Va Va Voom
Nicki Minaj | |
|---|---|
 Nicki Minaj performing at the MTV Video Music Awards | |
| Born | Onika Tanya Maraj December 8, 1982 |
| Citizenship | Trinidadian / American |
| Education | Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2004 - present |
| Height | 157 cm (5 ft 2 in) |
| Spouse | Kenneth Petty (m. 2019) |
| Children | 1 |
| Awards | Full list |
| Musical career | |
| Origin | New York, USA |
| Genres | |
| Instruments | Vocal |
| Labels |
|
| Website | nickiminajofficial |
Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj (/mɪˈnɑːʒ/), is a Trinidadian rapper, singer, songwriter, actress and model based in the United States. She is known for her strange style, funny voices, colorful wigs and costumes, talented bars and lyrics, and characters she uses in her music.
Nicki Minaj became the first and only female rapper to be listed on Forbes' Hip Hop Cash Kings list.[3]
Nicki Minaj is known as the Queen of Rap[4] by many sources and is considered to be one of the pillars of female hip-hop.
Minaj's fanbase are called the Barbz and are known for their fanaticism about Minaj and their almost cult-like behavior towards subjects relating to the artist.
Background
Nicki Minaj moved to Queens, New York City at age five. Her father went to rehab for alcoholism in 2012.[5] Minaj claimed he burned down their house in her youth.[6] As a teenager, Nicki Minaj had an abortion, which is referenced in her song "All Things Go" from The Pinkprint.[7]
Career
2009 - 2011: Beginnings and Pink Friday
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.[8] Minaj was also featured with Kesha on a remix of Britney Spears' song "Till the World Ends".
Nicki Minaj has been instrumental in challenging the patriarchal norms of the music industry, as a Black female rapper. Additionally, in Nicki 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.[9] 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
Nicki 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, she 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. Nicki Minaj performed "Anaconda" at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards.[10]
She 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, Nicki Minaj released three singles: "No Frauds", "Regret in Your Tears", and "Changed It". "No Frauds" became a top 20 hit in the US.[11] 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, Nicki 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.[12] 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.
Nicki Minaj released a new single, "Megatron", on June 21, 2019.[13]
2020 - present: Hiatus and Pink Friday 2
After a social media hiatus, Nicki 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, Nicki Minaj released her first single of 2020, titled “Yikes”.
Nicki 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 Nicki Minaj featured on the song “Trollz” by rapper 6ix9ine. The song went on to become Minaj’s second US number one.
In 2021, she released the song Boyz (feat. Nicki Minaj) with Jesy Nelson.
In 2022, Nicki 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.[14]
She released her fifth studio album, Pink Friday 2 on December 8th, 2023.[15] It was preceded by the singles Super Freaky Girl, Red Ruby Da Sleeze, and Last Time I Saw You.
Personal life
In 2011, her cousin Nicholas Telemaque was murdered in Brooklyn, New York.[16] Nicki Minaj had dated Safaree Samuels for 12 years and later dated rapper Meek Mill from 2015 till 2017. In November 2018, Nicki Minaj began dating Kenneth "Zoo" Petty. She has known him since her teenage years. They married in October 2019, after just one year of dating.[17] After the marriage, Minaj changed her surname to Maraj-Petty.
On July 20, 2020, Nicki Minaj announced that she is expecting a child.[18] On October 16, 2020, Nicki Minaj announced that her child with Petty, a boy, had been born last September 30. The son was named Papa Bear.[19]
Discography
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 | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Nicki Minaj: My Time Now | - | TV documentary | [20] |
| 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 |
References
- ↑ Haramis, Nick (August 3, 2011). "In the pink: First lady of hip-hop Nicki Minaj is a bewigged global phenomenon". The Independent. Archived from the original on September 11, 2018. Retrieved October 5, 2017.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 McIntyre, Hugh (March 10, 2017). "Nicki Minaj Releases 3 New Singles--is an Album Coming Soon?". Forbes. Retrieved October 5, 2017.
Minaj, who has found success in rap, R&B, pop and even dance
- ↑ "Hip-Hop's Top 20 Earners". Forbes. Archived from the original on April 10, 2019. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
- ↑ "Nicki Minaj: See her award-winning rap career in pictures". USA TODAY. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
- ↑ Hattenstone, Simon (April 27, 2012). "Nicki Minaj: 'I have bigger balls than the boys'" – via www.theguardian.com.
- ↑ Strang, Fay (September 9, 2014). "Nicki Minaj's reveals her 'crack-addict father set fire to their home with her MUM inside'". Mirror. Retrieved April 21, 2018.
- ↑ "Nicki's abortion: Minaj reveals unspoken truths". New York Post. January 8, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2018.
- ↑ "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
- ↑ Shange, Savannah (January 2, 2014). "A king named Nicki: strategic queerness and the black femmecee". Women & Performance: A Journal of Feminist Theory. 24 (1): 29–45. doi:10.1080/0740770X.2014.901602. ISSN 0740-770X. S2CID 191486577.
- ↑ Shenton, Zoe (August 25, 2014). "MTV VMAs 2014: Watch Nicki Minaj's raunchy twerktastic performance of Anaconda". Mirror.
- ↑ "Nicki Minaj". Billboard. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
- ↑ "Nicki Minaj - Queen [Explicit] (Target Exclusive)". www.target.com. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
- ↑ "Nicki Minaj drops new song, 'Megatron'". Global News. June 21, 2019. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
- ↑ Inman, DeMicia; Inman, DeMicia (September 9, 2022). "Nicki Minaj Drops "Super Freaky Girl (Queen Mix)" Feat. JT, BIA, And More". VIBE.com. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
- ↑ Kaufman, Gil (October 25, 2023). "Nicki Minaj Pushes Back 'Pink Friday 2': 'It Will Come Out on My Birthday'". Billboard. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
- ↑ "Rap star Nicki Minaj's cousin shot dead in Brooklyn". New York Post. July 5, 2011.
- ↑ Henderson, Cydney. "Nicki Minaj marries Kenneth Petty after a year of dating: The 'Clyde to my Bonnie'". USA TODAY. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
- ↑ CNN, Lisa Respers France. "Nicki Minaj announces pregnancy". CNN. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
{cite web}:|last=has generic name (help) - ↑ "Barbie on Instagram: "Thank you to Queen B, Kim & Ye, Riccardo Tisci, Winnie, Karol & everyone who sent well wishes during this time. It meant the world to me. I…"". Instagram. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
- ↑ "Nicki Minaj". IMDb. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
Other websites
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Definitions from Wiktionary |
|
Media from Commons |
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News stories from Wikinews |
|
Quotations from Wikiquote |
- Official website
- Nicki Minaj at AllMusic
- Nicki Minaj discography at Discogs
- Nicki Minaj on IMDb
| Preceded by Cee-Lo Green |
Saturday Night Live musical guest January 29, 2011 |
Succeeded by Linkin Park |
| Preceded by Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars |
Saturday Night Live musical guest December 6, 2014 |
Succeeded by Charli XCX |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
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