Onika Tanya Maraj, better known as Nicki Minaj was born on December 8, 1982 in Saint James, Trinidad and Tobago and raised in Jamaica, Queens, New York. She grew up in a troubled family with a father that was a drug addict who later changed after he checked into rehab and started going to church. Minaj went to LaGaurdia High School and studied singing and acting. She was first spotted by the CEO of Young Money, and was later recruited for The Carter Edition of Young Money's own "The Come Up" DVD series. Her rapping skills caught the eyes of Lil Wayne who later worked with her for many collaborations with his mixtapes. In April 2007, Minaj released her first mixtape "Playtime Is Over". One year later she made another mixtape "Sucka Free" which made her Female Artist of the Year at the Underground Music Awards. In 2009 she made her third mixtape "Beam Me Up Scotty" which got positive reviews from BET and MTV. To date, Nicki has released 3 platinum selling studio albums, Pink Friday, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, and the most recent The Pinkprint
Graduated from LaGuardia High School, where she participated in the drama program. She had planned to sing at LaGuardia but lost her voice on the day of the audition.
Has "God you are always with me" tattooed in traditional Chinese letters on her left arm.
Minaj will be the supporting act for Britney Spears on her Femme Fatale tour in America and for three of the UK dates. Minaj also featured alongside Kesha in the remix of Britney Spears song "Till the World Ends".
Had an abortion at age 15 (1997/1998) after being raped. She called it very hard decision and never got pregnant again.
Engaged to Meek Mill [April 2015].
Through Twitter, she started a contest on May 21 2017 to help fans pay off college tuition, student loans and other educational expenses. The stipulations were they had to show her straight As or a 4.0 GPA.
Recieved endorsement deals from Adidas, MAC Cosmetics, Pepsi, among others.
Friends with Foxy Brown , Keke Wyatt , and Kate Upton.
Is of Afro-Trinidadian and Indo-Trinidadian descent.
Was inspired by R&B singer Monica, singing "Why I Love You So Much" at every talent show she entered. Performing in Atlanta on her Pink Friday Tour, she called Monica one of her all-time greatest musical influences.
Artists who have influenced her musical style include Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, Lil Wayne, Smokey Robinson, Lauryn Hill, Jadakiss, Natasha Bedingfield, Remy Ma, Lil Kim, Missy Elliott, Janet Jackson, Madonna, Beyonc, Britney Spears, Marilyn Monroe, Grace Jones, M.I.A., Cyndi Lauper, TLC, Kanye West, Trina, and Drake.
I am so territorial, that [from the start] I just felt like whatever I,was gonna do I was gonna write it myself, its my personal preference to,always be in control of everything I do in life.
But had I accepted the pickle juice, I would be drinking pickle juice right now.
Good advice I always hated, but lookin back it made me greater.
You could never understand why I grind like I doMakiyah & Jalani why I grind like I do,Fame is the worst pain known to man. It’s stronger than heroin.
My goal in the beginning was to buy my mother a house. Now I realize, okay, if I really focus and become a key player in business, then I can build an empire.
Female rappers get it the hardest. You have to be a girl, yet you have to be just as hard as the guys. I think some female rappers get scared out of the business before they can make it.
I think a child may be the only thing that could give me true happiness.
