Last night, Nicki Minaj shared some exciting news. Though the rapper has been relatively quiet this past year, she announced her official return with a re-release of one of her most popular mixtapes, Beam Me Up Scotty, which arrived with five new tracks. It’s been a while since Minaj has been able to interact with her fans, so she penned a special open letter to address what she’s been up to and speak about the recent passing of her father.
Minaj’s father, Robert Maraj, was tragically killed in a hit-and-run accident in February. The rapper had yet to release a statement about his death, but in an open letter posted to her website, Minaj made it clear that she’s still grieving. “Tho I can’t really bring myself to discuss the passing of my father as yet; I can say it has been the most devastating loss of my life,” she wrote. “I find myself wanting to call him all the time. More so now that he’s gone. Life is funny that way. May his soul rest in paradise. He was very loved & will be very missed.”
Elsewhere in the letter, Minaj mourned the death of DMX, noting how close they had been. “P.S. The passing of DMX hit me like a ton of bricks,” she wrote. “Losing him felt like losing someone I grew up with. I adored him. Blessings to his family.”
The remainder of Minaj’s letter was on a more joyous note. She talked about binging the Netflix show The Crown and how her pregnancy left her with an constant craving for ice cream. She also noted her infant son’s current favorite movie is Madagascar (Escape 2 Africa) and that she was finally able to get him to say “mama.”
Beam Me Up Scotty is out now. Get it here.
