Nicki Minaj
Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (née Maraj; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj (/ˈnɪki mɪˈnɑːʒ/ NIK-ee min-AHZH), is a Trinidadian rapper, singer, and songwriter based in the United States.
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Nicki Minaj
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| Born |
Onika Tanya Maraj
December 8, 1982 Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
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| Years active | 2004–present |
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| Spouse |
Kenneth Petty
(m. 2019) |
| Children | 1 |
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| Origin | New York City, US |
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| Website | nickiminajofficial |
Regarded as the “Queen of Rap” and one of the most influential rappers of all time, she is credited as a driving force in the mainstream resurgence of female rap in the early 2010s. Known for her dynamic rap flow, witty lyrics, musical versatility, and alter egos, Minaj first gained recognition after releasing three mixtapes between 2007 and 2009.
Early life
Nicki Minaj was about five years old when her family moved to Queens, New York, from Trinidad and Tobago. Her childhood was dominated by a violent drug-addicted father, and she spent time creating fantasies for herself that would allow her an escape from her tumultuous life. She adopted a new name, Nicki Minaj, from that practice. Other creative outlets included writing her first rap song when she was 12 years old and pursuing acting at New York City’s Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts.
Personal life
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Minaj revealed that she had an abortion as a teenager, which she had referenced in her songs “Autobiography” and “All Things Go”. She said that it was the hardest thing she had gone through, and although it “haunted” her she stands by her decision as she “didn’t have anything to offer a child” and she is pro-choice. In July 2011, her cousin Nicholas Telemaque was murdered near his home in Brooklyn, an incident she referenced in “All Things Go” and “Champion”. Minaj’s father, Robert Maraj, died in February 2021 in a hit-and-run accident in Long Island. Charles Polevich, a 70-year-old man, was charged with leaving the scene of incident involving death of a person and tampering with or suppressing physical evidence.
At a New York Fashion Week after-party in 2018, rapper Cardi B threw one of her high heel shoes in Minaj’s direction and attempted to physically attack her; bodyguards intervened, leaving Cardi B with a bump on her forehead. She then alleged on Instagram that Minaj had “liked” negative social media comments about her ability to take care of her newborn daughter. Minaj denied the allegations on her Queen Radio show, stating that she would “would never…speak ill of anyone’s child”, and expressed embarrassment at the incident. She accused Cardi of building “her career off of sympathy and payola”, bribing DJs and radios with sex to play her records, and not writing her raps. Minaj also called Cardi a “disgusting pig” for allegedly cyberbullying a caller on Minaj’s show by attacking her dead child, and posts calling dark-skinned black women “cockroaches”.
In September 2021, Minaj responded to a fan’s question about her lack of appearances at public events, stating that she did not want to put her infant at risk due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and that she had tested positive for the virus and had to quarantine from her son. She said she was getting the COVID-19 vaccine after she felt she had done enough research, and she would be vaccinated before she went on tour. She had also tweeted that her cousin in Trinidad told her that his friend suffered swollen testicles and became impotent after taking the vaccine, a claim that received backlash and was denied by Trinidad and Tobago health minister Terrence Deyalsingh, who stated that there was no evidence of that. In May 2022, Olivia Truffaut-Wong of The Cut stated that Minaj had likely gotten vaccinated as the 2022 Met Gala (which Minaj attended) required proof of vaccination and a negative COVID-19 PCR test to attend.
Relationships
Minaj dated rapper Safaree Samuels from 2003 to 2014. She said he proposed to her but she declined. She dated rapper Meek Mill from early 2015 until January 2017. In December 2018, Minaj began dating her childhood friend Kenneth Petty (born April 7, 1978). She announced their marriage in October 2019, hyphenating his last name to hers. In July 2020, she announced via Instagram that she was expecting her first child. She gave birth to a son on September 30, 2020, whom she refers to publicly as “Papa Bear”.
Music career
Minaj entered the music business as a backup singer for local aspiring rap singers in New York City. She included videos of her work on her Myspace page, which was seen by a local record label. Minaj eventually came to the attention of rapper Lil Wayne, and the two worked on some mixtapes (recordings), the first of which, Playtime Is Over, appeared in 2007.
As other mixtapes were released, Minaj’s exposure grew, and the next year she was named Female Artist of the Year at the Underground Music Awards. In 2009 she signed with Young Money Entertainment, the label founded by Wayne; the label would release numerous hits by Wayne, Minaj, and Drake. She scored her first Grammy Award nomination in 2010 for the song “My Chick Bad,” a collaboration with Ludacris.
Her first album for Young Money, Pink Friday (2010), made it to the top of the Billboard 200 chart. It featured sexually explicit lyrics—which are common in her recordings—and Minaj embraced the shock value of her work. The title also reflected her preference for the color pink, a predilection that she used in branding her albums and such later consumer items as her Pink Friday perfume and Pink Pill speakers. Pink Friday earned Minaj three more Grammy nominations, including for best rap album.
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In 2012 Minaj released her second album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, which featured a number of pop songs, notably the hit single “Starships.” The following year Minaj became a judge on the reality TV singing competition American Idol. She caused controversy with her blunt opinionated judging style and with her frequent disputes with fellow judge Mariah Carey. After one season Minaj left the program. Also in 2013 she claimed title to a record 44 appearances—the most by a female rapper—on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Minaj’s third studio album, The Pinkprint, was released in 2014. It notably contained several breakup songs as well as “Anaconda,” which was a return to her earlier rap style. Queen (2018) featured collaborations with such performers as Eminem and the Weeknd. In 2020, Minaj was featured on two songs that reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart: “Say So,” a collaboration with Doja Cat, and “Trollz,” with 6ix9ine. Two years later she released “Super Freaky Girl,” a humorous and raunchy take on Rick James’s classic 1981 hit “Super Freak.” Minaj’s single debuted at number one on the Hot 100 chart, the first song by a solo female rapper to do so since 1998. Its music video, which depicted Minaj as a pink-haired suburban femme fatale, won Minaj her fifth MTV Video Music Award for best hip-hop video.
In 2023 Minaj appeared on the soundtrack for the blockbuster film Barbie, teaming up with rapper Ice Spice and sampling Danish band Aqua’s 1997 dance hit “Barbie Girl” for the song “Barbie World.” The song garnered two Grammy nominations. That same year Minaj released Pink Friday 2, a sequel to her 2010 studio album.
Acting career
Minaj has also occasionally acted, and her movie credits include The Other Woman (2014) and Barbershop: The Next Cut (2016). She lent her voice to the animated comedies Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012) and The Angry Birds Movie 2 (2019).
