Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty 

(née Maraj; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki

Minaj (/mɪˈnɑːʒ/ min-AHZH), is a Trinidadian-born[a] rapper, singer, songwriter and actress. She is
known for her musical versatility, animated flow in her rapping, alter egos and accents. Minaj first
gained recognition after releasing three mixtapes between 2007 and 2009. Her debut album, Pink
Friday (2010), topped the U.S. Billboard 200 chart. Its fifth single, "Super Bass", reached number
three on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and was certified diamond by the RIAA. Minaj's follow-up
album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded (2012) explored dance-pop. The lead single, "Starships",
peaked in the top five worldwide.
Her third album, The Pinkprint (2014) explored more personal topics and marked a return to her hip
hop roots. Its second single, "Anaconda" peaked at number two on the Hot 100 and became the first
music video by a solo female rapper to reach one billion views on YouTube. She released her fourth
album, Queen, in 2018 and it spawned the U.S. top ten single "Chun-Li". In 2019, her collaboration
with Karol G, "Tusa", became the longest-running number-one single on the Argentina Hot
100 chart. Minaj achieved her first two Hot 100 number-one singles in 2020, "Trollz" and "Say So"
and her third with the lead single of her forthcoming fifth studio album, "Super Freaky Girl". It
became the first solo song by a female rapper to debut at number one in the U.S. since 1998.
Referred to as the "Queen of Rap", Minaj is one of the best-selling music artists, with more than 100
million records sold worldwide. Billboard ranked her as the top selling female rapper of the 2010s.
[5]
 She became the first female artist to have one hundred Billboard Hot 100 entries and has twenty
one top 10 hits on the Hot 100, the most for any female rapper. Her various accolades include
eight American Music Awards, five MTV Video Music Awards (including the 2022 Michael Jackson
Video Vanguard Award), twelve BET Awards, four Billboard Music Awards, a Brit Award and
three Guinness World Records. Outside of music, her film career has included voice roles in
the animated films Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012) and The Angry Birds Movie 2 (2019) as well as
supporting roles in the films The Other Woman (2014) and Barbershop: The Next Cut (2016). In
2016, Time included her on their annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Throughout her career, Minaj's outspoken views and social media disputes have received significant
media coverage.[6][7]

Life and career

1982–2003: Early life and childhood
Onika Tanya Maraj was born on December 8, 1982, in the Saint James district of Port of Spain,
Trinidad and Tobago.[8][9] Her father was Robert Maraj (1956–2021),[10] a financial executive and part-
time gospel singer of Dougla (Afro-Trinidadian mother and Indo-Trinidadian father) descent.[11] Her
mother, Carol Maraj, is also a gospel singer with Afro-Trinidadian ancestry.[12] Carol worked in payroll
and accounting departments during Minaj's youth.[13][14] Minaj's father was addicted to
alcohol and crack cocaine[15] and had a violent temper, burning down their house in December 1987.
[16]
 She has an older brother named Jelani,[17] a younger brother named Micaiah,[18] and a younger
sister named Ming.[19]
As a child, Minaj and her older brother, Jelani, grew up with her grandmother in Saint James in a
household with 11 cousins.[16] Minaj's mother, Carol Maraj, was working numerous jobs in Saint
James before getting her green card at the age of 24. She then moved to the Bronx in New York City
to attend Monroe College, leaving both Minaj and Jelani in Trinidad with their grandmother.
Eventually, when Minaj was five, Carol got her first house, on 147th Street in South Jamaica,
Queens and brought both Minaj and Jelani to live with her and their father.[16] Minaj recalled, "I don't
think I had a lot of discipline in my household. My mom motivated me, but it wasn't a strict
household. I kind of wanted a strict household."[20] Minaj successfully auditioned for admission
to Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, which focuses on visual
and performing arts.[8] After graduation, Minaj wanted to become an actress, and she was cast in
the Off-Broadway play In Case You Forget in 2001.[21]
Minaj has revealed that she had an abortion as a teenager in her songs "All Things Go" and
"Autobiography". She has said that although it has "haunted" her, she stands by her decision.[22] At
the age of 19, as she struggled with her acting career, she worked as a waitress at a Red Lobster in
the Bronx, but was fired for discourtesy to customers.[23] She said she was fired from "at least 15
jobs" for similar reasons.[24] Other jobs included customer service representative and office
management on Wall Street. Minaj recalls buying a BMW as a 19-year-old with the money from
waitressing.[25]

2004–2009: Career beginnings and mixtapes

Minaj briefly signed with Brooklyn group Full Force, in which she rapped in a quartet called The
Hoodstars composed of Lou$tar (son of "Bowlegged Lou"), Safaree Samuels (Scaff Beezy) and
7even Up.[26][27] In 2004, the group recorded the entrance song for WWE Diva Victoria, "Don't Mess
With", which was featured on the compilation album ThemeAddict: WWE The Music, Vol.6. Minaj
later left Full Force and uploaded songs on her Myspace profile, sending several of her songs to
people in the music industry. Later, Fendi, CEO of Brooklyn label Dirty Money Entertainment, signed
Minaj to his label in 2007 under a 180-day contract.[28] Originally adopting the stage name Nicki
Maraj, she eventually changed it to Nicki Minaj stating that "my real name is Maraj. Fendi flipped it
when he met me because I had such a nasty flow!"[29]
Minaj released her first mixtape, Playtime Is Over, on July 5, 2007,[30] and her second, Sucka Free,
on April 12, 2008.[31] She released her third mixtape, Beam Me Up Scotty, on April 18, 2009;[32] it
received favorable coverage on BET and MTV.[33][34] At the time, she was managed by Debra Antney.
One of its tracks, "I Get Crazy", reached number 20 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Rap Songs chart and
number 37 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.[35] After Minaj was discovered by fellow rapper Lil
Wayne,[36] she signed a recording contract with his Young Money Entertainment.[37] That November,
she appeared with Gucci Mane and Trina on the remix of "5 Star Bitch" by Yo Gotti.[38]
In early February 2010, Minaj made her first two appearances on the U.S Billboard Hot 100 chart
with her features on "Knockout" and "Up Out My Face" by Lil Wayne and Mariah Carey respectively.
[39][40]
 Minaj also appeared on "BedRock" and "Roger That" on the compilation album, We Are Young
Money (2009).[41][42] The singles peaked at numbers two and 56, respectively, in the U.S. Their parent
album reached number nine on the U.S. Billboard 200, and was certified gold by the Recording
Industry Association of America (RIAA).[43][44] At Jay-Z's suggestion, Robin Thicke featured Minaj on
his single "Shakin' It 4 Daddy".[45] Allison Stewart of The Washington Post stated that, during that
time, she "became the go-to girl for artists who wanted to add some skank to their tracks without
sullying themselves in the process".[46] Minaj became the first female solo artist to have seven singles
simultaneously charting in the U.S.[47]

2010–2011: Breakthrough with Pink Friday

Minaj performing in 2010

On March 29, 2010, Minaj released "Massive Attack" featuring Sean Garrett.[48] Intended as the lead
single from her forthcoming debut album, Pink Friday, the song was dropped from the album due to
poor commercial performance.[49][50] The next single, "Your Love", later became the album's lead
single.[51] Released in June, it peaked at number 14 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and number one
on the Rap Songs chart.[35] In September, Minaj released "Check It Out" featuring will.i.am and "Right
Thru Me" as follow-up singles.[52][53][54]
In October, Minaj was featured on Kanye West's "Monster", a posse cut with Jay-Z and Rick
Ross featuring vocals from Justin Vernon of Bon Iver. Her verse received widespread acclaim with
many critics regarding it as the best verse on that song. Complex rated Minaj's "Monster" verse as
the number-one best rap verse in the past five years,[55] while Sean Fennessey of The Village
Voice stated that "Monster" was "the track that announced Minaj's "brilliance" to most
people."[56] Shortly after, she performed "Monster" with West and Jay-Z at Yankee Stadium,
becoming the first ever female rapper to perform there. In November 2010, Minaj received her
first Grammy Award nomination for her guest verse on Ludacris' song "My Chick Bad".[57]
Pink Friday was released on November 19, 2010, debuting at number two and later reaching
number one on the Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 375,000 copies.[58][59] It had the highest
sales week for a female rap album this century and second highest sales week overall after Lauryn
Hill's The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998). Upon release, the album received generally positive
reviews from critics.[60] The album was certified platinum in December, with it becoming the first
album by a solo female rapper to go platinum in seven years.[61][62] "Moment 4 Life"
featuring Drake was released as the fourth single from Pink Friday shortly after the album's release.
[63]
 The song served as the third single off the album, released as a single on December 7, 2010.
Minaj performed "Right Thru Me" and "Moment 4 Life" as the musical guest on the January 29, 2011,
episode of Saturday Night Live.[64]
"Super Bass", the album's fifth single, was released in April 2011.[65] It became a sleeper hit and
commercially successful, ultimately peaking at number three in the U.S. and was eventually certified
octuple-platinum in the U.S.[35][66] Super Bass was the highest charting solo single by a female rapper
since Missy Elliott's "Work It" in 2002. The music video has 925 million views on YouTube as of
March 2022.[67][68] Early in her career, Minaj identified as bisexual and made several references to it in
her music. However, she eventually stated in a 2010 Rolling Stone interview, "I think girls are sexy,
but I'm not going to lie and say that I date girls."[69] She once again addressed her sexuality in 2020
on Doja Cat's "Say So" remix. The lyrics divided members of the LGBT community, with some
accusing her of "bisexual erasure" while others voicing there is nothing wrong with originally
identifying as bisexual, and then later identifying as straight.[70][71]
Minaj was one of the opening acts on Britney Spears' 2011 Femme Fatale Tour.[72] She
and Kesha appeared on the remix of Spears' "Till the World Ends", which peaked at number three in
the U.S.[73] On August 7, 2011, Nicki experienced a wardrobe malfunction during a live performance
on Good Morning America when she revealed her left nipple. Both ABC and Minaj apologized for the
incident, with Minaj denying it was a publicity stunt.[74][75] Minaj continued to perform at high-profile
events throughout 2011 with Donatella Versace inviting her to perform with Prince for the
introduction of a Versace collection for H&M. She also performed "Super Bass" at the 2011 Victoria's
Secret Fashion Show.[76] In July 2011, her cousin Nicholas Telemaque was murdered near his home
in Brooklyn, an incident she later references in her songs "All Things Go" and "Champion".[77] In
December 2011, Minaj was nominated for three Grammy Awards, including Best New
Artist and Best Rap Album for Pink Friday.[78] Also that year, she won the MTV Video Music Award for
Best Hip-Hop Video for "Super Bass", marking her first VMA win.[79]

2012–2013: Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded and American Idol

Minaj performing in the Hammersmith Apollo during 2012

"Starships" was released in February 2012 as the lead single from Minaj's forthcoming second
album Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded.[80] The song reached number five on the U.S. Billboard Hot
100,[35] and went on to become the fifth best-selling single of 2012.[81] Her crossover into pop music
was criticized by some, despite her commercial success.[82] Follow-up singles "Beez in the Trap"
featuring 2 Chainz and "Right by My Side" featuring Chris Brown were released shortly after.[83][84]
Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded was eventually released on April 2, 2012, two months later than
initially planned.[85] The album was preceded by the promotional singles "Roman in Moscow" and
"Stupid Hoe".[86][87] The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, with first-week sales of
253,000 copies, and was certified platinum by the RIAA in June 2012.[59][88] However, the mix of hip-
hop songs and mainstream pop material received mixed reviews.[89] "Pound the Alarm" and "Va Va
Voom" were later released as the final singles from the album.[90][91] Minaj along with fellow
rapper M.I.A. joined Madonna to perform the single, "Give Me All Your Luvin" during the Super Bowl
XLVI halftime show on February 6, 2012.[92] Minaj was the first solo female rapper to perform at
the Grammy Awards, performing "Roman Holiday" during the 2012 ceremony on February 12.
[93]
 Her exorcism-themed performance was controversial, with the American Catholic League and its
president criticizing her performance.[94][95][96]
Minaj began her headlining Pink Friday Tour on May 16, 2012, which was followed by the Pink
Friday: Reloaded Tour beginning October 14, 2012.[97][98] Although she was scheduled to headline the
June 3 Hot 97 Summer Jam at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, at the request of Lil Wayne she
canceled her appearance the day of the show after Peter Rosenberg of the station dismissed her
single "Starships" as "not real hip-hop".[99] The following month, she voiced Steffie in the animated
film Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012).[100] Minaj won awards for Best Female Video (for "Starships") at
the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards and Best Hip-Hop at the 2012 MTV Europe Music Awards.[101]
An expanded version of Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, subtitled The Re-Up, was released on
November 19, 2012, with seven new songs.[102] That month, she was the subject of a three-
part E! documentary titled Nicki Minaj: My Truth.[103] In September, Minaj joined the judges' panel for
the twelfth season of American Idol with Mariah Carey, Keith Urban, and Randy Jackson.
[104]
 Throughout the show there were disagreements between Carey and Minaj, with both of them
leaving the series at the end of the season.[105][106][107][108]

2014–2017: The Pinkprint and acting ventures

Minaj's first live-action theatrical film The Other Woman was filmed in spring 2013 and premiered on
April 25, 2014.[109] In late 2014, Minaj separated from her longtime boyfriend Safaree Samuels, whom
she had dated since 2003.[b] According to Minaj, he had proposed to her, but she declined.[110] Several
tracks on her forthcoming third album, The Pinkprint, are believed to have been heavily inspired by
the end of their relationship. Minaj began dating rapper Meek Mill in early 2015, shortly after her
breakup with Samuels.[111] As she was working on The Pinkprint, she described the album as "a
continuation of The Re-Up with a lot more" and said it would focus on her "hip hop roots".[112][113]
[114]
 During an MTV interview, she additionally said that it would be "next level" and that she has
"much to talk about".[115]
"Pills n Potions" was released as the lead single from The Pinkprint in May 2014.[116] In July, she
appeared as a featured artist on the song "Bang Bang" with singers Jessie J and Ariana Grande,
which peaked at number three on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. "Anaconda" was released in
August as the second single from the album, peaking at number two, which became her highest-
charting single in the U.S. at the time.[117][118] The music video for "Anaconda" went viral upon release
online; it set a 24-hour Vevo record, accumulating 19.6 million views on its first day of release,
breaking the record previously held by Miley Cyrus for "Wrecking Ball".[119] On November 9, 2014,
Minaj hosted the 2014 MTV Europe Music Awards in Glasgow, Scotland.[120] She also won the Best
Hip-Hop Award for a second time.[120] The Pinkprint was officially released on December 15, 2014,
and debuted at number two in the U.S, with first week sales of 244,000 equivalent units (198,000 in
pure album sales and 46,000 combined album-equivalent units and streams).[121][122] Upon release,
critics praised the production and personal lyrics.[123]

Minaj in a 2016 interview

At the 58th Grammy Awards, Minaj received three more Grammy Award nominations, including a
second Best Rap Album nomination for The Pinkprint, a Best Rap Song nomination for "Anaconda"
and a Best Pop Duo/Group Performance nomination for "Bang Bang".[124][125] In March 2015, Minaj
embarked on her third world tour entitled The Pinkprint Tour and also became the first female artist
to chart four songs simultaneously in the top 10 of Billboard's Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop airplay
chart.[126] At the 2015 BET Awards, Minaj won her sixth consecutive award for Best Female Hip-Hop
Artist, becoming the female rapper with most wins in that category.[127] In August 2015, Madame
Tussauds unveiled a wax figure of Minaj, which depicted a pose from the "Anaconda" music video.[128]
[129]
 The attraction received criticism from some, including Angharad Welsh of The Independent, who
called it "a sexist, racist mistake".[130][131] Despite this, Minaj voiced her approval of the wax figure on
social media.[132]
In May 2015, it was announced that Minaj would feature in the third installment of
the Barbershop film series, alongside Ice Cube, Cedric the Entertainer, Eve, and other original cast
members.[133] Titled Barbershop: The Next Cut, the film was released on April 15, 2016. For Minaj's
performance as a "sassy" hairdresser named Draya, she was nominated for a Teen Choice
Award for Choice Movie Actress: Comedy.[133][134] In September 2015, it was announced that Minaj
would executive produce and appear in a scripted single-camera comedy series for ABC Family
(now Freeform) based on her life growing up in Queens, New York City.[135] The show was
titled Nicki and the pilot episode was filmed in Minaj's hometown in January 2016.[135] In October
2016, Minaj stated the filming was postponed for undisclosed reasons.[136]
In February 2017, Minaj was featured on Jason Derulo's single "Swalla" which reached the top ten in
several countries, including a peak of number six in the UK.[137][138] The following month, Minaj signed
with the major modeling agency, Wilhelmina Models.[139] On March 20, 2017, when her singles "No
Frauds", "Changed It", and "Regret in Your Tears" were released simultaneously, Minaj broke the
record for the most Billboard Hot 100 entries for a female artist, which at the time was previously
held by Aretha Franklin.[140] In May 2017, Minaj opened the 2017 Billboard Music Awards with a
medley performance that was described by Elias Leight of Rolling Stone as "flamboyantly produced"
and "dexterous".[141]
Throughout the remainder of 2017, Minaj performed guest verses on several singles,
including Migos' "MotorSport" and Yo Gotti's "Rake It Up", both of which peaked inside the top ten in
the U.S. at numbers six and eight, respectively.[142] She also featured on Katy Perry's "Swish Swish",
which was certified platinum in the US and Canada.[143] In January 2017, she announced that she had
ended her relationship with Meek Mill.[144][145][146] Shortly after, she briefly dated fellow rapper Nas in
2017 before they broke up in January 2018.[147][148]

2018–2019: Queen and marriage
After a social media hiatus, Minaj released two singles from her fourth studio album Queen. She
released "Chun-Li" and "Barbie Tingz" simultaneously on April 12, 2018, with both reaching number
ten and number twenty-five in the U.S. respectively.[149] She performed "Chun-Li" on Saturday Night
Live and the 2018 BET Awards.[150][151] While "Chun Li" appears on the tracklist of the album, "Barbie
Tingz" is only included on the Target version of the album.[152] On the red carpet of the 2018 Met
Gala, she announced the title of the album and the original release date.[153] The second single,
"Bed", featuring Ariana Grande was released on June 14, 2018, alongside the album pre-order,
reaching number 42 on the Hot 100.[154][155][156] Additionally, Minaj appeared as a featured artist on the
song "Fefe" along with Murda Beatz and Tekashi 6ix9ine. It debuted at number four in the U.S,
marking Minaj's highest debut on the chart at the time, besting the sixth place start of "Bang Bang" in
2014.[157][158] It later peaked at number three and was added to Queen in the middle of its first tracking
week.[157][159] The day before the album's release, Minaj launched her own Beats 1 radio show, Queen
Radio.[160][161]
Minaj performing at the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards

Queen received multiple delays before being released on August 10, 2018.[162][163][164] It debuted at
number two on the US Billboard 200 with 185,000 album-equivalent units, of which 78,000 came
from pure album sales.[165] It debuted at number five in the UK and at number four in Australia,
marking Minaj's highest debut in the latter country.[166][167] Minaj later expressed frustration and
criticized several people including Travis Scott, whose album Astroworld claimed the top spot for a
second week in a row, blocking Queen from the top spot. Minaj alleged that Travis Scott sold shirts,
merchandise, and ticket passes for an unnannounced tour to boost his album sales.[168] This
controversy and Queen's roll-out was documented by several news outlets and commentators.[169][170]
[171]
 Queen received generally positive reviews, with some critics deriding the album's length and
direction.[172] The album was certified Platinum by the RIAA in January 2019, for moving over 1 million
equivalent units.[173]

Minaj performing with Little Mix at the 2018 MTV Europe Music Awards

Minaj performed at the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards where she also won her fourth MTV Video
Music Award for the "Chun-Li" music video.[174] The same month, she featured on the remix of "Idol"
by South Korean boy band BTS. It debuted and peaked at number eleven in the U.S. which was the
group's second highest charting song at the time.[175] She also featured on the song "Woman Like
Me" by British girl group Little Mix, which was released on October 12, 2018.[176] A music video was
shortly released after, with Minaj and Little Mix later performing the song together at the 2018 MTV
Europe Music Awards.[177] She was also featured on "Dip" by American rapper Tyga which reached
number sixty-three in the U.S. making her the first female artist to have 100 entries on
the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[178] She later attended the year-end Billboard Women in Music event,
receiving the Game Changer Award for the accomplishment.[179]
In September, Minaj co-headlined the annual Made in America Festival and suffered another
wardrobe malfunction when the front of her outfit fell open.[180] In November, she was invited to the
DWP music festival in China but did not perform due to problems with the company hosting the
event.[181] The next year in April 2019, Minaj made a surprise guest appearance at the
2019 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival during Ariana Grande's set where they performed
their collaborations "Side to Side" and "Bang Bang". However, she experienced technical difficulties
with her earpiece.[182] Later that month, Minaj parted ways with her longtime management team after
a mutual agreement, with American entertainment executive Irving Azoff serving as her new
manager.[183][184]
In June 2019, Minaj released a standalone single titled "Megatron" along with an accompanying
music video. In the U.S, the song debuted at number twenty. A month later, she provided information
on her upcoming fifth studio album, appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, stating
that "there's definitely a new album, of course."[185] She featured on the song "Hot Girl Summer"
alongside fellow female rapper Megan Thee Stallion in August 2019, which reached number eleven
in the U.S.[186] Minaj began dating her childhood friend Kenneth Petty (nicknamed "Zoo") in December
2018, and after less than a year of dating, filed for a marriage license in August 2019.[187][188] She
announced that they had officially married in October, hyphenating his last name to hers upon
marriage.[189]
Minaj had a voice role as Pinky in The Angry Birds Movie 2, which was released in August 2019.
[190]
 In November, Minaj appeared on the Charlie's Angels: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack on the
song "Bad To You", along with Ariana Grande and Normani, marking her sixth collaboration with
Grande.[191] Minaj also collaborated with Colombian singer Karol G on the song "Tusa", which was
released to streaming platforms on November 7. The song reached forty-two in the U.S. and
reached the top of many other charts including the "Hot Latin Songs" chart, which made it the first
song with two lead female artists to debut in such position.[192] "Tusa" later became the longest-
running number one single in Argentina, spending five months on the top of the chart.[193]

2020–2021: Motherhood, Beam Me Up Scotty re-release, and

lawsuit
In January 2020, Minaj was featured on "Nice to Meet Ya" by American singer-songwriter Meghan
Trainor. The song is from the latter's third studio album, Treat Myself (2020).[194][195] In February, she
released a standalone song called "Yikes" as a promotional single.[196][197] By the end of that month,
Minaj appeared as a guest judge on the twelfth season's premiere of the reality television
show RuPaul's Drag Race.[198][199] In March, her husband Kenneth Petty was entered into the
California Megan's Law database after he was charged for failing to register as a sex offender after
he relocated to California. Petty had been convicted of attempted rape in New York and had served
nearly four years in prison for it.[200][201][202] For this new charge, he was sentenced to one year of house
arrest and a fine of $55,000 USD in 2022.[203]
In May, fellow rapper Doja Cat announced a collaboration with Minaj on two remixes of her song
"Say So". The remix later debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, becoming both
Minaj and Doja Cat's first single to reach number one in the U.S. It became the all-female
collaboration that had reached number one in the U.S. since "Fancy" by Australian rapper Iggy
Azalea featuring English singer Charli XCX did it in 2014.[204] It marked the first time that a song by
two female rappers reached the top, for which Guinness World Records later gave them an award.[205]
[206]
 A month later, she released a collaboration with 6ix9ine called "Trollz", which debuted at number
one in the U.S. becoming Minaj's second number one single.[207] This made Minaj the first female
rapper to debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 since Lauryn Hill did so in 1998 with "Doo
Wop (That Thing)".[208] The song dropped to number 34 in its second week, at the time breaking the
record for biggest fall from number one in the U.S.[209][210][211]
In July, Minaj announced via Instagram that she was expecting her first child.[212] She gave birth to a
son on September 30, 2020, whom she refers to publicly as "Papa Bear". His real name is still
unknown.[213][214][215][216] She later collaborated with rappers ASAP Ferg and MadeinTYO on a song called
"Move Ya Hips".[217] Almost a month later, Minaj featured on rapper Ty Dolla Sign's track "Expensive".
[218]
 She continued to appear as a featured artist on several songs in late 2020,[219][220] and released
"What That Speed Bout!?" with producer Mike Will Made It and rapper YoungBoy Never Broke
Again on November 6.[221] On the 10th anniversary of her debut album Pink Friday (2010), Minaj
announced a six-part docuseries about her, produced by Bron Studios and was originally said to
premiere on HBO Max.[222][223] However, in 2022, the streaming platform confirmed it dropped the still-
unreleased project.[224][225]
The next year in February 2021, Minaj's father, Robert Maraj, died while walking along a road
on Long Island in a hit-and-run accident.[10] Charles Polevich, a 70-year-old man, was charged as the
suspect of Maraj's death. Polevich was arraigned and charged with two felonies, which were leaving
scene of incident involving death of a person and tampering with or suppressing physical evidence.
[226]
 Three months later, she commented on her father's death in a letter, saying, "[..] it has been the
most devastating loss of my life. I find myself wanting to call him all the time, more so now that he's
gone. [...] May his soul rest in paradise. He was very loved & will be very missed."[227]
In May 2021, Minaj released a reissue of her mixtape Beam Me Up Scotty (2009), including new
songs previously unavailable on streaming services. The reissue debuted at number two on the
U.S. Billboard 200, which gave it the highest debut for a female rap mixtape in the U.S.[228][229] A song
from the reissue, titled "Seeing Green" featuring fellow Young Money rappers Drake and Lil
Wayne reached number twelve in the U.S. and appeared in the mid-year "Best Hip Hop Songs of
2021 (so far)" critics list by magazine HipHopDX.[230] Minaj's verse on "Fractions" from the reissue
appeared on the mid-year "Best Rap Verses of 2021 So Far" critics list from Complex.[231] In July,
Minaj collaborated with fellow rapper Bia on the remix of her song Whole Lotta Money. The remix
appeared on several "Best Songs of the Year" lists from publications such as Rolling
Stone and NPR.[232][233]
In August, her husband's victim (named Jennifer Hough) filed a lawsuit against Minaj and Petty for
alleged harassment and intimidation. She later gave an interview about the accusations on the
daytime talk show The Real.[200][234] While Minaj has not publicly commented on the lawsuit, she
addressed the accusations in a case filing: "I never asked [Hough] to change her story, I never
offered her any money in return for a statement, and I did not threaten her with any type of harm if
she chose not to provide a statement."[235] Hough later voluntarily dropped the case against Minaj,
with her lawyers claiming "jurisdictional issues" and telling a judge that it was going to be refiled in
California.[236][237] Minaj's lawyer countered their claims, saying that the refiling was a "friviolous gambit
to avoid sanctions" and that "their claims received an aggresive response."[237] Hough's initial claim of
refiling the case was in January 2022.
In September, Minaj collaborated with English singer-songwriter Elton John's fifth collaboration
album The Lockdown Sessions (2021). She appeared on the song "Always Love You" with John and
rapper Young Thug.[238] Later that month, she split with her previous manager Irving Azoff and is now
being managed by Wassim Slaiby, also known by his management company SALXCO, who is best
known for managing The Weeknd and Doja Cat.[239] Furthermore, English singer Jesy
Nelson released her solo debut, called "Boyz", which Minaj features on. The song peaked at number
four in the UK and number sixteen in Ireland.[240][241] In October 2021, Minaj appeared as a surprise
host for the season six reunion of the reality television show The Real Housewives of Potomac.[242] In
November 2021, her 2011 Pink Friday single "Super Bass" received a Diamond certification by
the RIAA, making her the second solo female rapper to receive a diamond certification.[243] Minaj won
the Best Hip Hop award in the MTV Europe Music Awards 2021, becoming the sixth time she has
won this award.[244]

2022–present: Upcoming fifth studio album

At the beginning of the year, after a social media hiatus, Minaj announced a song collaboration with
rapper Lil Baby called "Do We Have a Problem?".[245] The track was released on February 4, along
with a music video that featured guest appearances from actors Joseph Sikora and Cory Hardrict.[246]
[247]
 The video also contained a snippet of another Lil Baby collaboration titled "Bussin", which was
officially released a week later, on February 11.[248][249][250] "Do We Have a Problem?" debuted and
peaked at number two on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. It became Minaj's twentieth top ten entry in the
U.S, extending her record as the female rapper with the most U.S. top ten singles. In a
promotional Apple Music interview with DJ Zane Lowe, Minaj said her forthcoming fifth studio album
is "coming very soon".[251] She described it as "fun, gutta, and back to the basics".[252] Her other
ventures also include fronting the campaign for the "Heaven" Spring 2022 collection by Marc Jacobs,
which launched on March 3.[253][254]
In March, Minaj collaborated with fellow rapper Coi Leray on a song titled "Blick Blick", from the
former's debut studio album, Trendsetter (2022).[255][256] Prior to the song's release, she revealed that
her verse was almost scrapped due to American rapper Benzino (who is also Coi Leray's father)
leaking the collaboration.[257][258] Later that month, she surprise-released the standalone single "We Go
Up" featuring rapper Fivio Foreign.[259][260] The drill track was initially teased on Minaj's social media as
a scrapped song from her album, before fans had requested her to release the song.[259][261][262] The
next month, Minaj appeared on English television host James Corden's Carpool Karaoke segment,
kickstarting its returning broadcast on The Late Late Show with James Corden after a two-year
hiatus.[263][264] After that, she was named the new creative director of American men's
magazine Maxim and became the new global ambassador and advisor for MaximBet, a sports
betting brand launched by Maxim. She also came along on board as a stakeholder.[265][266][267][268]
In early July, Minaj did several live performances by headlining the 2022 Essence Music
Festival in New Orleans and the 2022 Wireless Festival in London.[269][270][271] The same month, she
posted a snippet of a song on social media that samples American singer Rick James's 1981 song,
"Super Freak."[272] On July 22, she announced that the full track would be released on August 12.
[273]
 She revealed the song's title as "Super Freaky Girl" and the accompanying cover art for the song.
[274][275]
 On July 28, 2022, she released a two-minute trailer of her upcoming six-part docu-series titled
"Nicki", produced by Canadian production company Bron Studios.[224][225][276] After its initial release,
"Super Freaky Girl" received an extended version called the "Roman Remix", which features the
return of her alter ego Roman Zolanski.[277][278]
"Super Freaky Girl" debuted at number one in the U.S, making the song Minaj's third U.S. number
one and her first unaccompanied number one. It became the first solo song by a female rapper to
debut at number one in the U.S. in 22 years, after fellow rapper Lauryn Hill's song "Doo Wop (That
Thing)" also debuted at number one in 1998.[279] On August 28, 2022, Minaj released a compilation
album called Queen Radio: Volume 1 with one new track, "Likkle Miss (Remix)" with Skeng.[280] On
September 9, 2022, Minaj released a remix of "Super Freaky Girl" called "Queen Mix", which
features 5 other female rappers: JT, BIA, Katie Got Bandz, Akbar V, and Maliibu Miitch.[281]
On September 12, 2022, Yung Bleu released his single "Love in the Way" featuring Minaj with video
released on September 19.[282] On October 6, 2022, Minaj and Skeng released a remix of "Likkle
Miss" called "THE FINE NINE REMIX" featuring Spice, Destra Garcia, Patrice Roberts, Lady
Leshurr, Pamputtae, Dovey Magnum, Lisa Mercedez, and London Hill.[283] On October 21, 2022,
rapper YoungBoy Never Broke Again released a collaboration with Minaj titled "I Admit".[284]

Artistry
Musical style
When I started rapping, people were trying to make me like the typical New York rapper, but I'm not that. No disrespect to New
York rappers, but I don't want people to hear me and know exactly where I'm from.
— Minaj on her rapping style in a Billboard interview[24]
Minaj performing during the Femme Fatale Tour in 2011

Minaj is known for her animated rapping style and "unique" flow.[285] Her rapping is distinctive for its
speed and the use of alter egos and accents, primarily British cockney.[286][287] She often both sings
and raps in her songs, and has made use of metaphors, punch lines, and word play. The alter egos
are incorporated with her lyrics in British accents (Roman Zolanski) or soft-spokenness (Harajuku
Barbie). Ice-T said about Minaj's rapping style, "[Minaj] does her thing. She has her own way of
doing it. She has an ill vocal delivery. She kind of reminds me of a female Busta Rhymes, like how
she throws her voice in different directions."[288]
Jon Caramanica of The New York Times called Minaj "a sparkling rapper with a gift for comic
accents and unexpected turns of phrase. She's a walking exaggeration, outsize in sound, personality
and look. And she's a rapid evolver, discarding old modes as easily as adopting new
ones."[287] Although many critics describe her technique as bubblegum rap, Minaj said: "What people
don't know is that before I was doing that craziness I was doing me, I was just doing regular
sounding rap that anyone could hear and identify with. But once I started doing all that weird shit—
I'm not mad at it because it got everyone's attention."[289] Robby Seabrook III of XXL included Minaj in
list of "most unique flows from rappers over the last five years", saying that she "has solidified her
spot as a leader of the pack for her animated flows, inspiring many other women in hip-hop to play
with their vocals. She goes from campy to bellicose, excited to eccentric, oftentimes all on one
song."[290]
Noted as a rap artist, she also occasionally lends herself to electronic music
genres (especially electropop).[291] Pink Friday marked her exploration of the genres, spawning
electro songs including the pop-laden "Super Bass".[292][293] Also combining rap with synthesizer music,
Minaj's second album, Pink Friday Roman Reloaded, had a number of electro-hop and electro pop
songs: "HOV Lane", "Whip It", "Automatic", "Come on a Cone", "Young Forever", "Fire Burns",
[294]
 "Roman Holiday",[295] "The Boys" and "Beez in the Trap";[296] while "Starships" is a eurodance song.
[297]

Her verse on Kanye West's "Monster" was critically acclaimed and contributed greatly to her
popularity; many critics said she had the best verse in the song.[298][299] West claimed at one point he
considered deleting her verse from the track, because he was worried it would outshine his own
work:
It was like that moment when I thought about taking Nicki's verse off of 'Monster' because I knew
people would say that was the best verse on the best Hip Hop album of all time or arguably top ten
albums of all time. And I would do all that work, eight months of work on Dark Fantasy and people to
this day would say to me 'My favorite thing was Nicki Minaj's verse'. So if I let my ego get the best of
me instead of letting that girl get the shot to get that platform to be all she could be, I would take it off
or marginalize her, try to stop her from having that shining moment…[300]
Tara Colley of The Conversation described Minaj as a "pre-eminent female rapper" and that she has
"consistently straddled the distinct personas of gangsta boss and sexy pop siren without truly
committing to either" and that "her chameleonic ability" matches "some of rap's most verbose, witty,
filthy and pop-friendly" stars such as Eminem and Lil Wayne.[301] Zoe Johnson of XXL, stated that in
recent years Minaj's "beat selection has moved to refined production full of grit and hip-hop flare in
recent years".[302]

Alter egos
"Roman Zolanski" redirects here. Not to be confused with Roman Polanski.
With her parents frequently fighting during her childhood, Minaj lived through characters she created
as a means of escape. She recalled that "fantasy was my reality" and her first identity was Cookie,
who became Harajuku Barbie and (later) Nicki Minaj.[303] In November 2010, Minaj assumed the alter
ego Nicki Teresa, wearing a colorful headdress and calling herself "healer to her fans" during a visit
to the Garden of Dreams Foundation at Fuse Studios in New York.[304] She introduced another alter
ego, Rosa (pronounced with an exaggerated R), to commemorate her December 2010 appearance
on Lopez Tonight.[305]
One of Minaj's most well-known alter-egos is "a demon inside her" named Roman Zolanski (named
after film director Roman Polanski with modified surname), Minaj's "twin brother", whose character
she assumes when she is angry.[306] Roman has been compared to Eminem's alter ego Slim Shady,
and on "Roman's Revenge" Minaj and Eminem collaborate as their alter egos.[307] On her next album,
she said that there would be a lot of Roman: "And if you're not familiar with Roman, then you will be
familiar with him very soon. He's the boy that lives inside of me. He's a lunatic and he's gay and he'll
be on there a lot."[308] Roman has a mother, Martha Zolanski,[309] who appeared on "Roman's
Revenge" with a British accent[310] and singing on "Roman Holiday" for the first time.[311][312] Martha
appeared in the "Moment 4 Life" video as Minaj's apparent fairy godmother.[306]

Influences
According to Minaj, rappers Jay-Z (left), Foxy Brown (center) and Lil Wayne (right) are her three biggest
influences.

Minaj cites Lil Wayne, Foxy Brown, and Jay-Z as major influences: "I can't even imagine my career,
um, my creative spirit without Wayne. [...] I feel like I'm still intertwined with him creatively." Minaj has
called Lil Wayne her mentor and credited him with discovering her.[313][314] On Foxy Brown and Jay-Z,
Minaj said: "I really loved [Foxy] as a female rapper. I was really interested in her mind and her aura
[and] I was really, really into Jay-Z. Me and my friends in high school, we were reciting all of the Jay
lyrics. His words were our words in our conversations all the time."[315]
She said, further: "I never really told Foxy how much she has influenced me and how much she
changed my life" adding that Foxy Brown was "the most influential female rapper" for her.[316] Minaj
said in a T Magazine interview in 2017: "Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, Foxy Brown... [...] Those are the three I
keep in my head when I'm writing because they've influenced me so much, [...] I feel like I'm a part of
all of them."[317]
Jada Pinkett Smith is one of Minaj's role models in her acting career.[318] Minaj was inspired
by R&B singer Monica, singing "Why I Love You So Much" at every talent show she entered. While
performing in Atlanta as part of her Pink Friday Tour, she called Monica one of her all-time greatest
musical influences. Lauryn Hill is also one of Minaj's major influences, with Minaj quoting her lyrics in
a high school yearbook.[319][320] Minaj has also cited Madonna, Enya, Eminem, Beyoncé, Kanye
West, Trina, Drake, Remy Ma, and Lil' Kim as influences.[321][322][323][324][325]
She called Betsey Johnson a fashion inspiration: "[Betsey] is a free spirit. When I met her the other
day, I felt like I knew her for my whole life. She's so warm and considerate and caring. She's
amazingly talented and I've been wearing her clothes forever, so to meet her was like, 'Yay!' [I was]
bowing down to her; she's dope!"[326] Minaj has also expressed appreciation for Cyndi Lauper's style
and how her videos inspired her as a teenager: "When I first went to get my hair colored, I was about
14 and I wanted blonde highlights. The beautician said, 'No, you have to get your mother on the
phone,' and I was just crying and begging. I've always been experimenting. Cyndi Lauper's videos –
that's what intrigued me."[327]
Public image

Early in her career, Minaj often wore colorful costumes, cosmetics, and wigs

Billboard listed Minaj the fourth-most-active musician on social media on its March 2011 Social
50 chart.[328] Minaj is also the most followed rapper on Instagram with over 200 million followers, the
first to surpass that number, as well as one of the most followed female musicians on the social
media platform.[329][330] On Twitter, she is one of the most followed rappers, with over 26 million
followers on the app, as of September 2022.[331][332] She joined American Idol as a judge in 2013.[333]
[334]
 BET has named Minaj as a "gay icon".[335] Minaj was a vocal proponent of streams counting
towards an artist's RIAA certifications. The organization later announced in 2016 that it would be
modernizing the certification process for albums, including on-demand audio and video streams, as
reported by Yahoo! News.[336][337]
Minaj has been called as a "fashion icon" by Allure, Time, XXL and has been called a "camp style
icon" by Refinery29.[338][339][340][341] She has cited Alexander McQueen, Gianni Versace, and Christian
Louboutin as her favorite designers.[342] The Huffington Post described her style as "risk-taking" and
"far-out", with "bold sartorial choices";[343] Minaj has been included on the annual Maxim Hot 100
list several times.[344][345] In 2014, Minaj underwent a reinvention in her image sporting a "natural" and
"softer" look, wearing fewer wigs and less colourful costumes.[346] She stated that she "went so far to
the other side that there's only one place to go from there. You can either continue doing costumes
or you can just say, "Hey guess what? This will shock them even more. Doing nothing will shock
them even more"".[346][347]
Her physique, notably her buttocks, has attracted significant attention from the media.[348][349] Early in
her career, she made autographing breasts part of her movement to empower women.[350] In 2010,
she said that although she originally felt obligated to mimic the provocative behavior of the "female
rappers of [her] day", she intended to subdue her sexuality because she "[wants] people—especially
young girls—to know that in life, nothing is going to be based on sex appeal. You've got to have
something else to go with that."[351][352]
Minaj talked about feminism in an interview with Vogue in 2015, saying "There are things that I do
that feminists don't like, and there are things that I do that they do like. I don't label myself. I just say
the truth about what I feel. I feel like women can do anything that they put their minds to."[353] In 2018,
an interview with Elle, in which she discussed sex workers, her own sex appeal, and sexuality in
music and on social media, attracted criticism.[354][355] In The New York Times Magazine, music critic
Vanessa Grigoriadis said that Minaj "has become expert at modelling the ways that women can
wield power in the industry. But she has also drawn attention to the ways in which power can be
embodied by a woman standing up for herself and speaking her own mind."[356]
The cover art and music video for her 2014 single, "Anaconda", attracted significant media attention
upon release.[357] The music video was viewed 19.6 million times in its first 24 hours of release.
[358]
 The Guardian called the video "racy" but noted that she "doesn't shy from ruffling her audience's
feathers",[359] while others praised Minaj for "owning her sexuality",[360] examining her work through
a feminist perspective.[357][361][362][363] Another writer for The Guardian said, of the "Anaconda" video,
Minaj turns "the classic song into a conversation, and [refuses] to let the camera objectify her lap
dance by keeping it zoomed out, at a distance."[364]
Minaj's fanbase, known as the "Barbz", have been reported as often being militant towards Minaj's
critics, including incidents reportedly involving cyberbullying and death threats.[365][366][367][368]
CREDITS TO WIKIPEDIA