A tragedy for rapper Nicki Minaj, whose father was killed Friday night by a hit-and-run driver in New York. Robert Maraj, 64, was walking in the roadway in Mineola on Long Island when a driver hit him and fled the scene, police say. He was initially listed as being in critical condition at a local hospital but died the following day, the New York Times reports. The Nassau County Police Department's homicide squad is investigating, CNN reports. Police are asking anyone with information about a collision at the intersection of Roslyn Road and Raff Avenue to contact them; so far, they have no description of the vehicle involved. Minaj has not commented publicly on his death, though her rep has confirmed it to the media.
Page Six describes Minaj's relationship with her father as reportedly "rocky," but TMZ notes they've been pictured in public together over the years, and judges that it must have been at least "decent" at times. The Times notes Minaj has spoken publicly about her father being "abusive" when she was a child, though she says he didn't physically abuse her. She has also talked about crack cocaine use at the Queens home where she grew up after she and her parents moved to the US from Trinidad, as well as domestic violence and an incident in which her father attempted to burn down their home. She once said the thing that "drove" her to become a star was the idea that she could take care of her mother and they could leave her father. (More Nicki Minaj stories.)
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