Nicki Minaj is retiring, at least according to her Twitter account. She says she wants to start a family. Minaj may be departing from the limelight amid more recent controversies, including an ill-advised collaboration with convicted child pornographer 6ix9ine and an ongoing feud with insurgent rap queen Cardi B. But Nicki’s reign as the queen of rap deserves our respect and a walk down memory lane.

The Trinidadian-born starlet cut her teeth in the outer-borough rap scene of New York City, dropping a number of mixtapes well-received in the rap world until industry kingmaker Lil Wayne discovered her. She appeared on a number of Billboard-ranking singles, but it wasn’t until Minaj performed the single best verse on the single best album of Kanye West’s entire career to date that she exploded into the ranks of not just rap, but musical royalty.