Nicki Minaj Mourns Family Loss, "My Precious Cousin, My Baby, Killed Last Night"

Young Money's Nicki Minaj has revealed a tragic loss over the Independence Day holiday break by announcing the murder of her cousin.

Minaj tweeted the unexpected news Monday (July 4) afternoon.

"Lived in Brooklyn his whole life. My precious cousin. My baby. Killed last nite. http://lockerz.com/s/117041230," she tweeted.

"*My cousin Nicholas. Also goes by Juse, or @brolicalcoholic* Murdered. Last nite. Near his home. Brooklyn,NYhttp://lockerz.com/s/117042525" (Nicki Minaj's Twitter)

R&B singer Jordin Sparks took note of the news and sent her best wishes to Minaj.

"@NICKIMINAJ sending love & prayers to you and your family. <3," she tweeted July 4th. (Jordin Sparks' Twitter)

Outside of family loss, Minaj recently talked about touring the country on singer Britney Spears' Femme Fatale tour.

"Well, initially, what I thought was I hope this audience will appreciate what I do. What I first dealt with was a bit of the unknown. Is this something that Britney's crowd will even enjoy? But it all went away the first night. I stood in the transporter, that big prop that we have on the stage, and I could not believe the crowd reaction before they even saw me. It was very emotional for me. I was so shocked. I thought, OK, on the [Lil] Wayne tour, this is my audience, everyone that knows Wayne, they know Nicki Minaj. When I heard those screams, it was one of the best feelings in the world. It changed overnight. I'm pleasantly surprised with the people coming out on this show; they generally are coming out not to critique, but to have fun. The hip-hop community tends to be more critical. On this stage, I felt a little bit more free." (Los Angeles Times)

Her debut album, Pink Friday, has sold over a million copies since dropping last November.

Young Money star Nicki Minaj's Pink Friday moved up ten slots to No. 26 with 14,200. With 31 weeks scratched off, her new LP has sold 1,446,400 pieces. (SOHH Sales Wrap)