Nicki Minaj’s father killed in road accident
NEW YORK: The father of rapper Nicki Minaj has died ater being struck by a hit-and-run driver near New York City, police said on Sunday.
Robert Maraj, 64, was walking on a road in Mineola, Long Island at 6:15pm (2315 GMT) on Friday when he was hit, Nassau County Police Departmentsaid.the driver left the scene of the accident, and Maraj was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead on Saturday.
“The investigation is ongoing,” police added. The statement did not specify Maraj’s relationship to Minaj, but a police spokesman confirmed he was her father.
Minaj, 38, was born in Trinidad and Tobago and raised in the Queens borough of New York City.
The rapper has been nominated for ten Grammy awards during her career.
In December last year, a University of Louisiana at Lafayette student who graduated thanked Nicki Minaj for paying his tuition fees.
Three years ago, someone on Twiter reached out to Minaj with a request for the musician to help pay college fees. Minaj agreed – on the condition that they show her perfect marks. She wrote, “Show me straight A’s that I can verify w/ ur school and I’ll pay it.”
A few dozen fans took Minaj up on the offer including Artavion Cook. He asked on Twiter if she could help pay his current outstanding balance of $1,300. She did and this week Cook graduated with a bachelor’s in science (biology).
Cook had shared a picture on Instagram, said, “I can’t believe that I’m actually saying this out loud, but I am an official college GRADUATE! Bachelor of Science in Biology. Chemistry and Psychology minor.
This day is even more special because @ NICKIMINAJ paid my tuition a few semesters ago, and today is her birthday.”
According to a news agency, Cook is looking forward to medical school and is geting ready to take the MCAT in the spring. He’d like to go to LSU Shreveport, Morehouse, Howard University, or Meharry Medical College.
In July, Minaj delighted fans when she announced she was pregnant posting photos of herself with a baby bump.
Minaj, 37, shared a photo on her Instagram holding her baby bump. She simply captioned the image, “#Preggers.”
The wildly successful rapper had shared a series of other highly stylized pregnancy photos on Instagram and on Twiter.