Nicki Minaj Shout-Out to Papa Bear at 2022 MTV VMAs

Nicki Minaj gave her son a sweet shout-out on Sunday, Aug. 28, during the MTV Video Music Awards. Minaj, who served as an emcee at the ceremony alongside LL Cool J and Jack Harlow, accepted the Video Vanguard Award and performed a medley of her hits.

At the end of her acceptance speech, Minaj told the crowd at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, “I have a new baby; his name is Papa Bear.” She continued, “Papa Bear, I love you so much. Mommy loves you so, so, so much.”

Papa Bear, who Minaj shares with husband Kenneth Petty, was born in September 2020. She has not publicly shared his legal name. Minaj recently revealed that she’s going to release a docuseries about her life, so maybe we’ll see even more of Papa Bear when it’s released.

The proud mom also just hit another major milestone in her career. Her newest song, “Super Freaky Girl,” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. She’s the first solo woman rapper to debut in the top spot since Lauryn Hill did it back in 1998 for “Doo Wop (That Thing).” The song is Minaj’s third No. 1 single overall. On Aug. 23, the “Super Bass” rapper shared a video of balloons outside her house to celebrate the song from the team at Republic Records. In the clips, Papa Bear runs through the balloons, playing with them. She wrote in part, “Mama loves you papa bear. You make every single moment worth it.”