Nicki Minaj, born Onika Tanya Maraj on December 8, 1982, in St. James, Trinidad and Tobago, is a Trinidadian-born rapper, singer, songwriter, and actress. She moved to Queens, New York, at about five years old. Her early life was marked by challenges, including a tumultuous family environment, which she often escaped through creative outlets like writing her first rap at 12 and pursuing acting at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts.
Music Career:
Minaj’s music career began with backup singing for local New York City rappers. Her Myspace videos caught the attention of a local record label, eventually leading to a connection with rapper Lil Wayne. Together, they worked on mixtapes, starting with “Playtime Is Over” in 2007. Her growing exposure led to her being named Female Artist of the Year at the Underground Music Awards in 2008. In 2009, she signed with Young Money Entertainment, founded by Lil Wayne.
Her debut studio album, “Pink Friday” (2010), topped the US Billboard 200 and featured the hit single “Super Bass,” which achieved RIAA diamond certification. She explored dance-pop with her second album, “Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded” (2012), producing the internationally successful single “Starships,” also certified diamond. Returning to her hip-hop roots, her third and fourth albums, “The Pinkprint” (2014) and “Queen” (2018), yielded hits like “Anaconda” and “Chun-Li.” In 2020, she achieved her first two Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles as a featured artist on Doja Cat’s “Say So” and 6ix9ine’s “Trollz.” Her first solo US number-one song, “Super Freaky Girl,” was released in 2022. Her fifth studio album, “Pink Friday 2” (2023), debuted at number one in the US, breaking several female rap sales and streaming records.
Career Statistics and Achievements:
Sales: Minaj is among the world’s best-selling music artists, with over 100 million records sold, making her the best-selling female rapper. She has three diamond-certified songs by the RIAA and, in 2024, became the first female rapper with multiple diamond-certified solo songs. She is also among the RIAA’s 50 highest-certified digital singles artists.
Awards: Her accolades include a Brit Award, five Billboard Music Awards, nine American Music Awards, eight MTV Video Music Awards (including the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award), 13 BET Awards, a Soul Train Music Award, and three Guinness World Records. Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2016, and she was honored with the Billboard Women in Music Game Changer Award in 2019.
Tours: Her “Pink Friday 2 World Tour” (2024) became the fourth-highest-grossing tour for a rapper and the highest-grossing tour for a female rapper in history.
Other Ventures:
In 2023, Minaj launched her record label imprint, Heavy On It Records, with a roster including Nana Fofie, Tate Kobang, Rico Danna, and London Hill. She has also ventured into acting, with roles in films like “Ice Age: Continental Drift” (2012), “The Other Woman” (2014), “Barbershop: The Next Cut” (2016), and “The Angry Birds Movie 2” (2019). Additionally, she has a fragrance line, a press-on nails line, a Loci sneakers collection, and hosted the radio show “Queen Radio” (2018–2023).
Recent Developments:
In October 2024, Minaj was a featured speaker at Vogue’s Forces of Fashion event, where she discussed motherhood, her evolving style, and breaking records with her “Pink Friday 2 World Tour.” She reflected on her initial aspirations to be an actress, the importance of her fan base, the Barbz, and how becoming a mother to her four-year-old son has positively influenced her life and creativity.
