Nicki Minaj finally did her first Vogue cover shoot — and so did her son! The rapper posed with her toddler and discussed parenthood in her November 2023 interview, which has led fans to want to learn more about her adorable little boy.
Nicki’s son is her only child with husband Kenneth “Kenny” Petty, whom she married in 2019. The couple met in high school and briefly dated at the time but then lost touch until they reconnected in 2018.
Nicki’s son has already proven himself to be a fashion icon, with plenty of designer outfits from brands like Yeezy, Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci and more. He’s also apparently a trickster, as Nicki revealed on social media in March 2022.
“Every day papa makes me call him so he can ignore me & look [at] me from the corner of his eye. Just so I can keep saying ‘I see you’ and he can pull the covers or curtains over his face & hide from me,” she wrote alongside a video of the boy. “At first I used to rlly [sic] think he was just zoning out & not hearing me & I got a lil worried. But no it’s just him thinking he a lil comedian or smthn. Lol this boy. Mama loves you so much Papa.”
Nicki and Kenny welcomed their son on September 30, 2020, in Los Angeles. The “Starships” singer introduced the boy to the world — sort of — three weeks later by sharing a photo of his foot on Instagram in honor of her 1-year wedding anniversary with Kenny. “Happy anniversary, my love,” she wrote.
Nicki’s son made his Vogue debut at 3 years old, which is quite an impressive achievement for a toddler.
Nicki has kept the name of her son under wraps, only referring to him as “Papa” or “Papa Bear” on social media. She mentioned the nickname during her acceptance speech at the MTV Video Music Awards in August 2022.
Though Nicki hasn’t revealed her son’s actual name, she did reveal what she almost named him in a January 2021 appearance on her Apple Music station, Queen Radio.
“I have a new baby. His name is Papa Bear and I love him,” she said. “Papa Bear, I love you so much. Mommy loves you so, so, so, so, so, so, so much.”
“You know what his name was supposed to be? I think I might still change it,” she said. “A lot of people said they liked it, but I said, ‘Nah.’ His name was going to be Ninja.”
In her Vogue interview, Nicki opened up about what she initially expected motherhood to be like and how the reality differed.
“I think that deep down inside, I believed that once I had a family, I would just lose the desire to make music,” she shared. “But what happens is that you find out you have to work. If I’m going to have mom guilt regardless, I might as well continue doing the only thing I know how to freaking do, which is make music.”
