Source: Christopher Polk / Getty
Nicki Minaj is soaking up sweet and small moments with her 3-year-old, whom she affectionately calls Papa Bear.
The 41-year-old mother of one posted a rare video giving her Barbz a glimpse of Papa Bear on Instagram Jan. 8. The brief clip shows the youngster in a white t-shirt and with a head full of shoulder-length braids as he seemingly runs around inside the house.
The short snippet featured a lit-up Christmas tree in the background of Papa Bear’s playtime moment.
In the post’s comments, thousands of fans gushed over Minaj’s son and the rapper as a mother. Many commenters couldn’t believe how much the child has grown since Minaj and her husband, Kenneth Petty, welcomed Papa Bear in late 2020.
“Papa Bear is literally growing up so fast I canttttt.”
“Whatttt?! Wow, he’s grown so much since we last saw him.”
“I’m sorry, who is this teenager?”
“STOP BC WHY IS HE GETTING SO BIG? Time flies like shit.”
Minaj captioned the video, “You never got to meet #PapaBear.”
The quote referenced a lyric on her song, “Are You Gone Already,” which is the intro track on the Trinidadian rapper’s fifth studio album, Pink Friday 2.
In the song, the Grammy-winning MC recalled her father’s untimely passing, Robert Maraj, shortly after she booked him a flight to meet a then-newborn Papa Bear in February 2021. In the lyrics, she rapped:
You never got to meet Papa (I could lie, say I like it like that)
He sweet proper, he keep Mama on my toes (Like it like that)
I needed help, you booked a flight (I could lie, and say I like it like that)
In three days, you’d meet Papa (Like it like that, mm)
Minaj explained the meaning and backstory behind the song during an interview with Ebro Darden for Apple Music, published Jan. 4. She recalled having premonition-like dreams about losing a loved one before her father fatally died after being a victim of a hit-and-run. Minaj also said that she’d spoken on the phone with her father just hours before the tragic incident that took his life.
In August 2022, the driver who hit Minaj’s father was sentenced to one year in prison and to pay a $5,000 fine, according to People.
Watch Minaj’s interview with Darden below.
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