Onika Tanya Maraj, better known as Nicki Minaj, was born on December 8, 1982 in Saint James, Trinidad and Tobago, but moved to New York at the age of five. Nicki Minaj is a Trinidadian born American recording artist signed to Young Money Entertainment. Her parents were of mixed Indian and Afro-Trinidadian ancestry.
In 2007, Minaj began her music career and released her first mixtape Playtime Is Over. In August 2009, American rapper, Lil Wayne discovered and secured a record deal with her with Young Money Entertainment with distribution from Universal Motown Records. Her 2010 debut album, Pink Friday, peaked at the top of the U.S. Billboard 200 and being certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America a month after its release. In August, Minaj released Your Love as the first official single from her debut album. The single peaked at 14 on the Billboard Hot 100, 7 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and topped the Rap Songs chart. Minaj became the first female artist to be included on MTVs Annual Hottest MC List. Other singles: Check it Out, Right thru Me, Moment 4 Life, among others.
In May 2011, Super Bass was released from Pink Friday and charted within the top 10 in many of countries including United Kingdom, United States, Australia, Canada and more.
Nicki says, I just embrace all people of all lifestyles and I don’t tell them they are bad people. And I say girls are beautiful and girls are sexy and they need to be told that, and if they don’t have anyone to tell them that and mean it, I’m gonna tell them that. But I feel like people always wanna define me and I don’t wanna be defined. The point is, everyone is not black and white. There are so many shades in the middle, and you’ve got to let people feel comfortable with saying what they want to say when they want to say it.
