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Onika Tanya Maraj (born December 8, 1982), known by her stage name Nicki Minaj ( /mɪˈnɑːʒ/), is a Trinidadian-born American recording artist. She was born in Saint James, Trinidad and Tobago, and moved to the Queens borough of New York City when she was five years old. After releasing three mixtapes between 2007 and 2009 and being signed to Young Money Entertainment in August 2009, Minaj released her debut album, Pink Friday in November 2010. It quickly became a commercial success, peaking at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 and being certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) a month after its release.[2][3] She became the first artist to have seven singles on the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time.[4] Her second single, "Your Love", reached #1 on the Billboard Hot Rap Songs chart, making Minaj the first female artist to top the chart unaccompanied since Missy Elliott accomplished it with Work It in 2002.[5] She also became the first female artist to be included on MTV's Annual Hottest MC List.[6] Minaj was named the 2011 Rising Star by Billboard.[7] Contents [hide] 1 Early life 2 Career 2.1 2007–09: Mixtapes and Young Money 2.2 2010–present: Pink Friday and Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded 3 Musical style and image 3.1 Image 3.2 Alter egos 3.3 Influences 4 Personal life 5 Discography 6 See also 7 Notes 8 References 9 External links Early life

Maraj was born in 1982[1][note 1] in Saint James,[8][9][10] (a suburb of Trinidad and Tobago's capital city Port of Spain). Her parents are of mixed Indian and Afro-Trinidadian ancestry[11][12] and she lived in Saint James with her grandmother until age five, because her parents were looking for a place to live in the Queens borough of New York City at the time. Her mother would occasionally visit, and one day, when Minaj was five, her mother picked her up to move to Queens.[13] According to Minaj, her father drank heavily, took drugs, and once tried to kill her mother by setting the house on fire.[14] She attended Elizabeth Blackwell Middle School 210, where she played the clarinet.[13] She graduated from LaGuardia High School.[15][16] At LaGuardia, a school specializing in music and the visual and performing arts, Minaj participated in the drama program.[15] She had initially planned to sing at LaGuardia, but lost her voice on the day of the audition.[15] Career

2007–09: Mixtapes and Young Money Minaj released her first mixtape in 2007 after releasing Playtime Is Over with Dirty Money Records. She released another mixtape on July 7, 2008, titled Sucka Free, under the label Be. On April 18, 2009, Minaj released a third mixtape and appeared in XXL magazine.[17] She won the Female Artist of the Year award at the 2008 Underground Music Awards.[18] Minaj released Beam Me Up Scotty, another mixtape, in April 2009 under the label of Trapaholics Records; it received positive coverage on both BET and MTV.[19][20] In August 2009, Minaj signed a record deal with Young Money Entertainment, with distribution from Universal Motown Records, after fellow American rapper Lil Wayne discovered her and secured the record deal.[17][21] She then had a solo rap verse in their single "BedRock," which became a commercial success, reaching #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Minaj also appeared on "Roger That", which charted at #56. The song, and in particular Minaj, received positive reviews from critics.[22] Both songs were included in Young Money Entertainment's debut collaborative studio album We Are Young Money, which was released in December 2009. The album charted in the top ten on the Billboard Hot 200, reaching #9 and later receiving a Gold Certification by the RIAA. 2010–present: Pink Friday and Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded Main article: Pink Friday

Britney Spears and Minaj performing the Femme Fatale Remix of "Till the World Ends" in the Femme Fatale Tour. After a major record label bidding war, Young Money Entertainment announced on August 31, 2009 that Minaj had been released a 360 deal with the label in which she retains and owns all of her 360 rights – including merchandising, sponsorships, endorsements, touring and publishing.[23] In an interview with 95.8 Capital FM, Rihanna stated that after the two collaborated on "Raining Men" from her album Loud that the duo would be teaming up together for a possible second collaboration on Minaj's Pink Friday.[24] Hip-hop rap artist and producer Kanye West was also confirmed for the album.[25] On August 3, 2010 Minaj revealed on a Ustream.tv channel for her fans that the album's name would be Pink Friday, stating, “To carry on a great tradition of Black Friday, we are going to switch it up this year in honor of the Nicki Minaj album and call that day Pink Friday, and call my album Pink Friday!”[26] Minaj released the artwork for her album cover on October 15, 2010.[27] Pink Friday was released on November 19, 2010 in both standard and deluxe versions.[28][29] A buzz single, "Massive Attack", was released in April.[30] In August, Minaj released "Your Love" as the first official single from her debut album. The single peaked at 14 on the Billboard Hot 100, 7 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and topped the Rap Songs chart. Minaj became the first female artist to be included on MTV's Annual Hottest MC List[6] and the first female artist to top the chart unaccompanied since 2002.[31] In October 2010, Minaj became the first artist to have seven songs on the Billboard Hot 100 chart simultaneously.[4] Minaj released a joint single with The Black Eyed Peas front man, will.i.am titled, "Check It Out", which is Minaj's most successful single to date in Europe. "Right thru Me" was released September 24, 2010; the music video was released in late October. "Moment 4 Life" followed "Right thru Me" and was released as the fourth single. The track featured Canadian rapper Drake and was released on December 7, 2010, becoming a success on the Billboard Hot 100. The single peaked at number 5 on the Hot Rap Songs.[32] The album gained a Platinum certification in the United States a month after the release.[3] On January 29, 2011, Minaj appeared on Saturday Night Live as the musical guest, performing "Right Thru Me" and "Moment 4 Life". On February 9, 2011, it was announced that Pink Friday had reached number one on the Billboard 200 in its eleventh week on the chart.[33] It was hinted by Simon Cowell that Minaj would join the judging panel of the American version of the The X Factor.[34] Starting in June 2011, Minaj will be supporting Pink Friday by serving as an opening act along with Jessie and the Toy Boys and Nervo on Britney Spears' sixth concert tour, the Femme Fatale Tour, in support of her seventh studio album, Femme Fatale.[35] She also was featured on the official remix of Spears' track "Till The World Ends" along with Spears and singer Kesha, which charted at number 3 in the US in April 2011.[36] "Super Bass" was released from Pink Friday in May 2011, the reception of the single was huge after the single charted within the top 10 in many of countries including; United Kingdom, United States, Australia, Canada and more.[37] The song gained positive reviews from critics with some critics saying; "obvious hit",[38] "memorable hooks",[38] "infectious".[39] Minaj will voice a character in the 3D animated film, Ice Age: Continental Drift, as an unknown character,.[40][41] Minaj is also featured on French disc jockey David Guetta's 2011 album, Nothing but the Beat on "Where Them Girls At" and "Turn Me On". She will be featured alongside Madonna and M.I.A on an upcoming single from Madonna's twelfth studio album, for which a music video has been directed by Megaforce.[42] On November 22, 2011, Minaj announced via Twitter that her sophomore album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, is currently in the works set to be released on Valentine's Day 2012. She later retweeted to one of her fans saying that she would release a teaser of the LP's first single on the week of December 6th-9th. The first single from the album, titled "Roman in Moscow," was released to iTunes and to the radio on December 2, 2011. The cover has a red background with the name Nicki Minaj crossed out and instead saying Roman in Moscow. On the top Minaj songs on iTunes, "Roman in Moscow" ranked number three. [43] Musical style and image

Nicki Minaj at 2010 MTV Video Music Awards Image In an interview with Vibe Minaj discussed her sexual image stating, "[w]hen I grew up I saw females doing certain things, and I thought I had to do that exactly. The female rappers of my day spoke about sex a lot... and I thought that to have the success they got, I would have to represent the same thing. When in fact I didn’t have to represent the same thing."[44] In an interview with Interview, Minaj commented on her sexual image again stating, "I made a conscious decision to try to tone down the sexiness, I want people—especially young girls—to know that in life, nothing is going to be based on sex appeal. You’ve got to have something else to go with that.”[45] Minaj has a tattoo in Chinese characters that reads "上帝與你常在" (shangdi yu ni chang zai)[46] on her left arm, meaning, "God is always with you."[47] Alter egos While growing up, Minaj's home life was often chaotic, with her parents constantly fighting.[48] As a means of escape, she would create characters and live her life through them.[48] In an interview with New York she stated, "To get away from all their fighting, I would imagine being a new person. 'Cookie' was my first identity – that stayed with me for a while. I went on to 'Harajuku Barbie,' then 'Nicki Minaj'. Fantasy was my reality."[48] For her debut album, Minaj created another alter-ego named "Roman Zolanski".[49] She stated that in songs like "Bottoms Up" with Trey Songz it is not Minaj rapping, but instead Roman Zolanski, and claims that Roman is her "twin sister". She claims that he was born inside her, out of rage, and becomes him when she is angry. She has also said 'He is a demon inside her'. Roman has been compared to Eminem's alter ego Slim Shady, and on the song "Roman's Revenge" from Pink Friday, Minaj and Eminem collaborate, using these alter egos.[50]On the collaboration, she said "The new album is going to have a lot of Roman on it ... And if you're not familiar with Roman, then you will be familiar with him very soon. He’s the boy that lives inside of me. He's a lunatic and he's gay and he'll be on there a lot." Roman also has a "mother" called "Martha Zolanski",[51] who also appeared on the song Roman's Revenge, with a British accent.[52] Martha appears in the video for "Moment 4 Life" where she appears to be Minaj's magical Godmother. In songs such as "All I Do Is Win (Remix)" it is Minaj rapping.[49] Minaj stated that on her debut album, fans will get to "meet" Nicki, Roman and Onika.[49] On November 18, 2010 Minaj assumed a different alter-ego named "Nicki Teresa".[53] Wearing a colorful scarf around her head, she went around as the "healer to her fans" as she visited them at The Garden of Dreams Foundation at Fuse studios in New York City.[53] Minaj made an appearance on Lopez Tonight on December 6, 2010 and presented a different alter-ego for the Spanish-inspired occasion, named "Rosa" (pronounced Rrrrrosa).[54] Influences Minaj has stated that artists who have influenced her musical style include Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, Lil Wayne, Lauryn Hill, Jadakiss, Natasha Bedingfield, Foxy Brown, Lil' Kim and Missy Elliott.[55][56] She was also inspired by Madonna, Marilyn Monroe, Grace Jones[57] M.I.A and Cyndi Lauper.[58][59][60] Personal life

While some songs and interviews have implied that Minaj is bisexual,[61][62] she has said that she does not date nor have sex with women,[15] but added in an interview with Out magazine, "I don’t date men either."[63] In an interview with Vibe she commented, "I just embrace all people of all lifestyles and I don’t tell them they are bad people. And I say girls are beautiful and girls are sexy and they need to be told that, and if they don’t have anyone to tell them that and mean it, I’m gonna tell them that. But I feel like people always wanna define me and I don’t wanna be defined."[64] She reiterated her dislike of being labeled in an interview with Out, saying: "The point is, everyone is not black and white. There are so many shades in the middle, and you’ve got to let people feel comfortable with saying what they want to say when they want to say it."[63] During an interview in the May 2010 issue of Details, Minaj was asked if she felt hip-hop was becoming more gay-friendly. She responded, "I think the world is getting more gay-friendly, so hip-hop is too. But it's harder to imagine an openly gay male rapper being embraced, people view gay men as having no street credibility. But I think we'll see one in my lifetime."[62] In July 2011, Minaj's cousin Nicholas was murdered near his home in Brooklyn, New York City. Minaj tweeted that she was devastated.[65] Discography

Nicki Minaj portal Main article: Nicki Minaj discography Pink Friday (2010) Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded (2012) See also

List of awards and nominations received by Nicki Minaj Notes

^ Minaj's birthyear has been reported in various media outlets as being 1984. The most definitive source, however, is the official Dallas Police Report from July 2011 which states her birthdate is 12/08/1982. References

^ a b "Dallas Police Department Report". TMZ.Com. Retrieved November 10, 2011. ^ "Nicki Minaj Chart History at Billboard". Billboard. Retrieved February 16, 2011. ^ a b "RIAA Gold & Platinum". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved January 4, 2011. ^ a b "Nicki Minaj Makes History With Seven Billboard Hot 100 Songs". MTV News. October 8, 2010. Retrieved October 29, 2010. ^ Trust, Gary (June 30, 2010). "Chart Beat Wednesday: Train, Dirty Heads, Nicki Minaj". Billboard. Retrieved October 29, 2010. ^ a b "MTV's Hottest MC List". MTV. Retrieved February 16, 2011. ^ http://www.billboard.com/#/events/nicki-minaj-rising-star-1005552552.story ^ Telesford, Nigel (Nov 1, 2010). "Minaj magic". Trinidad Express. Retrieved February 16, 2011. ^ (2010) Album notes for Pink Friday by Nicki Minaj [CD liner]. Young Money Entertainment/Cash Money Records/Universal Motown (0015133-02). "TRINIDAD!!! WE DID IT!!! Thank you so very much for all the love and support. I am truly honored to have been born on the most beautiful island in the world!" ^ Concepcion, Mariel (September 22, 2010). "Nicki Minaj Fans Scammed, Rapper To Perform In Trinidad". Billboard. Retrieved October 21, 2010. ^ McGarry, Kevin (2009) "The New Queen Bee | Meet Nicki Minaj", New York Times, June 4, 2009 ^ "Girls". Complex Magazine. 2009. Retrieved February 16, 2011. ^ a b O'Connor, Siobhan (June 23, 2010). "Character Study: Just How Real Is Nicki Minaj? (Pg 3)". Vibe. Retrieved October 26, 2010."...Nicki was a little girl in Trinidad who missed her mom. Born in 1984, Onika Tanya Maraj spent her first five years in a clown-car of a house, full of cousins and friends and animals. Like lots of people awaiting entry to the United States, Nicki idealized what her life would be like once she got to New York. " ^ "Nicki Minaj: Hip-Hop's Hottest Sidekick Goes Solo". Details. May 2010. Archived from the original on April 19, 2010. Retrieved July 19, 2010. ^ a b c d O'Connor, Siobhan (June 23, 2010). "Character Study: Just How Real Is Nicki Minaj?". Vibe. Retrieved August 28, 2010. ^ Jeffries, David. "Nicki Minaj > Biography". allmusic. Retrieved July 31, 2010. ^ a b "FEATURE: Nicki Minaj:Climax", XXL, November 24, 2008 ^ "Nicki Minaj – Beware Sucka MCs", HipHopRuckus, August 28, 2008 ^ Reid, Shaheem (2009) "Lil Wayne Introduces Nicki Minaj", MTV, May 4, 2009 ^ "SoundOff TV: One On One With LowKey & Nicki Minaj", BET, May 1, 2009 ^ Concepcion, Mariel (January 15, 2010). "Nicki Minaj: Artists To Watch 2010". Billboard. Retrieved October 29, 2010. ^ "Nicki Minaj steals spotlight from fellow Young Money band". Xxlmag.com. Retrieved 2011-08-18. ^ Reid, Shaheem (October 15, 2009). "Nicki Minaj Says Her Debut Single Will Drop Next Month". MTV. Retrieved August 5, 2010. ^ Rihanna launches 'Loud' in London. Capital FM. Retrieved on December 24, 2010. ^ "Nicki Minaj Looks to Kanye West, Swizz Beatz for Debut Album". Rap-Up.com. Retrieved August 5, 2010. ^ "Nicki Minaj Announces Album Title". Rap-Up.com. Retrieved August 5, 2010. ^ Nicki Minaj 'Pink Friday' Album Cover Hits Net. Billboard (September 14, 2009). Retrieved on December 24, 2010. ^ "Pink Friday" (in German). Amazon.de. Retrieved November 2, 2010. ^ Concepcion, Mariel (August 6, 2010). "Nicki Minaj Finishing Next Single, Says Young Money 'Keeps Me Grounded'". Billboard. Retrieved August 7, 2010. ^ "New Music: Nicki Minaj f/ Sean Garrett – 'Massive Attack'". Rap-Up. March 29, 2010. Retrieved July 19, 2010. ^ "New Song: Nicki Minaj – 'Your Love' (2nd Single)". NW Mass Media. May 10, 2010. Retrieved July 19, 2010. ^ Up for Discussion Jump to Forums (December 21, 2010). "Moment 4 Life – Nicki Minaj". Billboard. Retrieved December 25, 2010. ^ "Nicki Minaj Hits No. 1 in 11th Week on Billboard 200". Billboard. February 9, 2011. Retrieved February 9, 2011. ^ Dinh, James (March 25, 2011). "Simon Cowell Addresses Nicki Minaj 'X Factor' Judging Rumors". MTV. Retrieved May 7, 2011. ^ Vena, Jocelyn (April 12, 2011). "Britney Spears To Tour With Nicki Minaj". MTV. Retrieved May 7, 2011. ^ "New Britney Spears remix breaks into Billboard top ten | The Manila Bulletin Newspaper Online". Mb.com.ph. 2011-05-07. Retrieved 2011-08-18. ^ "Chart Stats - Nicki Minaj, "Super Bass"". Chart Stats. Retrieved 2011-07-20. ^ a b Wesley Case (2011-05-06). "Nicki Minaj debuts new 'Super Bass' video". Baltimoresun. Retrieved 2011-05-06. ^ "Sneak Peek: Nicki Minaj – 'Super Bass'". Rap-Up.com. 2011-04-26. Retrieved 2011-05-07. ^ http://www.rap-up.com/2011/08/04/nicki-minaj-joins-cast-of-ice-age-4/ ^ http://www.rap-up.com/2011/08/09/nicki-minaj-says-ice-age-role-was-written-just-for-her/ ^ "Fresh News From The Madonna Team". Icon: Official Madonna website. Madonna.com. 2011-12-07. Retrieved 2011-12-08. ^ http://thisbeatgoes.com/hip-hop-news/nicki-minaj-gives-sophomore-album-pink-friday-roman-reloaded-valentines-day-release-date/ ^ "Nicki Minaj & Friends Cover". VIBE. June 2, 2010. Retrieved July 19, 2010. ^ Rachel, T. Cole (April 2010). "Nicki Minaj". Interview Magazine. Retrieved July 19, 2010. ^ "God's with Nicki Minaj". maydaily.com. Retrieved 2011. ^ "Tattoos". newnickiminaj.com. Retrieved 2011. ^ a b c Lizzy Goodman (June 20, 2010). "Nicki Minaj, the Rapper With a Crush on Meryl Streep". New York (magazine). Retrieved July 22, 2010. ^ a b c Sandra Rose (July 14, 2010). "Was That Nicki Minaj's Alter Ego in the Now Classic "Ate the Box" Video?". Retrieved July 22, 2010. ^ Dawson, Imani A.. "Nicki Minaj Gets 'Revenge' With Eminem". Rap-Up.com. Vibe Media Group. Retrieved November 4, 2010. ^ "Nicki Minaj Turns Heads In London". Blogstodiefor.com. January 20, 2011. Retrieved February 16, 2011. ^ rosa[dead link] ^ a b "Nicki Minaj Has Healing Powers". Rap-Up.com. November 18, 2010. Retrieved February 16, 2011. ^ "Nicki Minaj Introduces New Alter Ego". Rap-Up.com. December 6, 2010. Retrieved February 16, 2011. ^ "Nicki Minaj Interview With Vibe [Speaks On Wayne As An Influence"]. New Lil Wayne. June 28, 2009. Retrieved July 19, 2010. ^ "Nicki Minaj Says Her Album Drops First Quarter Next Year; Can Her Looks Carry Her To Platinum Status?". DimeWars. Retrieved July 19, 2010. ^ "Nicki Minaj/The Musical/Guy Ritchie/Stefano Gabbana". Madonnarama.com. 2010-12-12. Retrieved 2011-08-18. ^ [Nicki Minaj Talks about Her Perfume, Praises Cyndi Lauper and Pisses of Her Nail Lady] ^ Ganz, Caryn (2011-11-28). "M.I.A. Confirms She's Working With Madonna and Nicki Minaj". Spin. Retrieved 2011-12-17. ^ Ganz, Caryn (2011-11-23). "Nicki Minaj’s M.I.A. Love Affair Continues With Killer Bonus Track". Yahoo. Retrieved 2011-12-17. ^ Jonah Weiner (February 22, 2010). "Who's That Girl?". Slate. ^ a b "Nicki Minaj: Hip-Hop's Hottest Sidekick Goes Solo". Details. ^ a b Ganz, Caryn (10 September 2010). "The Curious Case of Nicki Minaj". Out. Retrieved September 19, 2010. ^ "EXTRA, EXTRA: Lost Nicki Minaj Quotes". VIBE. July 6, 2010. ^ Rap star Nicki Minaj's cousin shot dead in Brooklyn, nypost.com, 5 July 2011. External links

Book: Nicki Minaj Wikipedia books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print. Official website Nicki Minaj at the Internet Movie Database Media related to Nicki Minaj at Wikimedia Commons [show] v d e Nicki Minaj [show] v d e Cash Money Records [show] v d e Young Money Entertainment View page ratings Rate this page What's this? Trustworthy Objective Complete Well-written I am highly knowledgeable about this topic (optional)

Submit ratings Categories: Nicki Minaj1982 birthsLiving peopleAfrican American female singersAfrican American rappersAmerican musicians of Indian descentAmerican people of Trinidad and Tobago descentFemale rappersFiorello H. LaGuardia High School alumniHip hop singersNaturalized citizens of the United StatesPeople from QueensPeople from Port of SpainRappers from New York CitySingers from New York CityTrinidad and Tobago emigrants to the United StatesTrinidad and Tobago musiciansTrinidad and Tobago people of Dougla descentYoung Money Entertainment artists Mr Minaj 333My talkMy preferencesMy watchlistMy contributionsLog outArticleDiscussionReadView sourceView historyWatch

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