- Biography
Nicki Minaj (born Onika Tanya Maraj) grew up in Queens, NY and skyrocketed to fame after a slew of mixtapes between 2007 to 2009 upon which she signed to Young Money Entertainment in 2009. She is the best selling female rapper of all time and has released three studio albums since signing to Republic/Cash Money. Born in Trinidad and Tobago, Nicki was always enamored by the arts; her larger-than-life personality and skills on the mic are all thanks in part to her time at LaGuardia High School in NYC. In the mid-aughts, she released her critically acclaimed Playtime is Over mixtape. After a chance meeting with Lil Wayne, who collaborated with her during those early mixtape days, Nicki quickly joined forces with Young Money. Since her 2010 debut album, Pink Friday, which is certified 3x Platinum, she has landed on the Billboard Hot 100 over 80 times. She’s a hitmaker in every sense of the word and has dominated the last decade of pop culture. While she’s hard at work on her next album, Nicki let off a few guest verses over 2017 to keep fans afloat, including Migos‘ “MotorSport” featuring Cardi B. Her fourth studio album, Queen, has been certified gold by the RIAA.