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She’s back! After months of speculation online, it looks like Nicki Minaj will be making her long-awaited return to the rap game on Friday. She started off the week by stripping nude on Instagram and using strategically-placed pillows to protect her modesty. The Chanel-loving rapper was only wearing a pair of pink Crocs in the shots, telling her fans to stay tuned for “F R I D A Y.” 

The Queen likely wouldn’t be posting this if she didn’t have major plans for the week. People are expecting a new single or album, despite what Joe Budden had to say last week about the potential of Nicki dropping. After her song “LLC” started trending for days on social media and the charts, it became clear that the world was hungry for more new music from the New York-based superstar.

Shortly after she made her announcement, several different Nicki-related trends popped up on Twitter. “NICKI IS COMING” started trending almost instantly with fans excitedly reacting. “Nicki” is also trending by itself, along with a few other terms that are being used frequently.

With her return looking imminent, fans also noticed that Rihanna recently followed Nicki Minaj on Instagram, reaching and suggesting that they could have a collaboration up their sleeves. Of course, that’s simply speculative for now.

What do you think Nicki Minaj is going to hit us with? Check out some of the most popular reactions below.

Canelo Alvarez was able to stop Billy Joe Saunders in the eighth round on Saturday in their Middleweight fight. While the fight was fairly competitive for the first eight rounds, it was clear that Canelo had all of the power and stamina in the world, and he wasn’t going to let himself get beat. Alvarez dealt a massive punch to Saunders’ right eye and in between rounds, Saunders’ team threw in the towel and the match was stopped on the spot.

Afterward, Saunders was taken to the hospital where it was revealed he would have to get surgery on his eye socket. At the time, promoter Eddie Hearn said Saunders had some big decisions to make moving forward, although according to Mike Coppinger of The Athletic, Saunders might just have to call it a career.

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Essentially, Saunders suffered a quadripod fracture and he even had his orbital bone smashed in. These injuries were way worse than originally reported and his cheekbone was in a complete state of disarray. As for the surgery, no updates have been given just yet, although we’re sure his team will be updating fans soon.

Needless to say, Canelo’s punching power can do a lot of damage and when you’re dealing with the eye, it is always a sensitive area. Hopefully, Saunders is able to fully recover from such a devastating injury.

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The “No Love” singer’s name has recently become synonymous with negative press, due to his decision to reveal his past relationship with Jada Pinkett-Smith. Nonetheless, we know, especially from our editorial detailing his career arc thus far, that the singer has also had a ton of bad luck these past few years, and has had to navigate treacherous territory, the type that most of us wouldn’t wish on our worst enemy. 

If you’re not up to speed, Alsina took in his three nieces after his sister passed from cancer in December 2018. Her death was devastating for Alsina, he described himself as “deeply shattered” at the news. The children had now lost both parents, as their father passed from gun violence in 2010. 

Alsina himself, was also not in his best state in the years leading up to his sister’s passing. Amid declining eyesight, struggle with an autoimmune disease that left him unable to walk for a period of time, and recovery from drug addiction, he still decided to take the girls in.

Alsina managed to raise the three girls according to the heartfelt message from his oldest niece on her Instagram story. Chaylin added the song “Prettiest Girl” by Tamar Braxton to play in the background of her post, starting at the lyrics, “I wanna say thank you for making me feel like I’m the prettiest girl in the world.”

In an August 2020 interview with People, Alsina said of his girls, “I’m excited to see life unfold for them, and I want to be as present as I possibly can within their life while still being able to show them what it looks like to have a career.”

View his niece’s social media post below. Social media responded with love and support for Alsina and all that he does for his nieces. 

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With University students in the United States and Canada graduating this month, there has been a significant uptick in the number of honorary doctorates that have been handed out. For instance, Coach K of Quality Control received one last weekend and on Sunday, Charlamagne Tha God received his very own doctorate, as well. Now, Toronto Raptors superstar Kyle Lowry has been given his own Doctorate of Humanities from Acadia University which is in the province of Nova Scotia.

The University says Lowry was given the degree due to his commitment to Canada over the years and how he rallied the country during the Raptors championship run. Lowry and his wife Ayahna also founded the Lowry Love Foundation which also played a role in the degree.

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“I’m a kid from North Philadelphia, one of the toughest places in America to grow up. And I’m going to be honest with you, according to the statistics, I shouldn’t be here with you today,” Lowry said in his speech. “I grew up in a rowhouse in 20th and Lehigh with me, my mom, my brother, my grandmom, and my cousin. A place where you needed to be in the house when the streetlights came on just to avoid the gangs, the drugs, the shooting, and all the violence that went on. Basically, the hood. Over the time, I had to slowly learn how to adapt and adjust in my way of thinking to allow other people to help me.”

This is a tremendous achievement for Lowry who is certainly the franchise’s best player. When all is said and done, Lowry’s jersey will be hanging from the rafters, and he’ll have all of the fans calling him Doctor.

The death of Kurt Cobain has been riddled with conspiracy theories, even after his death was ruled a suicide. Though his legacy continues to live on  25 years after his passing, there are still many who believe that the Nirvana frontman’s demise was the result of a murder. 

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Last week, the FBI released files relating to the death of Kurt Cobain which appear to address conspiracy theories that he was murdered, per Rolling Stone. The 10-page article largely consists of the FBI communications with writers who are inquiring that the federal agency intervene and re-open the case. Some of the communications go as far back as ’97 — 3 years after Cobain’s death. Others as recent as 2007. 

“I only wish to receive justice for and others who loved this man as much as I did. This man was Kurt Cobain, belonging to a band called Nirvana, and it was originally thought and still accepted as the truth that he committed suicide,” one of the letters read from 2007. “There has since been evidence found that he was killed and didn’t commit suicide as originally thought.”

Other letters called the suicide ruling a “rush to judgment.”

In response to many of these letters, the FBI explained that they could not get involved unless a federal law was broken. “We appreciate your concern that Mr. Cobain may have been the victim of a homicide. However, most homicide investigations generally fall within the jurisdiction of state and local authorities,” responded a member of the FBI. “Based on the information you provided, we are unable to identify any violation of federal law within the investigative jurisdiction of the FBI.”

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DMX is one of the most legendary rappers to ever pick up a mic. Just last month, DMX tragically passed away at the age of 50 and since that time, numerous fans and fellow rappers have been issuing tributes to the late star. At the time of his death, X was in the midst of working on a brand new album that he was excited for people to listen to. Following his death, those closest to him got to work in an effort to preserve the integrity of the project.

Now, X’s album will be released later this month on May 28th. The project is called Exodus and it will be entirely executive produced by the likes of Swizz Beatz, who spoke about the new project in a press release.

“My brother X was one of the most pure and rare souls I’ve ever met. He lived his life dedicated to his family and music. Most of all, he was generous with his giving and loved his fans beyond measure,” Swizz said. This album, X couldn’t wait for his fans all around the world to hear and show just how much he valued each and every single person that has supported him unconditionally.” 

This is phenomenal news for all of the X fans out there and we have no doubt that Swizz Beatz took good care of this new album. Posthumous releases are always a sensitive topic, but with X, it’s clear that those who were closest to him are involved.

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We went one summer without Nicki Minaj blaring through the speakers but we were also in a pandemic. Plus, she just became a first-time mom in October so we could imagine that Nicki was enjoying the beauty of motherhood. She sprinkled a few guest verses here and there but it looks like the Queen is preparing her return to the throne this summer.

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Following her first Mother’s Day as a mom, Nicki Minaj is back to work already. The Pink FridayMC brought it back to the essence of the Barbie aesthetic in her pink office with matching pink Crocs, pink Richard Mille watch, and pink heart-shaped pillows covering what appears to be her bare body.

There was little to caption the photo except, “F R I D A Y.” Yung Miami immediately showed praised to the Young Money rapper, tweeting, “Nicki Minaj look good!!!”

Needless to say, Nicki Minaj seems to have something in store for her fans this week — a well-deserved treat after proving their power in numbers on social media and streaming services. Over the weekend, the Barbz got “LLC Party” trending on Twitter which pushed the song into the top 40 on Apple’s iTunes US chart for the first time ever.

Though it’s unclear what Nicki has in store, fans are clearly awaiting her return to the rap game. Check out what fans have to say below.