Nicki Minaj

**Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty** (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as **Nicki Minaj** (), is a Trinidadian rapper, singer and songwriter based in the United States.

## Background

Nicki Minaj, born Onika Tanya Maraj on December 8, 1982, is a Trinidadian-born rapper, singer, songwriter, and actress. Nicki Minaj moved to Queens, New York City at age five. Her father went to rehab for alcoholism in 2012. Minaj claimed he burned down their house in her youth. As a teenager, Minaj had an abortion, which is referenced in her song "All Things Go" from _The Pinkprint_.

### 2009 - 2011: Beginnings and _Pink Friday_

Minaj has built a successful and multifaceted career spanning in music, acting, and business ventures. In August 2009, Nicki Minaj signed to Young Money Entertainment with distribution from Universal Motown. Her debut album, _Pink Friday_, was released on November 9, 2010. It climbed to number one on the US _Billboard_ 200 album chart and contained the singles "Your Love", "Moment 4 Life" (featuring Canadian rapper Drake), "Super Bass", "Did It on 'Em", and "Fly" (featuring Barbadian singer Rihanna). The first, second, and fifth singles reached the top 20 in the US, while "Super Bass" managed to peak at number three on the _Billboard_ Hot 100 and peaked in the top ten around the world. The song has been certified 8× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for combined shipments and streams of 8 million copies in the US alone. Minaj was also featured with Kesha on a remix of Britney Spears' song "Till the World Ends".

Minaj has been instrumental in challenging the patriarchal norms of the music industry, as a Black female rapper. Additionally, in Minaj's early career she used sexuality as a way to gain fans and relate to audiences. She was able to gather a large female and LGBT+ identifying audience through her implying that she was bisexual herself. Through her wigs, costumes, and bold designs she attracted fans from the LGBT+ community, who found themselves to be able to identify with her boldness and expressivity.

### 2012 - 2013: _Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded_ and _The Re-Up_

Minaj released a single, "Starships", on Valentine's Day of 2012, before releasing her second studio album, _Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded_, on April 3, 2012. This album contained more pop- and dance-leaning songs, with some songs produced by RedOne (known for working with Jennifer Lopez and Lady Gaga) and Dr. Luke.  "Starships" reached number one in Scotland and the top five in the US, UK, and Canada. Minaj released two more singles from the album, "Pound the Alarm" and "Va Va Voom", which both reached the top 25 of the _Billboard_ Hot 100. She was featured on David Guetta's single "Turn Me On", which reached the top ten worldwide. Minaj re-released _Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded_ later in the year as _Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded - The Re-Up_ that contained songs like "Va Va Voom" and "Freedom".

From 2012 to 2013, she was featured as a judge on the music competition series _American Idol_ alongside Keith Urban, Mariah Carey, and Randy Jackson.

### 2014 - 2017: _The Other Woman_, _The Pinkprint_, and other projects

In 2014, Minaj was featured in the film _The Other Woman_. She released her third studio album, _The Pinkprint, _in December of that year. It was preceded by the singles "_Anaconda_", which samples the 1992 hit single "Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix-A-Lot, and "Only". "_Anaconda_" reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Minaj's highest-peaking song in the United States up until 2022. Minaj performed "Anaconda" at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards.__

Minaj was featured on Guetta's single "Hey Mama" alongside Bebe Rexha and Afrojack, along with Ariana Grande's "Side to Side".

On March 10, 2017, Minaj released three singles: "No Frauds", "Regret in Your Tears", and "Changed It". "No Frauds" became a top 20 hit in the US. Minaj took a break from social media at the end of the year to focus on new songs.

### 2018 - 2019: _Queen_

On April 13, 2018, Minaj released two singles: "Chun-Li" and "Barbie Tingz". The first reached number 10 on the _Billboard_ Hot 100 and was picked as the lead single from Minaj's fourth studio album, _Queen_. "Barbie Tingz" reached number 25 in the US but was later removed from the track list for _Queen_, except as a Target edition bonus track. The promotional single "Rich Sex", featuring American rapper Lil Wayne, was also released from the album. Minaj was featured on the single “Fefe” by rapper 6ix9ine which reached number three on the Hot 100 in both the US and Canada.

Minaj released a new single, "Megatron", on June 21, 2019.

### 2020 - present:  Hiatus and Pink Friday 2

After a social media hiatus, Minaj returned to Twitter and Instagram on January 30, 2020. The following day she appeared in the music video for Meghan Trainor's single, “Nice to Meet Ya” which also featured Minaj. On February 7, Minaj released her first single of 2020, titled “Yikes”.

Minaj was featured in two remixes of the song “Say So” by American rapper Doja Cat. The song would go on to become her first US number-one hit. On June 12 Minaj featured on the song “Trollz” by rapper 6ix9ine. The song went on to become Minaj’s second US number one.

In 2021, Minaj released the song Boyz (feat. Nicki Minaj) with Jesy Nelson.

In 2022, Minaj released her first greatest-hits album, _Queen Radio: Volume 1_. It featured the single "Super Freaky Girl", which became her third US number-one single when it debuted atop the Hot 100.

Minaj released her fifth studio album, Pink Friday 2 on December 8, 2023. It was preceded by the singles Super Freaky Girl, Red Ruby Da Sleeze, and Last Time I Saw You.

## Public image

Nicki Minaj has been known for her fashion and style. In the first few years of her career, she wore many colourful costumes and wigs, making her very recogniseable. Minaj has created several alter egos which she has performed as including Nicki Teresa, Harajuku Barbie, and Roman Zolanski.

Known as the Queen of Rap, she is the most-followed rapper on Instagram with over 227 million followers.

### Relationships with other celebrities

During her career, Nicki Minaj has had complicated relationships with other celebrities. She had a close friendship with Ariana Grande in the 2010s. However, Minaj has also been involved in public feuds with other celebrities such as Cardi B, another popular female rapper. Their feud began in 2017 and received a lot of media attention after Cardi B tried to fight Minaj at the 2018 New York Fashion Week.

## Activism

Minaj has supported many causes and donated to many charities including food banks, the Red Cross, and projects to fund a school for girls in Trinidad and help a village in India. In 2019, she cancelled a show in Saudi Arabia to make clear her support for women's rights, the LGBT community, and freedom of expression. During the first presidency of Donald Trump, she spoke against his anti-immigration policies. She supported Black Lives Matter.

Minaj has spoken a lot about freedom of religion. She has supported victims of police brutality and violence against Christians in Nigeria.

In 2025, Minaj appeared at a Turning Point USA event with Erika Kirk. At the event, Minaj spoke in support for Donald Trump. Many fans felt that this was a big change from her previous beliefs, as Trump's second presidency has been controversial.

## Personal life

Minaj had dated Safaree Samuels for 11 years, and later dated rapper Meek Mill from 2015 till January 2017. In November 2018, She began dating Kenneth "Zoo" Petty. She has known him since her teenage years. They married in October 2019, after just one year of dating. After the marriage, Minaj changed her surname to Maraj-Petty. In July 2020, Minaj announced that she is expecting a child. In September 2020, Minaj gave birth to a baby boy. Out of respect for the baby's privacy, she nicknamed him "Papa Bear" for use in public.

Minaj is a Christian.

In 2011, her cousin Nicholas Telemaque was murdered in Brooklyn, New York.

In 2020, her brother Jelani Maraj was sentenced to jail for 25 years after sexually assaulting a child.

### Studio albums

- _Pink Friday_ (2010)
- _Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded_ (2012)
- _The Pinkprint_ (2014)
- _Queen_ (2018)
- _Pink Friday 2_ (2023)

### Mixtapes

- _Playtime Is Over_ (2007)
- _Sucka Free_ (2008)
- _Beam Me Up Scotty_ (2009)

### Re-releases

- _Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded - The Re-Up_ (2012)

### Compilations

- _Queen Radio: Volume 1_ (2022)

## Filmography

|Year|Title|Role|Notes|||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|2010|_Nicki Minaj: My Time Now_|-|TV documentary|rowspan="9"||
|rowspan="3"|2012|_Nicki Minaj: My Truth_|-|TV documentary; executive producer||
|_The Cleveland Show_|Herself|Episode: "Menace II Secret Society"||||
|_Ice Age: Continental Drift_|Steffie|Voice role||||
|2014|_The Other Woman_|Lydia|Feature film|||
|2014 - 2020|_Steven Universe_|Sugilite|Voice role|||
|2015|_Nicki Minaj: My Time Again_|-|TV documentary|||
|2016|_Barbershop: The Next Cut_|Draya|Feature film|||
|2019|_The Angry Birds Movie 2_|Pinky|Voice role|||

## Infobox (infobox)

- **child**: yes
- **header**: Logo
- **headerstyle**: background:#b0c4de


## Infobox (musical artist)

- **embed**: yes
- **background**: solo_singer
- **instruments**: Vocals
- **origin**: New York City, US


## Infobox (person)

- **name**: Nicki Minaj
- **image**: Nicki Minaj MTV VMAs 4.jpg
- **caption**: Minaj in 2018
- **birth name**: Onika Tanya Maraj
- **birth place**: Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
- **years active**: 2004–present
- **partners**: Safaree Samuels (2003–2014)
Meek Mill (2015–2017)
- **children**: 1
- **awards**: List of awards and nominations received by Nicki Minaj, Full list