Nicki Minaj is the newest female MC to come onto the hip hop scene and she is taking the music industry
by storm. Nicki Minaj’s real name is Onika Maraj and she was born in Jamaica, Queens, New York on
December 8, 1984. Raised by her mother, her father was not an active part of her life. Despite growing up
in a tough environment, Maraj made it into the famous LaGuardia High School in Manhattan to study singing and acting.
After graduation, Onika Maraj got a job as an administrative assistant but she spent all of her free time
building her music career. She began singing backup vocals and hooks for local artists but she always
wanted to stand on her own. She was influenced musically by Missy Eliot, Foxy Brown, and Lil’ Kim. She
developed her stage name, Nicki Minaj, and soon her music profile was noticed o MySpace by Dirty Money CEO, Fendi.
Nicki Minaj was signed to Dirty Money and she was soon featured on the cover of “The Carter Edition” of the
“The Come Up” DVD series. Lil’ Wayne noticed her and felt that she was perfect for the face of Young Money.
She could write her own material and she had a unique and original style.
Nicki Minaj says that she came up with her name because she was metaphorically “eating chicks” when it came to
rapping. Nicki Minaj 2011 is only one of the MC’s several aliases. She is known also as Nicki the Ninja,
Harajuku Barbie, Nicki Lewinsky, Sit on Your Favorite Rapper’s Face, as well as her newest as well as Roman Zolanski.
Nicki Minaj has seemed to find nothing but success on the hip hop scene this past year. Now her music is heard
on nearly every hip hop radio station and she has had several top Billboard hits before even releasing
her first album. She is breaking records for a female MC left and right and she doesn’t seem to be
slowing down. Her highly anticipated debut album, Pink Friday, will be available in stores November 22, 2010.
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