Nicki Minaj Recalls Last Phone Call with Father Before His Death: ‘Something Said, Pick Up the Phone’

Nicki Minaj, the Queen of Rap, is sharing an intimate and heartfelt memory of her late father, Robert Maraj, in a new interview with Apple Music. As she prepares for the release of her highly anticipated album, Pink Friday 2, Minaj reflects on the personal moments and tragedies that have shaped her recent work.

In an exclusive clip released by PEOPLE ahead of the full interview’s premiere, Minaj recounts the last time she spoke to her father before his tragic death in February 2021. Maraj, who died at age 64 in a hit-and-run accident, left a profound impact on Minaj, who described the phone call as a moment she felt inexplicably compelled to take.

“So right after I had the baby, and it was during corona, and nobody knew what was going on,” Minaj began, reflecting on the uncertain times during the pandemic. She was holding her newborn son, whom she and her husband Kenneth “Zoo” Petty welcomed in September 2020, when her phone rang. “I see it’s my father. I normally would not have picked up, because I don’t like to be on the phone with the baby there. I would’ve called him back. Something said, ‘Pick up the phone.’”

Minaj’s instinct to answer the call led to a joyful conversation with her father. “He was very happy, and he was like, ‘Baby, I could come on Monday?’ because he had been waiting to be able to come to Cali to help me. I kept on saying, ‘Come on out.’” She remembered the happiness in his voice and his eagerness to visit and assist her with her new responsibilities as a mother. “He wasn’t really happy, but I knew that, when he came [to] be with us, we were going to be happy. He is this amazing, great person, who livens up the whole house.”

However, that night, Minaj’s world turned upside down with a call from her mother, Carol Maraj. “It was my mother, telling me that my father was in an accident and that she didn’t know what was going to happen, and she would call me back. And then, everything started spinning.”

The sudden loss was especially heartbreaking given the joy her father had expressed just hours earlier. “I couldn’t believe how quickly everything happened, especially because he was the happiest that I had heard him in a long time.”

This devastating event deeply influenced Minaj’s creative process for Pink Friday 2. She wanted to honor her father and the pain of his absence in her music. The album’s intro track, “Are You Gone Already,” features Minaj speaking directly to her father. She tenderly tells him about her son, whom she calls Papa Bear, and shares the sorrow of her father never meeting his grandson. The song, interwoven with a sample of Billie Eilish’s “When the Party’s Over,” captures Minaj’s raw emotions and the tragedy that interrupted their plans.

Minaj’s relationship with her father was complex and often troubled. She has been open about the abuse her mother suffered and her father’s struggles with addiction. Yet, in recent years, Minaj had been working to mend their relationship, adding another layer of sadness to his untimely death.

Through this candid interview and her deeply personal music, Nicki Minaj offers her fans a glimpse into her vulnerability and the strength she draws from her family. As she navigates the pain of loss, her story resonates with anyone who has experienced the sudden and irreversible change that comes with the death of a loved one.