks, and countless others have bid impermanent farewells to music.
After announcing their retirements, these musicians all recognized that something was missing from their lives, and that “something” was the raison d’etre of their entire existence up to that point.
Who could have guessed that they would miss it?
All the best to Minaj as she and Petty start their new family, but I don’t feel like a risk-taker when I say, “See you at the studio soon, Nicki!”
Actually, I do feel a little bit like a risk-taker because we are definitely not on a first-name basis.
Sascha was a hockey player in his youth, a lawyer in his capricious mid-20s, and has been with SBD since 2014. He specializes in football, basketball, politics, baseball, and hockey.
