Nicki Minaj

Nicki Minaj (born Onika Maraj, 8.12.1984)

Nicki Minaj is an American rapper as well as a singer-songwriter. She signed to Young Money Entertainment in 2009.

Nicki Minaj: Childhood

Nicki Minaj was born to parents of Indian and African descent and lived in Trinidad until the age of 5, when she moved to the Queens area of New York. Minaj attended Elizabeth Blackwell Middle School, then graduated from LaGuardia High School, which specialized in music and performing arts

Nicki Minaj: Music Career

Nicki Minaj started her music career by creating mixtapes and was featured in the hip-hop magazine XXL. In 2008, Minaj won the Female Artist of the Year award at the Underground Music Awards. In 2009, she released another mix-tape, Beam Me Up Scotty, which received positive reviews on BET and MTV.

The debut single from Nicki Minaj was 'Massive Attack', released in April 2010. The track features Sean Garrett, who produced the track, along with Alex Da Kid. Hype Williams directed the video for the track. However, the track is not reported to be included on her debut album.

'Your Love' was the first official single from the debut album. The track became her most successful release to date, peaking at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100. The video for 'Your Love' was filmed by Lil X. The second single to be released from the album was 'Right Through Me', released on October 1st on iTunes. The title of her debut album was announced to be Pink Friday, with a release date of November 2010.

In October 2010, Nicki Minaj became the first female rap star to have seven songs in the Billboard Hot 200.

Minaj uses a number of alter-egos and says that the practise dates back to her childhood, when she used different identities as a means of escapism from her parents' fighting. She has called herself 'Harajuku Barbie' as well as 'Nicki Minaj', and on her debut album, she uses the name 'Roman Zolanski'. She states that on the album, her fans get to meet Nicki, Roman and Onika (her real name). Minaj has stated that her musical style has been influenced by the likes of Lil Wayne, Lil Kim and Lauryn Hill.

Nicki Minaj: Personal Life

There has been a great deal of speculation around Nicki Minaj's sexuality, with many claiming that she is bisexual. She, however, has avoided being labeled, but has stated that she feels the world, and in turn, the hip-hop community, is becoming more gay-friendly.