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Nicki Minaj Biography

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Who is Nicki Minaj – a Peek into Her Childhood

The stalwart rapper – Nicki Minaj – has taken the entire world by storm with her incredible talent. Since 2007, she has sold more than 137 million records worldwide and is rightly deemed ‘The Queen of Rap.’ But, like many other iconic personalities, her rise to fame was an undulating terrain with ups and downs. Many don’t know, but Nicki Minaj’s real name is Onika Maraj-Petty. Nicki Minaj’s nationality is Trinidadian but she moved to New York at 5. Her father – Robert Maraj, who passed away in 2021, was a financial executive and a part-time gospel singer, and her mother – Carol Maraj – was also a gospel singer.

In an interview, she stated that the notion of female empowerment was always at the back of her mind. She wanted her mother to be stronger, but she could not be, and thus, Minaj thrived on changing things and making her mother’s life better.


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An image of Nicki Minaj in an award function


Minaj has an older brother named Jelani, a younger brother named Micaiah, and a younger sister named Ming. Nicki Minaj’s birthday is on December 8, 1982.  She moved to New York at 5. Along with her older brother – Jelani, Nicki spent their childhood in their grandmother’s home in Saint James, Trinidad, in a household of 11 cousins. Their mother – Carol Maraj – had to work several jobs in the city before getting the American Card at the age of 24. After that, she moved to the Bronx in New York to attend Monroe College, leaving Minaj and Jelani's grandmother in Trinidad. Eventually, when Nicki Minaj’s age was five, Carol could get a house for herself in Queens, and Minaj and Jelani migrated to the States to live with their mother and father. Minaj’s childhood was lenient, although her mother motivated her throughout.

Minaj graduated from a Music and Performing Arts high school and ventured off to pursue her acting dreams. In 2001, the young Nicki Minaj was given a role in the Off-Broadway play – ‘In Case You Forget.’ While looking for career opportunities in acting at the age of 19as fired, Minaj was simultaneously waitressing at Red lobster in The Bronx. But, she was fired for being discourteous to customers. It is alleged that Nicki was fired from at least 15 jobs for similar reasons – discourtesy. Well, she was oozing out sass even before being a star.

Born to Shine – Minaj’s Rise as a Rapper

After discarding her full name, Nicki Minaj underwent a series of trials and errors related to different stage names like Cookie and Harajuku Barbie, the name Nicki Minaj was chosen by young Onika. Minaj had a knack for performance since childhood, as at the age of 12, she penned down her first rap. After an eventual failure of numerous acting gigs, Minaj decided to make it big in the music industry. She took up backup singing roles for New York City rappers, including Full Force. She soon began authoring her material.

Subsequently, Minaj was discovered by the Dirty Money CEO – Fendi, who encountered Nicki’s MySpace page and was mesmerized by what he heard, and signed her to his label. Ultimately, via a long line of connections, Minaj was led to Lil Wayne, who collaborated with her on a mixtape series, the first of which – Playtime Is Over – was released in 2007. With the subsequent mixtape releases like Sucka Free and Beam Me Up Scotty, Minaj was able to showcase her rare swagger.

Early in her career, Minaj garnered attention for her exaggerated wigs, colourful costumes, distinct flow, and the use of alter egos and accents, especially the British Cockney. In 2010, she released her debut studio album – Pink Friday – which was certified triple platinum by RIAA and peaked at number one on the Billboard 200.

The album’s song ‘Super Bass’ was the highest-charting female rap song since 2002. Nicki’s second album – Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded - was released in 2012, and there was a shift towards dance-pop and rap pop songs. The music album attained the number one spot on the Billboard 200, and its lead single ‘Starships’ peaked at number five on the Hot 100. With the release of the third and fourth albums in 2014 and 2018, Nicki Minaj’s songs transitioned back to hip hop. The song ‘Anaconda’ from Minaj’s third album gained a cult-like status and made her the first-ever rapper to have a solo female rap to reach one billion views on YouTube. So, how old was Nicki Minaj when achieved worldwide fame? She was probably in her mid-twenties.

In 2009, Minaj released a collaboration piece with Karol G, which became the longest-running number-one single on the Argentina Hot 100, spending nearly six months as number one on the chart. Minaj is the only one of two women artists with more than a hundred entries on the Hot 100 and singer-songwriter, Taylor Swift. In 2020, Minaj was the most streamed female rapper on Spotify. The illustrious accolades of Nicki seem countless. She was named Billboard’s top female rapper of the decade and the most successful female artist of the decade of all the genres. Minaj is also the highest paying female rapper of all time, charging up to USD 500000 per feature. In 2021, Forbes named Nicki Minaj as the most successful woman in hip hop history. In addition to her music career, Nicki has voiced animated characters in several movies such as Ice Age: Continental Drift, The Angry Birds Movie 2, and so forth. Minaj is the most followed rapper on Instagram. Similar to Nicki Minaj’s real name, her music career is unique and fascinating.

The Flagbearer of Novelty – Nicki Minaj 

Words actually fall short to describe Nicki Minaj’s biography. The flashy and over-the-top style of Minaj’s music has created a legacy that has inspired a throng of female rappers such as Doja Cat, Meghan Thee Stallion, Asian Doll, and so forth. She wanted young girls all over the world to know that they can succeed even without sexualizing themselves. Minaj has been awarded six American Music Awards, twelve BET Awards, four MTV Video Music Awards, four Billboard Music Awards, and two Billboard Women in Music Awards. She is also the most followed rapper on Instagram, with more than 130 million followers. Nicki Minaj has also been associated with numerous philanthropic ventures. She recently offered to pay the tuition fee of 30 of her fans. She has contributed to the Bail Project related to the Black Lives Matter Movement and the Red Cross.

The name Nicki Minaj is a brand in itself. The career graph of Minaj continues to rise, and it seems that there is nothing that can stop her. In terms of her personal life, Minaj began dating her childhood friend Kenneth "Zoo" Petty and opted for a marriage license in August 2019. She announced that they had been officially married on October 21. She changed his last name to hers upon marriage, becoming Maraj-Petty. Nicki Minaj has a family of three right now as she gave birth to a baby boy in 2020 and is currently married to Kenneth Petty. Minaj’s professional achievements are boundless and reflect a historical moment in the hip-hop genre. With songs like Chun-Li and Anaconda, Minaj has forged an invaluable place in the music industry for herself. Nicki Minaj’s age, currently, is 38 years and she is revolutionizing like no one else.

FAQs on Nicki Minaj Biography

1. What was the reason behind Nicki Minaj's feud with Jennifer Lopez and Mariah Carey?

Ans: In 2012, in the popular TV show American Idol, Nicki Minaj told Jennifer Lopez to ‘scoot over a little bit’ to make room for her at the judge's table. Rumours then began of a feud between Minaj and Lopez, which Minaj later dismissed. Later that year, however, Minaj got her wish to be announced as a judge on the hit show -American Idol. It didn't take long before the catty eye rolls began between her and fellow judge Mariah Carey. The duo seemed to instantly dislike each other and openly feuded during the show's early auditions.

2. What are a few of the business ventures of Nicki Minaj?

Ans: Minaj had launched a line of fragrances in September 2012. She continued to launch perfumes, and in 2016, Minaj launched her eighth fragrance, "Trini Girl.” In 2018, in support of her fourth album, she released her ninth fragrance, "Queen.” She partnered with Back Brands to introduce her first fragrance – Pink Friday- a commercial hit and was also nominated for three FiFi Awards. She had collaborated with MAC Cosmetics in 2010, with Mattel in 2011, and Nokia in 2012. In early 2013, Minaj brought out the Viva Glam campaign by herself, including the inception of "Nicki 2 lipstick and lip gloss". She also fronted the "Nicki Minaj Collection" clothing line for Kmart, composed of clothing, accessories, and housewares. Minaj became the co-owner of the music streaming service Tidal in 2015. IN 2019, Nicki Minaj collaborated with the luxury clothing brand – Fendi – and they launched a collection in the same year.