Rapper Nicki Minaj opened up about her recently reignited relationship with God and what inspired her to speak out for persecuted Christians, suggesting that her rise in the music industry made it more challenging to maintain the spirituality of her youth.
Minaj participated in a conversation with Erika Kirk, the widow of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, during Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest convention on Sunday in Phoenix, Arizona.
The 43-year-old artist, who has become a vocal advocate for persecuted Christians in recent months, especially those in Nigeria, detailed that she has recently felt pulled back to her childhood faith and pursuit of God. She said her faith journey began when she was a toddler in Trinidad. When she and her siblings fought with one another, the rapper said her grandmother would make them go to a room and pray.
“So, later on in my life, well, now it's not much later when I was like 10, 11, 12, I started going to church in New York, and, it changed everything, changed my life for the better because I was going every week, I was hearing the Word of God be preached, and then I was going home and I was applying it to my life, even as a little girl, I learned how to pray very early,” Minaj said.
Minaj was baptized at the age of 13. While she admits that she is imperfect, as she is known for explicit records, Minaj said she still tries to apply the teachings of her faith to her life. But a career in the music industry, she said, made it difficult to maintain a relationship with God.
"Sometimes, I would wake up and feel so far removed from ... fellowship," she said. "I used to go to church on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Three days out of the week. Then later on your life, you become busy, and you start thinking that 'God is in my heart.' ... But then sometimes you can be in an industry as well that pulls you away even more."
“[S]o lately I've been feeling like, you know, like if you haven't seen a long lost best friend for, you know, for a long time, and then you bump into them again, that's how it's been feeling for me, like just going back to God and praying and talking to Him, and you know, and he said to me, ‘Where were you? Where've you been? I've been waiting on you!'”
Ever since she started prioritizing God again in her life, Minaj said that she cares more about whether He is pleased. The rapper also urged young people to put their faith in God, who will always be there in their time of need.
“Wherever you are and whenever you need it, you have something that you can tap into immediately. It's immediate,” she said. “You don't have to leave a message. He's not going to call you back. He's there immediately for you. Call on Him, and on the first ring, He's going to answer.”
Minaj praised the right to worship freely in the United States, something she believes many take for granted. The singer expressed love for Nigeria and said she has a Nigerian pastor, a factor that contributed to her speaking out on social media about the slaughter and abduction of Christians in the region.
"That should spark outrage in the great America, and that's what it's doing. And again, we're not backing down anymore. We are not going to be silenced by the bullies anymore. OK?”
“Know that. Hear that. Receive that. Bullies,” she added. “We won't be silenced ever again. We will speak up for Christians wherever they are in this world.”
Earlier this month, the U.S. State Department announced that the U.S. will restrict visas for Nigerians who have participated in or supported violations of religious freedom, a restriction that could also apply to family members in some cases.
The department announced the policy amid escalating attacks by extremist groups and armed militias, who are responsible for thousands of murders, abductions and widespread destruction across Nigeria. The last decade-plus has seen the rise of Islamic jihadi groups like Boko Haram and the Islamic State in Nigeria's northeast states, while the increase of attacks carried out by radicalized Fulani militias against predominantly Christian communities in the Middle Belt states has escalated to troubling levels.
Anti-Christian persecution advocates have repeatedly raised concerns about the level of violence in Nigeria. Earlier this year, the watchdog group Open Doors placed Nigeria in the seventh spot on its 2025 World Watch List of countries where Christians are most persecuted. The organization has consistently warned in recent years that more Christians are killed each year for their faith in Nigeria than in any other country.
The Nigerian government has pushed back on claims that violence impacting its citizens is inherently religious and rejected allegations that it is enabling a genocide. Amid recent pressure from the Trump administration, the Nigerian government appears to have made assurances to beef up its security forces.
In November, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ordered the recruitment of 20,000 new police officers, in addition to the 30,000 previously approved, and called for their deployment to areas plagued by armed violence.
Last week, the U.S. signed a $5.1 billion bilateral health agreement with Nigeria, which will provide around $200 million to Christian healthcare providers in a bid to protect vulnerable Christian populations.
Minaj, who has praised the Trump administration for its handling of the situation in Nigeria, delivered a keynote address on the issue during an event last month hosted by the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in New York City.
