What began as a joke ended up with dozens of fans receiving help from Nicki Minaj to pay their college tuition, student loans and bills.
The rapper took to Twitter on Saturday night, May 6, to interact with followers who were promoting her new single “Regret In Your Tears” and her upcoming performance at the Billboard Awards in Las Vegas later this month.
Minaj first sent a message to her international fans, offering to pay their airfare from any country to the winner of a contest to spend time with her in Las Vegas. Then, one fan took the chance to jokingly ask Minaj to pay for his tuition. No one was expecting the answer he got from the multiplatinum singer.
At this point, fans went wild asking Minaj – who has been a vocal advocate of education since the beginning of her career – for help and sending screenshots of their GPAs, confirmation from their schools and more.
She even took the time with each case, asking why they needed the help, what expenses were they expecting to pay, a proof of their grades – which had to be straight As – and more. One user wrote, “What about helping a fellow immigrant that wants to go to school?” The Trinidad-born rapper answered, “U want to go to college but can’t? How much do u need to get u in school? Is that the only thing stopping u?”
Requests for the singer kept delivering for hours. A user asked for $1,000 to pay for three summer classes, and Minaj replied, “That’s it? I’ll send it tmrw. dm me ur bank info babe. Next!”
Over 30 fans were offered financial aid from the rapper, and she ended the night jokingly “Ok u guys. It’s been fun. Let me make those payments tomorrow then see if I have any money left.”
For those left out, don’t lose faith. Minaj promised she will be doing more payments in a month or two.
Some students have already received money from Minaj for their college tuition and more
Naturally, Minaj’s promise was hard to believe. But on Sunday, TMZ had already confirmed with some of the students that asked for help, that they had indeed received the transferences.
A fan asked for $1,548 to enroll in college for next year and additional $250 for books; other needed $700 to pay off back loans before she could return to school. The fees ranged up to $6,000 for tuition.
The rapper asked the lucky selected fans for their bank information through the DMs. A person told TMZ she did get $500 from Minaj. Later, the website confirmed 2 more people have received funds from the Grammy nominee, with one payment being for $800.