Nicki Minaj Struck In the Face By A Male Acquaintance

TMZ is reporting that Nicki Minaj got into a verbal altercation with a male acquaintance at a Dallas hotel (Palomar Hotel) yesterday. 

Law enforcement officials say that the rap superstar was struck in the lower lip by a man during a heated argument that began at the hotel pool. Soon after, Nicki told a hotel employee to call police while the man went to their hotel room. Nicki followed the unidentified male to the room they shared and after that, their poolside fight continued inside of the room and the man hit her in her lower lip. 

The man had already left the scene when cops arrived ... but Nicki insisted she did NOT want to press charges.  Nicki also claimed she was NOT in a relationship with the alleged attacker.

Cops tell us an incident report was taken ... but no charges will be filed per Nicki's request. 

Calls to Nicki's rep have not been returned. 

Hmmmmmmm. Sounds like a lover's spat to me! Could the unidentified male be her sidekick, Safari, that she claims is just her friend? And what's up with her not wanting to press charges? Is she trying to protect "him"?