Source: Robert Kamau / Getty
Sadly, Nicki Minaj’s father has died. According to TMZ, Robert Maraj died after being the victim of a hit-and-run accident.
A source from the Nassau County Police Department told the outlet that Maraj was “walking on the road between Roslyn Road and Raff Avenue Friday evening around 6:00 p.m eastern time” when he was hit from an unknown driver. The driver fled the scene and witnesses have not be able to offer a description. A description of the vehicle wasn’t offered either. Maraj was reportedly taken to a nearby hospital. He died due to his injuries, which haven’t been disclosed, over the weekend.
Police are treating the case as a homicide. Maraj was 64-years-old.
Minaj has been open about her father’s abusive history with her mother, Carol Maraj, during her childhood. In her Queen documentary, she described how watching the domestic violence affected her.
“I remember when my mother would let my father be violent with her and she always brings up this story about when I was a little girl and I would stand in front of my mother [with my arms open],” she said. “That’s why maybe some people would describe me as abrasive or bitchy or whatever because I vowed from that age no man would ever abuse me, call me out my name, treat me like that. Then all of a sudden, that was my life.”
She first spoke about her trauma caused by her father in 2012 during an interview on ABC’s Nightline.
“My father was abusive,” she said. “We were afraid for [my mother’s] life because whenever he would have a real bad outburst, he would threaten to kill her.”
Maraj reportedly denied his daughter’s claims regarding the abuse but did admit that he had anger issues.
By looking at recent pictures, it seemed that Minaj and her father had mended their relationship.
