Nicki Minaj Addresses Criticism After Speaking Out About PnB Rock's Death

PnB Rock was shot and killed in the Los Angeles area on Monday during what was reported to be a robbery at a restaurant. He was 30 years old.

September 13, 2022

Nicki Minaj is pictured performing live — Image via Getty/Christopher Polk/Variety
Getty

Nicki Minaj is speaking out after the tragic shooting death of PnB Rock.

Rock, 30, was—per the Associated Press—fatally shot during a robbery at a Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles location in the Los Angeles area on Monday. In an Instagram update confirming the death, Atlantic Records—which released Rock’s most recent studio album TrapStar Turnt PopStar—remembered the artist as a “great friend” and “wonderful father.”

Monday night, shortly after news of PnB Rock’s murder was confirmed, Minaj addressed the death in a series of tweets. Centered in her comments about the shooting was criticism of the practice of sharing one’s location to social media, while she also remembered Rock as “a pleasure to work with” and sent condolences to his loved ones.

“After Pop Smoke there’s no way we as rappers or our loved ones are still posting locations to our whereabouts,” Nicki said. “To show waffles & some fried chicken????! He was such a pleasure to work with. Condolences to his mom & family. This makes me feel so sick. Jesus.”

In a tweet, Nicki appeared to reference PnB rock’s girlfriend, who posted the rapper’s location on Instagram prior to the shootingl.

In a follow-up message, this time in response to a tweet referencing the shooting deaths of Nipsey Hussle and XXXTentacion, Nicki shared her opinion that artists are often viewed as “prey” within “a world full of predators.”

Getting ahead of criticism, Nicki also vowed to “say what I want” from the dual perspective of artist and mother

“My heart is hurting for the MOTHERS OF THESE KIDS that tried to make something better of their lives!!!” she said.

Nicki went on to defend herself after people accused her of blaming PnB Rock’s girlfriend for posting their location on Twitter.

As Nicki herself mentioned amid Monday night’s tweets, her VMAs Vanguard Award acceptance speech last month saw her paying tribute to multiple artists who are no longer with us, including the inspiration for the award itself, Michael Jackson.

“I wish Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson were still here,” Nicki said when accepting the honor. “I wish that people understood what they meant and what they were going through. I wish people took mental health seriously, even for the people who we think have perfect lives. I wish Pop Smoke and Juice WRLD and Nipsey Hussle were here.”