Nicki Minaj is one of the best-selling and most influential female rappers in music history, known for her rapid-fire flow, chart-topping hits, and larger-than-life persona. From her early years in Queens to becoming a Young Money star, her career is packed with milestones.
Here are the verified facts behind the hype.
Nicki Minaj was born Onika Tanya Maraj on December 8, 1982, in Saint James, Trinidad and Tobago.
She moved to Queens, New York, with her family when she was about five years old.
She gained early attention through a string of mixtapes in the mid-to-late 2000s, which caught the eye of rapper Lil Wayne.
She signed with Lil Wayne's label, Young Money Entertainment, in 2009.
Her debut studio album, Pink Friday, was released in 2010 and reached number one on the US Billboard 200 chart.
She has released five studio albums to date: Pink Friday (2010), Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded (2012), The Pinkprint (2014), Queen (2018), and Pink Friday 2 (2023).
In 2019, Nicki Minaj became the first female rapper credited with more than 100 million certified units by the RIAA across albums, singles, and features.
Her accolades include multiple MTV Video Music Awards, American Music Awards, and Billboard Music Awards, including the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award in 2022.
She is known for her distinctive visual style, including colorful wigs, exaggerated characters, and bold fashion choices.
She served as a judge on season 12 of American Idol in 2012 and 2013.
She has collaborated with a wide range of artists, including Beyoncé, Justin Bieber, and her Young Money labelmate Lil Wayne.
Some of her biggest hit songs include "Super Bass," "Starships," and "Anaconda."
She was named to Time magazine's list of the 100 Most Influential People in 2016.
In 2012, she launched a fragrance called Pink Friday, named after her debut album.
She has also taken on acting roles, including in the films The Other Woman (2014) and Barbershop: The Next Cut (2016).
She has built a large social media following, with tens of millions of followers across platforms like Instagram and X (formerly Twitter).
She has supported charitable causes over the years, including donating to individual fans and families in need.
In 2019, she announced she was retiring from music, but she went on to release new music and collaborations in the years that followed.
Her stage name, Nicki Minaj, was inspired by a nickname combined with a version of the word "menage," though she has given varying accounts of its origin over the years.
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