Robert Maraj, the father of Nicki Minaj, was tragically killed in a hit-and-run accident on February 12, 2021, in Mineola, New York. He was 64 years old. Maraj was reportedly crossing the street when he was struck by a car driven by Charles Polevich, a 70-year-old man. Maraj was taken to a hospital in critical condition and died the following day. Polevich was arrested and charged with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death and tampering with physical evidence.
A financial executive and part-time gospel singer, Maraj struggled with drug addiction and was violent with his wife, but eventually went to rehab and got clean. Nicki Minaj had a complicated relationship with her father, but things improved once he got sober. His death was a devastating loss for Minaj and her family. Here, she discusses the loss of her father.
Minaj gave birth to a son on September 30, 2020, whom she refers to publicly as "Papa Bear." Minaj's father never got to meet Papa Bear but had arranged a flight to visit them. Three days before the trip, he was run down by Polevich's vehicle. Here, Minaj talks to her son about his late grandfather.
You never got to meet Papa
He sweet proper, he keep Mama on my toes
I needed help, you booked a flight
In three days, you'd meet Papa
Minaj explained: "He called me and said he would come to help us with the baby on Monday. It was a Friday. I was rocking Papa in his room in his rocking chair. Hours later I got the call about the accident. I just knew he'd pull through. But the next call that followed changed my world forever."
The song starts off with audio of Minaj talking to Papa, where she encourages him to say "Hi."
In verse one, Minaj takes us through the emotional roller coaster of her father's hospitalization following the hit-and-run that eventually claimed his life. The second verse delves into the lasting effects of her challenging childhood with her dad, shedding light on how it influences her role as a mom. She reaches out to Papa, seeking forgiveness for her failings.
Billie Eilish's sped-up vocals from her 2018 track "
When The Party's Over" are sprinkled throughout "Are You Gone Already," including on the chorus. Its emotional production also samples Eilish's brother Finneas' soundscape from the same song.
Today, it's 12/3/23
"Are You Gone Already" is the opening track of Minaj's fifth studio album, Pink Friday 2. She says it was the most challenging track on the record for her to write. "The first song on my album took me months. Months," she explained. "Closer to a year. I ran from it. Couldn't stop crying. You'll hear me say the date that I wrote the second verse of the song."
The completed song must have been a last-minute addition, as Pink Friday 2 was released five days later.
Speaking with Apple Music's Ebro Darden, Minaj revealed the story behind "Are You Gone Already." She said she had a phone call with her father right before she went to bed with her newborn baby. "He was very happy," Minaj recounted, "and he was like, 'Baby, I could come on Monday' because he had been waiting to be able to come to Cali to help me. I kept on saying, 'Come on out.' He wasn't really happy, but I knew that, when he came be with us, we were going to be happy."
So Minaj went to bed, and sometime late while she and the rest of the family were asleep, the phone rang. "It was my mother" she said, "telling me that my father was in an accident and that she didn't know what was going to happen, and she would call me back. And then, everything started spinning."
"To get that call, and it's the exact replica of a call," Minaj added. "I had in about four or five dreams, but it was the exact replica of one particular dream I had about this."
Minaj also said that she calls her son Papa Bear because like her little boy, her father was sweet and kept her on her toes.
