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Nicki Minaj and her husband, Kenneth Petty, just welcomed their first child together.
PEOPLE reports that sources close to the couple confirmed the news this week, saying Nicki and Kenneth welcomed their brand new bundle of joy on September 30 in Los Angeles, California.
The 37-year-old kept her pregnancy under wraps for a long time until announcing the news on Instagram in July, when she was already more than 6 months along. In the series of photos, the rapper posed with her baby bump while dressed in multiple different looks, including some that called back to an earlier era of Nicki’s signature style.
In two of the photos, a then-pregnant Nicki rocked a curly, bright-yellow hairdo, an intricately decorated bikini, and some seriously sparkly platform stilettos. Another showed her in a ruffled bottom, white knee-high stockings and a blue done-up hairstyle, complete with a bright-green bow.
She simply captioned the first picture, “#Preggers” before writing a longer caption in another post, saying, “Love. Marriage. Baby carriage. Overflowing with excitement & gratitude. Thank you all for the well wishes.”
The final maternity picture is the real showstopper, taken by famous photographer David LaChapelle. In the flick, Nicki looks heavenly as she wears some baby blue draped fabric over her entire body, leaving her bump uncovered and a bedazzled headpiece laying over her hair. She stands in front of a colorful, tie due background while standing in the middle of what looks to be a forest.
This big news for Nicki came only nine months after she and Petty tied the knot and 10 months after the rapper announced her intention to retire from the music game to put all of her focus on her family.
“I’ve decided to retire & have my family. I know you guys are happy now. To my fans, keep reppin me, do it til da death of me … Love you for LIFE,” she wrote on Twitter.
Minaj has released music since then, being featured on songs including “TROLLZ” with Tekashi 6ix9ine, “Move Ya Hips” with A$AP Ferg, and “Expensive” with Ty Dolla $ign.
Fans first began to speculate that Nicki was pregnant because of the music video for “TROLLZ,” which she appeared in just a month before announcing her pregnancy. The video was edited to manipulate Minaj’s belly, making the rapper appear normal in the visual, but fans still noticed something different about Nicki’s appearance.
Allegations of angles and photoshop followed any photo posted from that music video shoot, which eventually lead to the rapper announcing her bun in the oven only a few weeks later.
Congrats to Nicki Minaj and Kenneth Petty on their first child!
