Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj (/ˈnɪkimɪˈnɑːʒ/NIK-ee min-AHZH), is a Trinidadian-born[a] rapper and singer based in the United States. Often referred to as the "Queen of Rap", she is known for her musical versatility, animated rap flow, and alter egos. She first gained recognition after releasing three mixtapes between 2007 and 2009.
Minaj's debut album, Pink Friday (2010), topped the US Billboard 200 chart; its single "Super Bass" reached number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and was later certified diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Its follow-up, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded (2012), explored dance-pop and topped the Billboard 200, spawning the hit single "Starships". Her next album, The Pinkprint (2014), marked a return to her hip hop roots. Its 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. Her 2019 collaboration with Karol G, "Tusa", became the longest-running number-one single on the Argentina Hot 100 chart. She achieved her first two US number-one singles in 2020 with the collaborations "Say So (Remix)" with Doja Cat and "Trollz" with 6ix9ine. In 2022, she earned her first solo number-one on the Hot 100 with "Super Freaky Girl", the lead single from her fifth album, Pink Friday 2 (2023), which also debuted atop the Billboard 200.
Onika Tanya Maraj was born on December 8, 1982,[12][13] in the Saint James district of Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.[14][15] Her father was Robert Maraj (1956–2021),[16] a financial executive and part-time gospel singer of Dougla (Afro-Trinidadian mother and Indo-Trinidadian father) descent.[13] Her mother, Carol, is also a gospel singer with Afro-Trinidadian ancestry.[17] Carol worked in payroll and accounting departments during Minaj's youth.[18][19] Minaj's father was addicted to alcohol and crack cocaine[20] and had a violent temper, burning down their house in December 1987.[21] She has an older brother named Jelani,[22] a younger brother named Micaiah,[23] and a younger sister named Ming.[24]
As a child, Minaj and Jelani grew up with their grandmother in Saint James in a household with 11 cousins.[21] Carol 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 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.[21] Minaj claimed she came to the United States as an illegal immigrant, although by the time she moved to the United States her mother and subsequently her father had lawful permanent residency.[6] 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."[25] Minaj successfully auditioned for admission to Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, which focuses on visual and performing arts.[14] After graduation, Minaj wanted to become an actress, and she was cast in the Off-Broadway play In Case You Forget in 2001.[26]
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.[27] She said she was fired from "at least 15 jobs" for similar reasons.[28] 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.[29]
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.[30][31] In 2004, the group recorded the entrance song for WWE DivaVictoria, "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.[32] 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!"[33]
On March 29, 2010, Minaj released "Massive Attack" featuring Sean Garrett.[52] Intended as the lead single from her forthcoming debut album, Pink Friday, the song was dropped from the album due to poor commercial performance.[53][54] The next single, "Your Love", later became the album's lead single.[55] Released in June, it peaked at number 14 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Rap Songs chart.[39] In September, Minaj released "Check It Out" with will.i.am and "Right Thru Me" as follow-up singles.[56][57][58]
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,[59] while Sean Fennessey of The Village Voice stated that "Monster" was "the track that announced Minaj's "brilliance" to most people."[60] 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".[61]
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.[62][63] 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.[64] The album was certified platinum in December, with it becoming the first album by a solo female rapper to go platinum in seven years.[65][66] "Moment 4 Life" featuring Drake was released as the fourth single from Pink Friday shortly after the album's release.[67] 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.[68]
"Super Bass", the album's fifth single, was released in April 2011.[69] It became a sleeper hit and commercially successful, ultimately peaking at number three in the U.S. and was eventually certified diamond in the U.S.[39][70] Super Bass was the highest charting solo single by a female rapper since Missy Elliott's "Work It" in 2002. The music video has over 1 billion views on YouTube as of November 2023.[71][72] 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."[73] 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.[74][75]
"Starships" was released in February 2012 as the lead single from Minaj's forthcoming second album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded.[84] The song reached number five on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100,[39] and went on to become the fifth best-selling single of 2012.[85] Her crossover into pop music was criticized by some, despite her commercial success.[86] Follow-up singles "Beez in the Trap" featuring 2 Chainz and "Right by My Side" featuring Chris Brown were released shortly after.[87][88]
Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded was eventually released on April 2, 2012, two months later than initially planned.[89] It was preceded by the promotional singles "Roman in Moscow" and "Stupid Hoe".[90][91] The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 253,000 copies, and was certified two-times platinum by the RIAA in March 2016.[63][92] However, the mix of hip-hop songs and mainstream pop material received mixed reviews.[93] "Pound the Alarm" and "Va Va Voom" were later released as the final singles from the album.[94][95] 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.[96] Minaj was the first solo female rapper to perform at the Grammy Awards, performing "Roman Holiday" during the 2012 ceremony on February 12.[97] Her exorcism-themed performance was controversial, with the American Catholic League and its president criticizing her performance.[98][99][100]
An expanded version of Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, subtitled The Re-Up, was released on November 19, 2012, with seven new songs.[106] That month, she was the subject of a three-part E! documentary titled Nicki Minaj: My Truth.[107] In September, Minaj joined the judges' panel for the twelfth season of American Idol with Mariah Carey, Keith Urban, and Randy Jackson.[108] Throughout the show there were disagreements between Carey and Minaj, with both of them leaving the series at the end of the season.[109][110][111][112]
Minaj's first live-action theatrical film The Other Woman was filmed in spring 2013 and premiered on April 25, 2014.[113] 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.[114] 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.[115] 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".[116][117][118] During an MTV interview, she additionally said that it would be "next level" and that she has "much to talk about".[119]
"Pills n Potions" was released as the lead single from The Pinkprint in May 2014.[120] 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.[121][122] 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".[123] On November 9, 2014, Minaj hosted the 2014 MTV Europe Music Awards in Glasgow, Scotland.[124] She also won the Best Hip-Hop Award for a second time.[124]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).[125][126] Upon release, critics praised the production and personal lyrics.[127]
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".[128][129] 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.[130] 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.[131] In August 2015, Madame Tussauds unveiled a wax figure of Minaj, which depicted a pose from the "Anaconda" music video.[132][133] The attraction received criticism from some, including Angharad Welsh of The Independent, who called it "a sexist, racist mistake".[134][135] Despite this, Minaj voiced her approval of the wax figure on social media.[136]
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.[137] 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.[137][138] 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.[139] The show was titled Nicki and the pilot episode was filmed in Minaj's hometown in January 2016.[139] In October 2016, Minaj stated the filming was postponed for undisclosed reasons.[140] In January 2017, she announced that she had ended her relationship with Meek Mill.[141][142][143]
In February 2017, Minaj and Ty Dolla Sign 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.[144][145] The following month, Minaj signed with the major modeling agency, Wilhelmina Models.[146] 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.[147] 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".[148] 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 US at numbers six and eight, respectively.[149] She also featured on Katy Perry's "Swish Swish", which was certified platinum in the US and Canada.[150] She briefly dated rapper Nas in 2017 before they broke up in January 2018.[151][152]
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.[153] She performed "Chun-Li" on Saturday Night Live and the 2018 BET Awards.[154][155] While "Chun Li" appears on the tracklist of the album, "Barbie Tingz" is only included on the Target version of the album.[156] On the red carpet of the 2018 Met Gala, she announced the title of the album and the original release date.[157] 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.[158][159][160] 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.[161][162] It later peaked at number three and was added to Queen in the middle of its first tracking week.[161][163] The day before the album's release, Minaj launched her own Beats 1 radio show, Queen Radio.[164][165]
Queen received multiple delays before finally being released on August 10, 2018.[166][167][168] 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.[169] It also debuted at number five in the UK and at number four in Australia, marking Minaj's highest debut in the latter country.[170][171] 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.[172] This controversy and Queen's roll-out was documented by several news outlets and commentators.[173][174][175]Queen received generally positive reviews, with some critics deriding the album's length and direction.[176] The album was certified Platinum by the RIAA in January 2019, for moving over 1 million equivalent units.[177]
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.[178] 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.[179] She also featured on the song "Woman Like Me" by British girl group Little Mix, which was released on October 12, 2018.[180] A music video was shortly released after, with Minaj and Little Mix later performing the song together at the 2018 MTV Europe Music Awards.[181] 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.[182] She later attended the year-end Billboard Women in Music event, receiving the Game Changer Award for the accomplishment.[183]
In September, Minaj co-headlined the annual Made in America Festival and suffered another wardrobe malfunction when the front of her outfit fell open.[184] 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.[185] 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.[186] 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.[187][188]
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."[189] 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.[190] Minaj had a voice role as Pinky in The Angry Birds Movie 2, which was released in August 2019.[191] 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.[192] 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.[193] "Tusa" later became the longest-running number one single in Argentina, spending five months on the top of the chart.[194]
In January 2020, Minaj was featured on "Nice to Meet Ya" by American singer-songwriter Meghan Trainor.[195][196] In February, she released a standalone song called "Yikes" as a promotional single.[197][198] 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.[199][200] 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 first 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.[201] 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.[202][203] A month later, she released a collaboration with 6ix9ine called "Trollz", which debuted at number one in the U.S. becoming her second number one single.[204] This made her 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)".[205]
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.[214][215] A song from the reissue, titled "Seeing Green" featuring fellow Young Money rappers Drake and Lil Wayne reached number twelve in the U.S. In July, Minaj collaborated with fellow rapper Bia on the remix of her song Whole Lotta Money. 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.[216] 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.[217] 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.[218][219] In October 2021, Minaj appeared as a surprise host for the season six reunion of the reality television show The Real Housewives of Potomac.[220] 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.[221] Minaj won the Best Hip Hop award in the MTV Europe Music Awards 2021, becoming the sixth time she has won this award.[222]
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?".[223] The track was released in February, along with a music video that featured guest appearances from actors Joseph Sikora and Cory Hardrict.[224][225] The video contained a snippet of another Lil Baby collaboration titled "Bussin", released a week later, on February 11.[226][227][228] "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".[229] She described it as "fun, gutta, and back to the basics".[230]
In March, Minaj and fellow rapper Coi Leray's collaboration "Blick Blick", was released—from the former's debut studio album, Trendsetter (2022).[231] Minaj revealed that her verse was almost scrapped due to American rapper Benzino (who is also Coi Leray's father) leaking the collaboration.[232] Later that month, she surprise-released the standalone single "We Go Up" featuring rapper Fivio Foreign.[233] 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.[234][235] In April, Minaj appeared on English television host James Corden's Carpool Karaoke segment, kickstarting the return of its broadcast on The Late Late Show with James Corden after a two-year hiatus.[236]
In early July, Minaj headlined the 2022 editions of Essence Music Festival in New Orleans and the Wireless Festival in London.[237][238] On July 28 she released a two-minute trailer of her upcoming six-part docu-series titled "Nicki", produced by Canadian production company Bron Studios.[212][213][239] In August, Minaj released "Super Freaky Girl" as the lead single of her upcoming fifth studio album. The track samples American singer Rick James's 1981 song, "Super Freak."[240][241] 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.[242][243]
"Super Freaky Girl" debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100, marking Minaj's third U.S. number-one and her first unaccompanied chart-topper. It became the first solo song by a female rapper to debut at number one in the U.S. in 22 years, since fellow rapper Lauryn Hill's song "Doo Wop (That Thing)" in 1998.[244] Later in August, Minaj released a compilation album titled Queen Radio: Volume 1 with one new track, "Likkle Miss (Remix)" with Skeng.[245] In September, she 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.[246]
On March 3, 2023, Minaj released "Red Ruby da Sleeze" as the second single from her upcoming album. Her first solo single since "Super Freaky Girl" (2022), the song's music video was filmed during the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival.[251][252] The song samples Lumidee's 2003 single "Never Leave You (Uh Oooh, Uh Oooh)".[253] It debuted and peaked at number thirteen on the Billboard Hot 100 while hitting number one on the U.S. Digital Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts.[254] On March 5, Minaj appeared as a surprise performer during Lil Wayne's set at the 2023 Rolling Loud California festival.[255] In April 2023, Minaj featured on "WTF," the lead single from YoungBoy Never Broke Again's third studio album, Don't Try This At Home.[256] She teamed up with Ice Spice on the remix to the latter's song "Princess Diana", released on April 14, 2023—the first-ever release on Minaj's record label, Heavy On It.[257][258] The remix became the first collaboration between two women to top the Hot Rap Songs chart and made Minaj the woman with the most number-ones on the chart (10). It peaked at number four on the Hot 100 and atop the Digital Song Sales chart.[259] Minaj's next collaboration was German singer Kim Petras's "Alone", released on April 21. It samples "Better Off Alone" (1999) by Alice Deejay.[260] The single reached the top 40 in the United Kingdom.[261] In May, she featured on "Pound Town 2", the remix to St. Louis rapper Sexyy Red and Tay Keith's single, "Pound Town".[262] It reached the summit of the Digital Songs chart.[263]
On June 5, 2023, Minaj announced via Twitter that her fifth studio album would be released on October 20, 2023.[264] On June 30, she announced the album's title, Pink Friday 2, via her social media, and that the release date was rescheduled to November 17.[265] The album was ultimately pushed back to and released on December 8, 2023.[266][267]Pink Friday 2 debuted atop the Billboard 200, with 228,000 album-equivalent units—Minaj's first album in over 11 years to do so. It made her the female rapper with the most U.S. number-one albums (3) in chart history, surpassing Foxy Brown.[268] The record earned the largest sales week (overall and pure) of the decade for a rap album by a woman and for an R&B/hip-hop album by a woman of 2023.[269] It garnered the most first-week vinyl sales for a female rap album in U.S. history.[268] Additionally, Pink Friday 2 achieved the largest streaming week for a female rap album of the decade, and for a female R&B/hip-hop album of 2023.[268] 14 tracks from the album debuted on the Billboard Hot 100, of which two charted in the top 40—"Everybody" featuring Lil Uzi Vert and "Needle" featuring Drake.[270] Aided by "Everybody", "FTCU", and "Barbie Dangerous", Minaj tied Kanye West for the third-most top-tens (50) on Hot Rap Songs.[271] Multiple deluxe editions of Pink Friday 2 were released.[272][273][274]
Also in June 2023, she and Ice Spice released their second collaboration, "Barbie World" with europop band Aqua, from the Barbie film soundtrack. The song samples Aqua's 1997 single, "Barbie Girl". Peaking at number seven on the Hot 100 and atop Digital Song Sales, it extended her record as the female rapper with the most US top-tens (23) and number-ones on the latter chart (16).[275] Minaj made guest appearances on Young Thug and Lil Uzi Vert's albums, Business Is Business and Pink Tape, on the songs: "Money" with the late Juice Wrld,[276] and the US top-20 "Endless Fashion".[277][278] "Last Time I Saw You" was released on September 1, 2023, as the third single from Pink Friday 2. It made Minaj the act with the most number-ones (25) on the R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales, surpassing Drake.[279] On September 12, she hosted the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards, marking her second consecutive year in the role.[280] In October, Minaj released "Bahm Bahm", an outtake of Pink Friday 2, as a limited-time website exclusive.[281]Pirated versions of the song were uploaded to streaming services and entered the Apple Music charts, before being taken down.[282] The song ultimately made the final tracklist and was released as part of the album.[283] Days later, she released "For All the Barbz", her freestyle on Drake's "All the Parties" featuring Chief Keef, exclusively via her YouTube channel.[284] With the 2023 MTV Europe Music Awards, she became the first black artist and female rapper to win Best US Act in the award show's history.[285] An extended remix of the Pink Friday 2 track "Beep Beep", featuring 50 Cent, was released as a promotional single from the album on December 12, 2023.[286] Also in December, Minaj performed on the Atlanta and Miami dates of iHeartRadio's Jingle Ball Tour 2023.[287] She was originally set to perform on the Chicago date but canceled her headlining slot due to the then-forthcoming release of Pink Friday 2, which resulted in Lil Wayne replacing her on the lineup.[288] She conducted a New Year's Eve concert at the E11Even nightclub in Miami.[289]
In January 2024, "Everybody" and "FTCU" were released as subsequent singles from Pink Friday 2.[290][291] After their releases as singles, the tracks reached the top 25 and top 15 on the Hot 100, respectively.[149] "FTCU" topped the Digital Songs, R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales, and Hot Rap Digital Song Sales charts, becoming Minaj's 17th, 26th, and 22nd number-ones on the tallies.[292]
On January 26, 2024, Minaj teased a diss track against fellow rapper Megan Thee Stallion called "Big Foot" on Instagram live in response to the latter's "Hiss" single, which was followed by a series of tweets concerning the feud by Minaj within the course of hours.[293][294][295] It was officially released on January 28.[296] The track was accompanied by an acapella version, so that, in Minaj's words: "other producers all around the world can make their own beat."[297] "Big Foot" was poorly received by critics and fans, who criticized the production, the rap flow, and the shots at Megan for being lacking in quality.[298][299][300] The song broke first-day records for the highest solo female rap debut in Apple Music history and the biggest solo female rap debut on YouTube in 2024.[301][302] However, after its strong first-day debut, it fell off quickly in streams and ultimately debuted at number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100.[303] It extended Minaj's record as the female rapper with the most, and woman with the second-most, top-tens (46) on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, behind Aretha Franklin (52).[304]
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[28]
Minaj is known for her animated rapping style and "unique" flow.[308] Her rapping is distinctive for its speed and the use of alter egos and accents, primarily British cockney.[309][310] 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."[311]
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."[310] Although many critics describe her technique as bubblegumrap, 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."[312] 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."[313]
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.[321][322] 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…[323]
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.[324] 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".[325]
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.[326] 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.[327] She introduced another alter ego, Rosa (pronounced with an exaggerated R), to commemorate her December 2010 appearance on Lopez Tonight.[328]
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.[329] Roman has been compared to Eminem's alter ego Slim Shady, and on "Roman's Revenge" Minaj and Eminem collaborate as their alter egos.[330] 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."[331] Roman has a mother, Martha Zolanski,[332] who appeared on "Roman's Revenge" with a British accent[333] and singing on "Roman Holiday" for the first time.[334][335] Martha appeared in the "Moment 4 Life" video as Minaj's apparent fairy godmother.[329] In December 2023, in response to a fan inquiry on Martha ever returning, Minaj confirmed that Martha had died of old age.[336]
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, 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.[337][338] 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."[339]
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.[340] 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."[341]
In 2023, Minaj revealed that popular music singer Whitney Houston is one of her major influences, stating: "I don’t think people realize how much singing or singers like Whitney [influenced me]. Whitney’s first album, I know it front to back."[342]
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!"[361] 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."[362]
Public image
Early in her career, Minaj often wore colorful costumes, cosmetics, and wigs.
Billboard listed Minaj as the fourth-most-active musician on social media on its March 2011 Social 50 chart.[363] She is the most followed rapper on Instagram with over 229 million followers—the first to surpass 200 million followers—and one of the most followed musicians on the social media platform.[364][365] On Twitter, she is one of the most followed rappers, with over 28 million followers on the app, as of February 2024.[366] She was the most followed rapper on Twitter in 2012.[367]BET has named Minaj as a "gay icon".[368] 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.[369][370]
Minaj has been called as a "fashion icon" by Allure, Time, XXL and has been called a "camp style icon" by Refinery29.[371][372][373][374] She has cited Alexander McQueen, Gianni Versace, and Christian Louboutin as her favorite designers.[375]The Huffington Post described her style as "risk-taking" and "far-out", with "bold sartorial choices";[376] Minaj has been included on the annual MaximHot 100 list several times.[377][378] In 2014, Minaj underwent a reinvention in her image sporting a "natural" and "softer" look, wearing fewer wigs and less colourful costumes.[379] 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"".[379][380]
Her physique, notably her buttocks, has attracted significant attention from the media.[381][382] Early in her career, she made autographing breasts part of her movement to empower women.[383] 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."[384][385]
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."[386] 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.[387][388] 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."[389]
The cover art and music video for her 2014 single, "Anaconda", attracted significant media attention upon release.[390] The music video was viewed 19.6 million times in its first 24 hours of release.[391]The Guardian called the video "racy" but noted that she "doesn't shy from ruffling her audience's feathers",[392] while others praised Minaj for "owning her sexuality",[393] examining her work through a feminist perspective.[390][394][395][396] 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."[397]
Minaj's fanbase, known as the "Barbz", have been reported as often being militant towards Minaj's critics, including incidents of reported doxxing, cyberbullying, and death threats.[398][399][400][401]
COVID-19 vaccine backlash
In September 2021, Minaj announced she would not be attending the 2021 Met Gala due to the COVID-19 vaccine requirement. She stated that she has avoided public appearances and traveling after contracting the virus herself and having to quarantine from her son as a result.[402][403][404] She shared several tweets about her unvaccinated status and claimed she wanted to do more research and be comfortable with her decision first.[405] She alleged in a Tweet that her cousin's friend in Trinidad suffered swollen testicles and became impotent as a result of the vaccine.[406] These tweets received backlash where her story about her cousin's friend became the subject of jokes and memes.[407] Trinidad and Tobago health minister Terrence Deyalsingh declared that her claims were false and that no such report existed.[408]
Shortly after, Minaj recommended other people get the vaccine and set up a Twitter poll on COVID-19 vaccine brands. She tweeted that she was sure she would get vaccinated herself because of touring.[409][410] The White House offered her a phone call with a doctor to answer questions about the safety of the vaccine.[411] In an Instagram Live response two days later, she claimed that she was simply asking questions and she did not give any facts about the vaccine.[412] Minaj alleged that reporters harassed her family for a story, with her sharing some text messages she alleged were harassment on social media.[413] In May 2022, Olivia Truffaut-Wong of The Cut alleged that Minaj had gotten vaccinated, as the 2022 Met Gala (which Minaj attended) required proof of vaccination and a negative COVID-19 PCR test to attend.[414]
Philanthropy
Katy Perry (left) and Minaj perform for service members during the 2010 VH1 Divas Salute the Troops concert.
In May 2017, Minaj offered via Twitter to pay college tuition fees and student loans for 30 of her fans. She appeared to grant their requests, ranging from $500 to school supplies to $6,000 for tuition, promising to respond to more requests in a month or two.[419] She also announced that she would launch an official charity for student loans and tuition payments in the near future.[420] In the same month, Minaj revealed on Instagram that she has been donating money to a village in India for a few years via her pastor, Lydia Sloley. These donations helped the village get a computer center, a tailoring institute, a reading program, and two water wells. "This is the kind of thing that makes me feel the most proud", she said about the new additions to the village.[421]
In August 2017, after Hurricane Harvey hit the city of Houston, Texas, Minaj answered a social media challenge by comedian and actor Kevin Hart and donated $25,000 to the Red Cross, saying she was "praying for everyone there".[422][423] On September 4, 2018, Minaj appeared as a guest and performed several songs on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.[424] Throughout the episode, Minaj and Degeneres, with the participation of Walmart, gave out over $150,000 in donations to fans.[425][172]
In 2019, Minaj pulled out of headlining a concert in Saudi Arabia following online backlash from activists, after women's rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul was detained and arrested for speaking out against the Saudi regime. Minaj was praised by Thor Halvorssen of The Human Rights Foundation, who criticized her initial plan to perform in a letter, and released a statement saying, "After careful reflection ... I believe it is important for me to make clear my support for the rights of women, the LGBTQ community and freedom of expression."[426][427]
In 2020, Minaj donated $25,000 to the St. Jude's Home for Girls school after visiting the school in her native country of Trinidad. In a speech, Minaj encouraged the girls to push through hard obstacles, even referencing her own experience with domestic violence: "I've experienced being in a home with domestic violence. I've experienced, you know, being at a very difficult crossroads in my life as a teenager. And sometimes as a teenager when things happen, you feel like there's no up from there."[428] In the same year, following the release of Minaj and 6ix9ine's collaboration, "Trollz", Minaj announced that a portion of the proceeds from the song, along with profits from all merchandise, will go towards the Bail Project amid the Black Lives Matter protests sparked by the murder of George Floyd.[429]
In 2012, Jon Caramanica of The New York Times called Minaj "the most influential female rapper of all time", and in 2015 Vanessa Grigoriadis from its magazine called her "the world's biggest female rap superstar".[310][389] In Evening Standard, Jochan Embley called her one of the most influential rap artists of all time, saying that "Everything she does is bold, fearless and distinct – whether that be her eye-popping stage attire or her expertly delivered lyrics, which stare gender and race dead in the eye."[433] Zoe Johnson from XXL called her "one of the most versatile MCs" and that she has "made millions off upbeat pop hits and traditional hip-hop sounds that cater to both her femininity and her assertive side".[325]
For NPR Music, Sowmya Krishnamurthy noted that Minaj has portrayed "the quirky, life-size Barbie, glamorous vixen and girl-next-door", arguing that she "changed the landscape for artists in hip-hop for the past decade" with said alter egos.[434] In 2017, Patrik Sandberg of Dazed argued that Minaj has "surpassed every other female hip hop artist to become the most successful in history" in 2017.[435] In 2020, Nick Soulsby of PopMatters called her the "best female rapper and the best rapper of the past ten years – no gender preposition required."[436]Glamour included Minaj in their list of 104 women who defined 2010s pop culture.[437]
Minaj "became a nimble, evocative rapper. She became an intricate lyricist. She became a thoughtful singer. She became a risky performer. She invented new personae. More than any other rapper in the mainstream, she pushed hard against expectations ... with no one around to compare herself to, or for others to compare her to, she became her own watermark."[465]
In 2014, NPR's Erik Nielson said that Minaj's "success over the last decade has stood as an exception to the unwritten rule that women rappers no longer have a place among elite artists".[466]Nylon writer, Demicia Inman, also credited Minaj for her influence which "stands as one of the most successful rappers of the millennium", also going on to say that Minaj "battled misogyny and industry bias against black women to carve her own identity and sound" thus impacting her career. Complex also commented that, "From her bold outfits to her multi-colored wigs, Minaj oozed confidence that inspired others who were watching closely... [she] doesn't need anything but her art to speak for itself".[467][468]
In 2010, Minaj became the first female solo artist to have seven songs on the Billboard Hot 100 simultaneously, and the first woman to appear on MTV's Annual Hottest MC List since its inception in 2007.[473][474] In 2011, Minaj was ranked sixth on the Rolling Stone master ranking of the "Kings of Hip Hop" which is based on record sales and social media metrics.[475] She is the only rapper to win the BET Award for Best Female Hip-Hop Artist seven consecutive times.[476][477] In 2013, Minaj became the most-charted female rapper on the Billboard Hot 100 at the time, with 44 entries, tying Mariah Carey as seventh among women of all genres.[478]
Minaj has twenty-one top 10 singles on the chart, the most for any female rapper, with six of those being solo songs.[479][480] In 2017, Minaj broke the record for most Hot 100 entries by any female artist, surpassing Aretha Franklin, and in 2018, she became the first female artist to accumulate 100 entries on the Hot 100. She held the mentioned record for most Hot 100 entries by a female artist until it was broken in December 2020 by singer-songwriter Taylor Swift.[481][482][483][484] She is the female artist with the second-most Hot 100 entries, behind Swift.[485][486] In 2019, Billboard Women in Music awarded her with the Game Changer Award.[487][488]
In 2019, her collaboration with Karol G, named "Tusa", received two nominations at the Latin Grammys.[489] The song became the longest-running number-one single on the Argentina Hot 100, having spent 25 weeks on the position.[490][205] In 2020, Minaj become the second female rapper to chart at number one on the Hot 100 more than once with her 6ix9ine collaboration "Trollz".[205] She also became the second woman to debut atop the chart since Lauryn Hill in 1998.[205] In the same year, she also was the most streamed female rapper on Spotify.[491] In 2021, the music video for "Anaconda" became the first female rap solo song to reach one billion views on YouTube.[492][493]
In total, Minaj has eight music videos with more than one billion views across all credits on YouTube, becoming the first female rapper to do so. She is only one of two female artists to have eight music videos reaching more than one billion views, tying with Rihanna .[494][495] In 2016, she was listed on the Time 100 annual list of the most influential people in the world. She was also featured on one of the physical covers of the issue.[496][497]Complex ranked her eighth on their list of best rappers of the 2010s, being the only female rapper on the list,[498] and named her "Best Rapper Alive" of 2014.[499]
Other activities
Fragrances
Minaj promoting her first fragrance "Pink Friday" in 2012
Minaj has a line of fragrances first launched in September 2012. She partnered with 'Give Back Brands' to introduce her first fragrance "Pink Friday",[500] which was nominated for three FiFi Awards for Fragrance of the Year, Best Packaging, and Media Campaign of the Year.[501] Flanker editions "Pink Friday: Special Edition" and "Pink Friday: Deluxe Edition" were released in April and December 2013 respectively.[502][503]
Her fourth fragrance "Minajesty" was launched in September 2013,[504] followed by "Minajesty: Exotic Edition", which was released exclusively to the Home Shopping Network in June 2014. This was followed by the launch of her sixth fragrance "Onika" in September 2014.[505] A year later in 2015, Minaj released "The Pinkprint", her seventh fragrance in support of her third studio album of the same name.[506] In 2016, Minaj launched her eighth fragrance "Trini Girl".[507] In 2018, in support of her fourth studio album, she released her ninth fragrance, "Queen".[508] Minaj's tenth fragrance "Pink Friday 2" was released to JCPenney in December 2023, in support of her fifth album of the same name.[509] It was released early on the outlet's webstore and retail stores for a limited time, with no prior announcement, in late November. Minaj revealed she did not know about the initial release.[510][511] The fragrance was also released on Amazon in December 2023.[512][513]
Products and endorsements
Minaj has been affiliated with several manufacturing companies and has endorsed several products during her career. In November 2010, she collaborated with MAC Cosmetics and launched the lipstick "Pink 4 Friday", which was sold for four consecutive Fridays to promote her debut studio album Pink Friday.[514] In 2011, Mattel crafted a Barbie doll with the avatar of Minaj, inspired by the rapper's likeness for charity, which she described as a "major moment" in her career.[515] It was auctioned on the Charitybuzz website; proceeds benefited nonprofit Project Angel Food.[516] A spokesperson for Mattel stated that, "Barbie is obviously a pop culture icon [...] and Nicki is a big part of pop culture and also huge within the fashion industry, as well as a big Barbie fan."[516] Matthew Perpetua of Rolling Stone stated that the "Minaj Barbie doll is notable in that the rapper has made Barbie dolls a crucial part of her aesthetic."[517] Minaj helped introduce the Casio TRYX in Times Square, and created a six-piece nail polish collection for OPI Products with colors named after her songs.[518][519]
In February 2012, Minaj launched her own range of lip products for MAC Cosmetics' Viva Glam.[520][521][522] In April 2012, Minaj helped launch the Nokia Lumia 900 in Times Square.[523] The following month, Minaj appeared in television and internet advertisements for Pepsi's "LiveForNow" campaign, which featured a remix of her single "Moment 4 Life".[524][525] She endorsed the 2012 Viva Glam campaign with Ricky Martin—which raised $270 million for the Mac AIDS Fund[526][527]—and was the face of the lip product line that year along with him.[528] With designer Jeremy Scott, Minaj signed an endorsement deal with Adidas for the brand's fall and winter 2012 campaign to appear in internet advertisements and commercials for Adidas Originals.[529] Set to her song, "Masquerade", her segment of the advertisement was filmed in Brooklyn and also featured Big Sean, Derrick Rose, Sky Ferreira and 2NE1 in other locations worldwide.[530] She fronted the Viva Glam spring campaign by herself, which also introduced her limited-edition lip product collection, "Nicki 2", which was launched in early 2013.[531][532]
In February 2013, Minaj starred in Bluewater Comics' Fame biographical-comic series, with her comic book, titled Fame: Nicki Minaj.[533][534] She partnered with Beats Electronics to introduce her "Pink Pill" speakers in April 2013, appearing with DeRay Davis in a commercial for the speakers that same month.[535][536] She introduced her lifestyle product line, "The Nicki Minaj Collection" for Kmart, composed of clothing, accessories and houseware.[537][538][539] In June 2013, Minaj and Mona Scott-Young launched MYX Fusions, a line of fruit-infused, single serve moscato wine beverages.[540] Minaj is a co-owner, creative director, and ambassador of the brand.[541]
Throughout 2014, Minaj released spring, summer, and fall-themed clothing collections for Kmart.[542] Minaj was the face of Roberto Cavalli's spring-summer 2015 campaign.[543] In March 2015, it was announced that Minaj was a co-owner of the music streaming service Tidal. The service specializes in lossless audio and high definition music videos. In addition to Minaj and company owner Jay-Z, sixteen stakeholders including Beyoncé, Madonna, Rihanna, and Kanye West own a 3% equity stake in the service.[544] In November 2015, Minaj released a holiday capsule clothing collection for Kmart and its affiliated e-commerce platform, ShopYourWay;[545] and a limited-edition couture collection which was available via Kmart and her website.[546]
In 2019, Minaj announced a collaboration with luxury fashion house Fendi. Chief executive officer Serge Brunschwig stated the brand "shares great affinity with her. [Minaj] represents the fun aspect of the brand", and that the collaboration "made sense".[554] A capsule collection titled "Fendi Prints On"—after by the lyric containing the same words on her 2018 single, "Chun-Li"—was released on October 14, 2019.[555]
In March 2022, Minaj fronted the campaign for the "Heaven" spring 2022 collection by Marc Jacobs.[556][557] In July, she collaborated with Rap Snacks and released her own potato chip flavor, "Barbie-Que Honey Truffle".[558] The following month, Mattel sued Rap Snacks, claiming the company violated the Barbie trademark and had made a "deliberate and calculated" choice to do so. The lawsuit was settled in September after the company changed the snack's name to "Bar-B-Quin".[559] Minaj released a "variety pack" with Rap Snacks in October,[560] and a "Nocho Nachos" nachos flavor in March 2023, inspired by her 2023 single, "Red Ruby Da Sleeze".[561] Also in October, the rapper appeared alongside Lil Baby, Kane Brown, Pete Davidson, and Bukayo Saka in a trailer for the first-person shooter video game, Call of Duty:Modern Warfare II.[562]
Heavy On It Records
On March 3, 2023, Minaj announced the launch of her record label imprint on an episode of her radio show, "Queen Radio". Minaj did not reveal the name of the label but did say her long-time friend Patty "Patty Duke" Lauren has signed on as the label's A&R. Minaj also unveiled her starting roster: Nana Fofie, Tate Kobang, Rico Danna, and London Hill.[563][564][565]
On March 13, 2023, Minaj revealed the name of her imprint as "Heavy On it Records". The label currently has a venture with Republic Records.[566]
Maxim
In May 2022, Minaj was named the new creative director of American men's magazine Maxim and became the global ambassador and advisor for MaximBet, a sports betting brand launched by the magazine.[567] She also came on board as a stakeholder.[568][569][570]
On December 8, 2023, she and Roblox introduced the virtual world Gag City on the game platform to promote her fifth album, Pink Friday 2 (2023).[572][573] Days before the launch, Minaj's fanbase, the Barbz, heavily circulated AI-generated content of the fan-made cityscape Gag City, a pink futuristic metropolis inspired by the cover artwork of the album, which the rapper herself coined on her social media.[574][575]
Personal life
In her songs "All Things Go" and "Autobiography", Minaj revealed that she had an abortion as a teenager. She has said that although it has "haunted" her, she stands by her decision.[576] In July 2011, her cousin Nicholas Telemaque was murdered near his home in Brooklyn, an incident she references in her songs "All Things Go" and "Champion".[577] Minaj's father, Robert Maraj, died in February 2021, while walking along a road on Long Island, in a hit-and-run accident.[16] 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.[578] 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."[579]
Relationships
In late 2014, Minaj separated from her longtime boyfriend Safaree Samuels, whom she had dated since 2003.[c] According to Minaj, he had proposed to her, but she declined.[580] Several tracks on The Pinkprint are believed to have been inspired by the end of their relationship.[581] Minaj began dating rapper Meek Mill in early 2015.[582] In January 2017, she announced that she had ended their relationship.[583][584][585] She briefly dated fellow rapper Nas in 2017.[586]
Minaj began dating her childhood friend Kenneth "Zoo" Petty (born 7 April 1978) in December 2018,[587] and after less than a year of dating, filed for a marriage license in August 2019.[588][589] She announced that they had officially married in October, hyphenating his last name to hers upon marriage.[590] Petty was convicted of first-degree attempted rape in 1994. He served four years in prison and was required to register as a sex offender upon release. In 2006, Petty was convicted of first-degree manslaughter, for which he served an additional six years and eleven months in prison.[591] In July 2020, Minaj announced via Instagram that she was expecting her first child.[592] She gave birth to a son on September 30, whom she refers to publicly as "Papa Bear". His real name is still unknown.[593][594][595][596]
Legal issues
After facing charges for failing to register as a sex offender in California, Minaj's husband Kenneth Petty was entered into the California Megan's Lawdatabase in 2020, having been convicted of attempted rape in 1995 in New York.[597] He previously served nearly four years in prison for the mentioned crime.[598][599] In August 2021, her husband's victim, named Jennifer Hough, filed a lawsuit against the couple for alleged harassment and intimidation, and alleged infliction of emotional distress, and did an interview about the mentioned lawsuit on the talk show The Real.[600][601][602]
Minaj has not addressed the accusations publicly, but has spoken about it in a private case filing. Minaj claimed she "never asked [Hough] to change her story" and "never offered her any money in return for a statement".[603] Hough later voluntarily dismissed the case against Minaj whilst the case against Petty is still pending.[604][605] Speaking to a federal judge, Hough's lawyers expressed that they were going to refile the lawsuit in California due to jurisdictional issues while Minaj's lawyer said that the refiling was a "frivolous gambit to avoid a sanctions motion" and that "their claims received an aggressive response".[606]
Feuds
Minaj has been embroiled in several feuds with other artists, including female rappers Lil' Kim, Remy Ma, Cardi B, Latto, and Megan Thee Stallion. After Lil' Kim and media critics noticed resemblances between Minaj and her on the Sucka Free mixtape,[607] Lil' Kim accused Minaj of copying her image saying, "If you are going to steal my swag, you gonna have to pay. Something gotta give. You help me, I help you. That's how it goes to me."[607] Minaj's single "Roman's Revenge" with Eminem was believed by critics to be a response to Lil' Kim's comments,[608] although at the time she denied this.[609] However, in a 2018 interview with Genius, Minaj seemingly confirmed that the track "Roman's Revenge" was about the feud, saying, "Someone got at me. A veteran got at me, and I hit them with 'Roman's Revenge' and then I kept on going."[610] Lil' Kim reignited the feud following the release of her mixtape Black Friday, an album that directly referenced Nicki Minaj, including artwork that showed Lil' Kim decapitating Minaj with a sword.[611] A fragment of Minaj's diss track "Tragedy" was released online in April 2011, featuring lyrics "Pink Friday, Eminem, 8 Mile/ It must hurt to sell your album on PayPal."[612] Following the release of Minaj's second album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, critics suggested that the track "Stupid Hoe" may have contained attacks at Lil' Kim.[613]
In 2007, Nicki Minaj released her debut mixtape, Playtime is Over, featuring the song "Dirty Money", on which she raps, "Tell that bitch with the crown to run it like Chris Brown," over the beat of rapper Remy Ma's song "Yeah Yeah Yeah". Ma, who frequently referred to herself in lyrics as the "queen of rap", believed the verse to be directed towards her and confronted Minaj during a release party about the lyric.[614] Ma was later sentenced to eight years in prison; upon her release in 2014, Ma spoke kindly about Minaj in interviews, stating that she was supported by Minaj during her time in jail and that she wanted to record a song with her.[615] However, Ma rapped several verses which fans perceived to be against Minaj, including in a cypher during the 2016 BET Hip Hop Awards, on her song "Money Showers" with Fat Joe, on a remix of the Phresher song "Wait a Minute",[616] and in a freestyle on Funkmaster Flex's show on the radio station Hot 97.[617] In 2017, Minaj featured on the songs "Swalla" with Jason Derulo and "Make Love" with Gucci Mane, in which she took apparent shots at Ma, including criticizing her disses and mocking her low album sales.[618][619] One day after the release of "Make Love", Ma recorded and released the song "Shether", a diss track in which she attacked Minaj for allegedly using a ghostwriter, her alleged plastic surgery, her fashion, her record deal, and the child sexual assault charges against Minaj's brother, and more.[620] Minaj responded on Instagram by posting a screenshot of an article showing the opening week sales of Ma's album Plata O Plomo as well as a video of Beyoncé calling Minaj a "rap queen".[614] Ma later released a second diss track directed at Minaj, "Another One"; in response, Minaj released "No Frauds" with Drake and Lil Wayne, a diss track aimed at Remy Ma whose title and chorus references the lyric "I swear to God, this chick a real fraud" from "Another One".[621][622] In "No Frauds", Minaj criticizes Ma for her time in jail and her record sales, while also accusing Ma of getting plastic surgery and not being able to get clearance from Jay-Z to include the remix of "All the Way Up" on Plata O Plomo.[623] Following its release, Minaj posted to Instagram, writing that she was issuing a challenge to Ma, giving her "72 hours to drop a hit" and promising her half a million dollars if she was able to "book any show or interview" without mentioning Minaj, adding "Here @ Young Money, we don't do diss records, we drop HIT RECORDS & diss u ON them."[621] She also responded to critics who criticized the delayed timing of her response to Ma, writing, "The greats took 3 months to respond to diss records. Queens don't move on peasant time." "No Frauds" was negatively received by critics, who felt that it was not as impressive as Ma's "Shether" and that the appearance of Drake and Lil Wayne on the diss track was a mistake.[624][625]
At a New York Fashion Week after-party in September 2018, fellow rapper Cardi B threw one of her high heel shoes at Minaj and attempted to physically attack her; bodyguards intervened before she could reach Minaj, leaving her a large bump on her forehead.[626][627][628] Following the altercation, she alleged on Instagram that Minaj had previously "liked" social media comments that spoke negatively of Cardi B's ability to take care of her newborn daughter.[629] Minaj denied the allegations on her Queen Radio show, claiming she "would never talk about anyone’s child or parenting", and expressed embarrassment at the fight.[630] She accused Cardi B of building "her career off of sympathy and payola" and of bribing DJs and radio outlets with sex to play her records. Minaj also criticized Cardi B's rapping ability, saying, "Do you know what it’s like to sit in your room for hours writing raps? You came into my fucking culture. I never had to fuck a DJ to play my songs."[631] Minaj also called Cardi B a "disgusting pig" for allegedly cyberbullying a guest caller on Minaj's show and for unearthed posts calling dark-skinned black women “cockroaches.”[632]
In 2022, a feud ignited between Minaj and fellow rapper Latto after Minaj went on Instagram Live to express her frustration with her song "Super Freaky Girl" reportedly being placed in the pop categories instead of the rap categories for voting consideration at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards. By way of comparison, Minaj mentioned Latto's 2021 song "Big Energy" being potentially considered for the rap categories, saying that if Minaj's own single is not being qualified as a rap song, neither should be Latto's.[633] She further alleged that there is a "concerted effort to give newer artists things that they really don’t deserve" and that soon the female rap genre will no longer "have any black women", which was taken to be a dig against Latto, whose mother is white and father is black.[634] Latto then tweeted, "Damn I can’t win for losing… all these awards/noms I can’t even celebrate," which was perceived as a response to Minaj’s commentary. Minaj responded with a tweet calling Latto a "Karen", a term typically reserved for white women, and criticizing her for previously claiming to be a fan yet not standing up for her.[635] Latto then tweeted that she agreed with Minaj's case but felt the way she brought up Latto's song "seems malicious", alleging that Minaj had been making subliminal tweets about her and had said on the phone that Latto is not "flourishing" and that no one cares about her "little song." This sparked a heated back-and-forth exchange of tweets, in which Latto insulted Minaj's age and her family members by saying she is "married and related to rapists", while Minaj insulted Latto's appearance for looking like "the one pushing 40" and for "wiping that spray tan off & being a Karen", continuing to use the slang term usually for white women.[636] The back-and-forth carried on through the night, with Latto airing out past subliminal digs by Minaj and Minaj posting a screenshot of a text Latto sent her, followed by Latto releasing an audio recording of a phone conversation the two had. In the end, Minaj deleted all of her tweets to Latto, only leaving behind a video clip of Whitney Houston laughing uncontrollably in a music video, while Latto continued to declare that Minaj is a "40 Year Old Bully."[636][635]
Although having collaborated together on the 2019 single "Hot Girl Summer", Minaj's relationship with fellow rapper Megan Thee Stallion grew cold after Megan collaborated with Cardi B on their 2020 single "WAP".[637] In response, Minaj threw subliminal shots at Megan in her 2023 singles "Red Ruby da Sleeze" and "FTCU", both of which make references to the 2020 shooting of Megan by Tory Lanez according to critics and fans.[638][639][640][641] In 2024, Megan Thee Stallion released the song "Hiss", in which she raps the line that people "don't be mad at Megan", but that they're "mad at Megan's Law", naming the law regarding sex offenders.[642] Believing it to be directed at her and her husband, registered sex offender Kenneth Petty, Minaj took to Instagram Live to preview her own song, a diss track against Megan called "Big Foot", alluding to the shooting of Megan's foot.[643] For the next several days, Minaj continued to attack Megan on social media, calling the rapper a "pathological and manipulative liar", accusing her of winning "fraudulent awards", and describing her as a "flop" compared to her own success.[644] She addressed Megan on Instagram Live by saying, "You bringing up 30-year-old tea from when this man was a 15-year-old child. You bringing up 30-year-old tea cause no man will ever fucking love you, and lying on your dead mother", referencing Megan's mother, who died of brain cancer in March 2019. On the radio app Stationhead, Minaj continued to discuss Megan's mother, as well as Tory Lanez and former collaborator DaBaby: "You let everyone be thrown under the bus. You let DaBaby be thrown under the bus, Tory, your best friend, your mom... You better go conjure up your mother and apologize. That’s disgusting."[645] Megan posted an Instagram story where she was doubled over with her left hand on her mouth, seemingly laughing at Minaj's response.[646] Two days after the release of "Hiss", Minaj released the song "Big Foot", a diss track against Megan Thee Stallion.[647] A few hours prior to the release of "Big Foot", Minaj disclosed that her team was waiting for producer Lil Juju to clear the beat "that [she] had for 6 years" and suggested that Megan tried to prevent the diss track from coming out.[295] In the song, Minaj taunts Megan over her dead mother, her appearance, and her ex-boyfriend Pardison Fontaine; various publications reported that the song was poorly received by critics and fans, who criticized the production, the rap flow, and the shots at Megan for being lacking in quality.[298][299][300] On the fifth day of Minaj's continued "intense fixation" with Megan following "Hiss", as Rolling Stone labeled it, she speculated on Twitter's Spaces that Megan’s management company, Roc Nation, had launched a smear campaign against her and accused Megan of seeking sympathy as a victim of violence to further her career, saying "She wanted a Rihanna moment so bad", an allusion to Chris Brown's 2009 assault on Rihanna.[648]
^Minaj claims she came to the United States as an illegal immigrant, although by the time she moved to the United States her mother and subsequently her father had lawful permanent residency. (See early life.)[6]
^Minaj states she was in an 11-year relationship with Samuels.[114]
^Minaj states in the "My Time Again" documentary, released in 2014, that she was in an 11-year relationship.
^"Nicki Minaj, Doja Cat Makes Guinness World Record With 'Say So'". urbanislandz.com. December 15, 2021. Archived from the original on January 9, 2022. Retrieved January 12, 2022. Nicki Minaj is quickly cementing herself as one of the greatest rappers of the decade as she continues to rake in accolades over her illustrious career.
^Shepherd, Julianne Escobedo (December 11, 2023). "Pink Friday 2". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on December 11, 2023. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
^RuPaul Charles & Michelle Visage (March 4, 2020). "Episode 245: Nicki Minaj & Leslie Jones". What's The Tee (Podcast). Event occurs at 5:47. Archived from the original on April 12, 2021. Retrieved April 12, 2021.
^Concepcion, Mariel (January 15, 2010). "Nicki Minaj: Artists To Watch 2010". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on October 28, 2020. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
^Daniels, Colin (July 5, 2012). "Nicki Minaj extends UK arena tour". Digital Spy. Hearst Corporation. Archived from the original on December 27, 2014. Retrieved August 14, 2014.
^Robinson, Joshua (December 15, 2021). "Doja Cat & Nicki Minaj's "Say So" Remix Earns Them A New Guinness World Record". HotNewHipHop. Archived from the original on May 6, 2022. Retrieved March 26, 2022. Over a year later, that achievement has now been recorded in the history books, as the Guinness World Records have officially recognized the "Say So" remix as the first song from a female rap duo to become a Hot 100 chart-topper.
^Caulfield, Keith (May 23, 2021). "J. Cole Collects Sixth No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart With 'The Off-Season'". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 23, 2021. Retrieved May 24, 2021. Nick Minaj's Beam Me Up Scotty mixtape debuts at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with 80,000 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, SEA units comprise 63,000 (equaling 85.57 million on-demand streams of the album's tracks), album sales comprise 11,000 and TEA units comprise 6,000.
^Star, Regina (June 13, 2021). "Nicki Minaj Teases Fifth Album, Hints Its Title Is 'Officially Locked In'". iHeart. Archived from the original on October 21, 2021. Retrieved December 13, 2021. The reissue pulled off some impressive feats in its waking, having debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, becoming the highest-debuting female rap mixtape in the chart's history.
^ abcCaramanica, Jon (March 30, 2012). "A Singular Influence". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 26, 2019. Retrieved June 9, 2020. "This hard and complex work has paid off: when she releases her second album, 'Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded,' this week, it will be as the most influential female rapper of all time."
Caramanica, Jon (March 30, 2012). "A Singular Influence". The New York Times. ISSN0362-4331. Retrieved March 30, 2022. This hard and complex work has paid off: when she releases her second album, 'Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded', this week, it will be as the most influential female rapper of all time.
Embley, Jochan (June 16, 2020). "From Nas to Drake, the most influential hip hop artists of all time". Evening Standard. Retrieved March 30, 2022. For many, it was an searing introduction to [Minaj] who would dominate pop music, fashion and social politics for much of this decade, repeatedly breaking down barriers for female artists in the scene.
Ramirez, Erika (March 31, 2014). "Ladies First: 31 Female Rappers Who Changed Hip-Hop". Billboard. Retrieved March 30, 2022. Many female rhymers, from Queen Latifah to Nicki Minaj, have destroyed the proverbial glass ceiling to become legends in their own right. In celebration of women's history month, we're spotlighting 31 of the greatest female rappers of all time.
Inman, Demicia (November 24, 2020). "10 years after 'Pink Friday', a look at Nicki Minaj's enduring Legacy". Nylon. Retrieved February 15, 2021. In 2020, her influence stands as one of the most successful rappers of the millennium, regardless of gender identity – which only confirms her power. She battled misogyny and industry bias against Black women to carve her own identity and sound.
^Skelton, Eric; Diaz, Angel; Tharpe, Frazier; Ortiz, Edwin; McKinney, Jessica; Thompson, Paul; Weiss, Jeff (November 18, 2019). "The Best Rappers of the 2010s". Complex. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
^Byrne, Suzy (May 15, 2021). "Nicki Minaj breaks silence on father's 'devastating' hit-and-run death". Yahoo! News. Archived from the original on May 15, 2021. Retrieved May 15, 2021. Tho I can't really bring myself to discuss the passing of my father as yet," she wrote in a letter to fans posted on her website Friday, "I can say it has been the most devastating loss of my life.
^She says this in the "My Time Again" MTV documentary from 2014.
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