Nicki Minaj Biography, Age, Net Worth, Height, Weight, Facts, Controversies and More
Posted By: Irfan Khan | March 20, 2018Nicki Minaj Biography
Music is the strongest form of the magic as it can change people. The music we listen affects the way we think, and our behavior varies with our taste. If we are having a bad day, we can listen to either an upbeat song and change our mood in an instant, or we can listen to something a bit more mellow and acoustic to make us feel relatable and not the only in this world facing problems. In short, we can hack our emotions through music, and that is the easiest way to do it. Here the below article ”Nicki Minaj bio” includes everything you need to know about Nicki Minaj.
Among hundreds of genres of music, Rap Music is the most vital form of music to appear after the introduction of the ‘Rock Punk.’ The hip-hop music or the ‘hood’ music has taken over the world in the recent years with its rapid-fire words laid down in a rhythm beat by beat. Among the most popular and successful Rap stars who changed the way for ‘hood’ music is the hip-hop icon, Nicki Minaj. To find out how she did it and to more about Nicki Minaj Net Worth or Nicki Minaj Life Story then keep on reading.
Nicki Minaj Early Life:
Who is Nicki Minaj? Nicki is hip-hop icon of the 21st century, and she has come a long way in her career. Nicki Minaj was born on 8 December 1982 and given the name Onika Tanya Minaj. She was born in Saint James, Trinidad and Tobago, which is a small country in the Caribbean. At the time Nicki was born, her mother was very young. She attended the Monroe College in New York while Nicki stayed in the Port of Spain with her grandmother.
Nicki moved to West 147th street Queens, New York, with her mother and a sibling when she was 5. She attended the LaGuardia High School in Manhattan and struggled to be an actor while supporting herself with a part-time job at the Red Lobster, which she lost due to her rude behavior with the customers. She tried her luck at more than fifteen jobs before finding her luck in the music industry.
Nicki Minaj Career:
Nicki Minaj Early Struggles:
Careers don’t build up in just one day, especially if it’s the entertainment industry we are talking about as it’s not the question of salary anymore but the question of fame and popularity. It is really hard to come up with some original idea that would appeal to a large audience if you are a small solo artist. Nicki Minaj had to do several jobs to support her struggles with her acting career but she didn’t give up.
Nicki Minaj always had a knack for Rap Music so she tried her luck and this time it led her to success. She initially started singing with the Brooklyn group known as Full Force. She rapped a quarter in their famous song “The Hoodstars”. The group was also signed for the opening song of WWE Diva Victoria which released under the title ‘Don’t Mess With’ and was featured in the ThemeAddict: WWE The Music, Vol 6.
Nicki Minaj Contract with Dirty Money Entertainment:
Nicki Minaj career blossomed when she left the group Full Force and started uploading her songs on her MySpace account, from where the CEO of the Dirty Money Entertainment discovered and fell in love with her talent. He instantly signed Nicki for a 180-day contract in 2007. Nicki went by the nickname ‘Nicki Maraj’ at first but later changed it to ’Nicki Minaj’ when she discovered that Maraj was quite hard to pronounce and didn’t really go with the flow. Her new nickname was in every one’s mouth after the release of her new songs. Nicki’s first mixtape with the Dirty Money records was released on 5 July 2007 with the title Playtime is over.
Her first mixtape was still new on the market when she released her second mixtape with the Dirty Money titled Sucka Free on 12 April 2008. Nicki Minaj was named Female Artist of the year and won the Underground music awards. She released her third mixtape with The Dirty Money Records on 18 April 2009 under the title Beam Me Up Scotty and the songs featured on BET and MTV. Her song I Get Crazy was a big hit from that album and positioned 20 in the U. S. Billboard Hot Rap Songs.
Nicki Minaj and Lil Wayne:
Nicki Minaj was gaining fame and many new offers in the year 2009 after the release of her third album but she didn’t want to make any big decisions yet. When the famous American rapper Lil Wayne discovered her, she joined his production company Young Money Entertainment immediately. She featured in the remix 5 Star Bitch by Yo Gotti along with Gucci Mane and Trina. Nicki Minaj also made an appearance in the BedRock and Roger That in the compilation album released by Lil Wayne in 2009 under the title We Are Young Money.
Her single positioned number 2 on the U. S. Billboard Hot 100 and the Recording Industry Association of America declared the album to be certified gold.
Nicki Minaj Pink Friday:
Nicki Minaj was still new to the Hip Hop game but that didn’t stop her from topping the Billboards. She released her single Pink Friday as a play on Black Friday on 19 November 2009 following three other singles for the album Massive Attack. The other singles released under the titles Your Love, Check it out and Right Through Me. She became the first female ever have her seven singles on the top list of U. S. Billboard and the very first women to ever make an appearance on the Annual Lotus MC by the TV.
Nicki Minaj Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded:
Nicki Minaj released her second studio album in April 2012 under the title Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded which received a lot of criticism by many people but also got a lot of coverage for its controversial theme of exorcism. The album was out right after the release of her new singles Stupid Hoe and Roman in Moscow. The song Stupid Hoe seemed to directed at the rapper Lil’ Kim as she and Nicki had a conflict going on.
Nicki Minaj joined M.I.A and Madonna to sing her new single on the platform of Super Bowl XLVI. The beautiful song that they all performed was released under the title Give Me All Your Luvin and went viral at that time.
Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey:
Nicki Minaj came a long way in her career and was a big name in the music industry in 2012. She was invited to the twelfth season of the American Idol to join the judges’ panel but it didn’t go that well. A leaked video of her and Mariah Carey engaged in a heated argument took the internet with a storm. Carey claimed that Nicki Minaj created an ‘insecure’ environment on work and went as far as to say that,
“If I had a gun, I would shoot that bitch”
Carey criticised Nicki Minaj for not having any song at the top spot in the U. S. Billboard Hot 100 to which Nicki Minaj responded to some really rude tweets and later that year, Nicki Minaj became the most famous female rapper in the history. Nicki Minaj became the very first rapper to win the BET Best Female Hip Hop Artist Award four times in a row.
Nicki Minaj Pinkprint:
The fourth studio album release of the famous American singer Nicki Minaj made it to the public under the title ‘Pinkprint’ and it proved to be an instant hit. Nicki Minaj told in an interview that this album inspired by the songs of an Irish Singer-Songwriter called Enya. So her newest album had a different kind of vibe as she had worked with new people to make this happen. The single Pills n Potions was out in May 2014 and released as the lead song for her new album.
Her song Anaconda was released in August as the second lead and positioned no. 2 on the Billboards. It gathered 19.6 million views on the internet in just 24 hours. Her third single Only was opened to a lot of criticism for the use of Nazi-style imagery by the Anti Defamation League and the song was deemed insensitive for the Holocaust survivors and the trivialization of the history of that era.
Nicki Minaj Latest Album:
Nicki Minaj has only one thing to tell her fans so far about her latest album and the thing is,
“It’s so f#*king good!”
Nicki Minaj has become the Hip Hop icon in the recent years and the Young Money Queen is working on a new album that is going to be the best yet. The date of release has not revealed yet but we know that it’s going to be released soon and will pick up on all the great stuff that Nicki Minaj has learned all these years as this album is her reflection on her whole career.
Nicki Minaj Facts:
here are some Unknown Facts About Nicki Minaj You Should Know About Her.
- Minaj is just a stage name and her real name is Onika Tanya Maraj. But the surprising fact is that she didn’t really want to go with that. Instead, she wanted to revive her first stage name Cookie but her producer wanted her to go with Nicki Minaj as it had a nice ring to it.
- With the release of her hottest new singles in 2009, Nicki Minaj became the first female solo musician to have as many as seven songs on the Billboard Hot 100 and she also became the first female to appear on the Annual Hottest MC List by the MTV.
- In an Interview, Nicki Minaj admitted that she was a dog person and she preferred dogs as pets on either cats or birds.
- Nicki Minaj finally released her long-awaited album Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded and she was invited to Super Bowl XLVI halftime show to join M.I.A and Madonna and perform her latest single Give Me All Your Lovin on 6 February 2012. Her single so hit that she became the very first female rapper to perform at the Grammy Awards.
- Nicki Minaj told in an interview that she is a very good cook and she loves to make a chicken curry which she learned from her dad. And she also told that her favorite fruit is Mango; her favorite chocolates are Twix and Kit-Kat.
- Nicki Minaj’s album Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded was at the number one spot in the Billboard 200 charts and the Recording Industry Association of America honored it to be the certified Platinum and sold 253,000 copies in the first week of its release.
- She actually wanted to kill her father in her teenage years as he was an abusive drug addict who tried to murder his wife and Nicki Minaj’s mother by burning down their house when Nicki was just a child.
- Nicki Minaj favorite actress is Zoe Saldana who has made a name working in Hollywood sci-fi blockbuster movies like Avatar, Star Trek and the Guardians of the Galaxy. Nicki Minaj also wanted to be an actress at first but found success in her music career.
- The Hip Hop icon Nicki Minaj is acrophobic, which means that she is really afraid of heights. She can’t visit the top of Eiffel Tower and feel comfortable taking a selfie from the top, that’s for sure.
- Nicki Minaj has formed many alter egos over the years as she had a traumatic childhood and had been a bookworm in the early years. Some of her alter egos are Cookie, Harajuku Barbie, Nicki Teresa and Rosa with an exaggerated R. She created Roma Zolanski as the demon inside her and also her twin brother.
Nicki Minaj Net Worth:
Nicki Minaj is the hip-hop sensation of the 21st century and has become the face of the industry. She has come a long way in her career and yet she has much more to offer. She has been collaborating with different artists here and there. And going on world tours to meet her fans from around the world. Her popularity is surely the reason her net worth has seen a hike of 140%, and as of 2017. Her net worth is about 75 million dollars.
She became the first female rapper to join Forbes’ Hip-Hop Cash King and positioned no. 15 earning 6.5 million dollars in between 2010 and 2011. Her record sales in 2014 were 2.2 million dollars.
Nicki Minaj Brands and Endorsements:
Nicki Minaj is beautiful and famous, so it is natural for her to be endorsing a lot of beauty products and makeup brands. Her very first endorsement was in 2010 when she signed up a deal with MAC Cosmetics which sold a lipstick specially made on order for her latest hit single. She introduced Casio TRYX in Times Square. In April 2012, she signed up with Microsoft and they launched the new Nokia Lumia 900.
The very next month she started appearing in the Pepsi advertisements and in 2013 she managed to pull off a collaboration between her and beats electronics to launch the brand new line of speaker known as Pink Pill speakers. In 2015, it was revealed that Minaj was the co-owner of a music service famous with the name Tidal.
Nicki Minaj Beauty Products and Merchandise:
Minaj has worked with a number of companies and designers to make and design a number of new products in accordance with her latest albums. In 2011, she launched her lipstick named ‘Pink 4 Friday’ with the MAC Cosmetics and in the December of that year, Nicki Minaj themed Barbie doll was launched by Mattel and it was sold for $15,000 in an auction at the Charitybuzz. She launched the ‘Nicki 2’ Lipstick in the early 2013 and launched her own clothing line in collaboration with Kmart.
Nicki also made a deal with ‘Give Back Brands’ and launched her own line of the fragrance named after her album Pink Friday. She launched her second line fragrance in September 2013 when she launched her new fragrance named ‘Minajesty’ and the ‘Minajesty: Exotic Edition’ was only available on the Home Shopping Network. In early 2016, Nicki Minaj launched her brand new fragrance named ‘Trini Girl’.
Nicki Minaj Houses:
Nicki Minaj is immensely successful in her music career which gives her all the right to own a luxurious residence like her Malibu Monster house which she bought in 2013. Her luxurious house sits on a property of 6,800 square foot. And consists of 6 bedrooms, 7 bathrooms and 5 garages for her luxury cars. The interior of the house has been decorated with stone and hardwood. The house even has a direct access to the beach. The house costs about 11.8 million dollars in the Real Estate.
Nicki Minaj Cars Collection:
The car collection of Nicki Minaj is not that big but she owns two of the best cars ever made. The first car that found its home in Nicki Minaj’s garage is the Bentley Continental which she bought in 2011. Nicki Minaj absolutely loves her car and she has even colored it pink. The car is amazing and it looks even more amazing when Nicki Minaj is driving it. The car costs about $214,425 dollars and is one of the best luxury cars by Bentley.
The other car that made its way to Nicki Minaj’s heart is the Lamborghini Aventador which she bought in 2013. Lamborghini is the brand that doesn’t need any explanation and makes some of the finest luxury sports cars in the automobile industry. Nicki also had her Lamborghini colored pink as she loves that color. She loves to cruise around the town in her Lambo which costs roughly $393,695 dollars.
Nicki Minaj Family Tree:
Nicki Minaj and Her Father:
The name of Nicki Minaj Father is Robert Maraj and he is a financial executive. He also used to be a part-time gospel singer at the local church in Trinidad and Tobago. Nicki Minaj’s father had some serious issues controlling his temper and could resist the urge to be violent. He was also an alcoholic and struggled with drug addiction. The problem between Nicki Minaj parents started from all that and took another turn. When her father attempted to murder her wife by burning down the house in December 1987. Her parents split and Minaj started living with her mother.
Nicki Minaj and Her Mother:
The name of Nicki Minaj’s Mother is Carol Maraj and she works in the accounting department at Payroll. She also used to be a gospel singer in her youth and this was where she met Nicki’s father. She was still studying in college when she had Nicki. Therefore, Nicki Minaj lived with her grandma for five years but then moved to queens Newyork with her mother. After giving Nicki a violent dad, Carol didn’t want to be a strict parent. So she rarely gave her any discipline talks and her household didn’t have any strict rules. This gave Nicki a lot of freedom to chose her own career and do whatever she wanted to do. Because her mother was always supporting her.
Nicki Minaj and Her Siblings:
Nicki Minaj is the lovely sister of three brothers; Micaiah Maraj, Jelani Maraj and her half-brother Brandon Lamar. She also has a younger half-sister from her father’s side named Ming Maraj. Jelani Maraj is the older brother of Nicki Minaj and she has mentioned him in a number of songs. Micaiah Maraj is her younger brother. Whom she will always be loved as she said in her song ‘All Things Go’. Her half-brother Brandon Lamar and her half-sister Ming Maraj from her father’s side also love their sister and they have a very good relationship.
Relationship History:
Nicki Minaj and Drake Relationship History:
Nicki Minaj is a very talented individual and has made her name in the genre of Hip Hop. She has always been so persistent and dedicated to the world of ‘hood music’ that she has become really successful. So, watching her talents along with her stunning looks and that amazing butt, any other celebrity is sure to fall for her. Even the Rapp king, Drake fell for Nicki Minaj and confessed his feelings in form of a Rap. He confessed that he wanted to marry Nicki Minaj. While the fans were left in the speculating a relationship between the celebrities, Nicki Minaj and Drake decided to perform live together on Thanks Giving Concert and shared a kiss at the end of a song fuelling even more rumors.
When Drake and Nicki both asked about the relationship rumors in an interview with the MTV2. Drake admitted that he always had a crush on her but Nicki always looked at him like a little brother. A year later, both celebrities getting twitter married as Drake tweeted that everyone should now call her Mrs. Aubrey Drake and Nicki Minaj re-tweeted confirming that they had tied the knot.
In 2013 when Drake released his latest single Tuscan Leather from his album Nothing Was The Same. The fans knew by the lyrics that something serious went down between the artists. And they were facing some problems in their relationship. Drake admitted that they weren’t talking for while and they were having some problems. Later Nicki Minaj revealed that Drake fault was that he didn’t include her or her team in his new album. ‘I’m Young Money ‘til the Death of Me’.
In an interview on the Ellen Show, Drake revealed that. He and Nicki hadn’t shared any intimate moments in that way. And they were just close friends. But later that year in 2013, Nicki admitted that she wants to run away with Drake. This caused a lot of confusion in the media and fans didn’t know whom to believe. But the internet just broke with the release of Anaconda. And Nicki giving Drake a Lap Dance in her latest single. When the song ‘Only’ came out, it became clear that they weren’t dating as the Nicki opened up the song raping, “I never f#*ked Wayne, I never f#*ked Drake.” While Drake was rapping, “I never f#*ked Nicki, cause she got a man. But when that’s over, I’m the first in line.”
But later that year, Meek accused Drake of using a ghostwriter and not writing his own lyrics. To which Drake responded in form of a rap. He also hinted that he and Nicki might have hooked up a few times. Nicki Minaj didn’t respond to that immediately but started internet frenzy. When she thanked Drake ahead of her ‘boyfriend’ while receiving the award at AMA nomination. Later, she tweeted that she had broken up with her long-term partner. And is single to focus on her work and music without mentioning who that partner actually was.
Nicki Minaj and Meek Mill Relationship:
The first interaction between Nicki Minaj and Meek Mill is not really clear. But a tweet in 2009 by Meek Mill fired some rumors. Just a year later, they caught tweeting back and forth. And Meek found his chance to admit that his goals were to get Nicki Minaj before someone else. He even took his tweets so far to say that his goal was to get Nicki Minaj “knocked up”. He made his feelings for Nicki Minaj very clear in his song Miss Me. When he opened up saying that he loves Nicki Minaj.
Nicki Minaj and Meek Mill fuelled some rumors when they performed together at the DJ Khalid’s NBA All-Star ‘Welcome to My Hood’. That held in Los Angeles. In 2013, they both started to appear in a whole lot of Instagram photos together. Nicki even featured two tracks on Meek Mill’s new mixtape titled Dreamchasers 3. It was later revealed that Nicki Minaj was actually dating Safaree Samuels. At the time neither Drake nor Meek Mill had their luck. But she broke up her 10 years long relationship in 2014 providing both a chance. By the time she broke up, Mill released from the jail but her visits to the jail. When Mill was behind the bars started a lot of conspiracies. Which were immediately shut down and denied by Nicki Minaj.
But a year after in 2015, Nicki Minaj and Meek Mill started appearing in a bunch of Instagram photos together. And they started hanging out a lot. But they both kept denying their relationship. Meek Mill went on the tour with Nicki Minaj and in April 2015. He finally confirmed that they were in a relationship. The relationship lasted for 2 more years. Until Nicki Minaj confirmed that she had broken up her long-term relationship and was now single.
Nicki Minaj Controversies:
- Nicki Minaj got into a conflict when she interrupted the Miss Rap Supreme Winner Rece Steele. With her interview and held a sign behind her head in 2009. The news about the conflict was viral that year. And Nicki Minaj avoided any interview questions regarding that matter including Spate Magazine’s interviews.
- With the release of her new single Pink Friday, Minaj went viral and her single being played at every corner. When she was invited to perform Live on Good Morning America, she suffered a nip-slip. And it made her an open target for criticism for wearing a low cut shirt. During a live performance to pull off that publicity stunt. But in an interview on the Nightline Show on ABC network, Nicki Minaj apologized and denied the accusations.
- Nicki Minaj broke all barriers with the release of her new single Pink Friday. But accused by another famous American rapper Lil’ Kim for ‘stealing her style’ apparently. The feud took a little serious turn and Lil’ Kim tried to settle the score by the release of her new album Black Friday and pointed at Nicki Minaj.
- The Nicki Minaj and Lil’ Kim feud was still going on when Foxy Brown jumped into the action as well and called out both Minaj and Lil’ Kim on their fight in her latest diss tracks under the titles Hold Yu and Nicki Minaj and Foxy Brown settled their conflict in June 2012 on a mutual agreement.
- With the release of her exorcism-themed second studio album in April 2012, Nicki received a lot of criticism. And a strike by the American Catholic League for her sexual interpretation of the concept of exorcism and bringing a fake pop to escort her on the red carpet. The President of the ACL said that,
“Perhaps the most vulgar part was the sexual statement that showed a scantily clad female dancer stretching backward. While an altar boy knelt between her legs in prayer. Finally, ‘Come All Ye Faithful’ was sung while a man posing as a bishop walked on stage; Minaj was shown levitating.”
- Nicki Minaj released her new single Starships in February 2012. It was an instant hit reaching number 5 on the U. S. Billboard. But she sued a few days later for copyright infringements by the Clive Tanaka in September 2013. As the Chicago singer claimed that Nicki Minaj’s song borrows too much from one of his hits.
- There have been many rumors circulating around that Nicki Minaj has had many plastic surgeries on her body. As the transformation from her previous photos to the new her is significant. She has made it clear that she hasn’t done any plastic surgery on her face. By saying that all the change is apparent and there because of the makeup. But she has never said a word about her Butt and Breasts. And she might never admit it that she had many surgeries to achieve that new look.
- Nicki Minaj has three brothers and one sister. Her older brother Jaleni Maraj convicted to jail in December 2015 for sexually assaulting a minor. The victim, in this case, was a 12-year-old child. Jaleni Maraj was 37 at the time. And he was newly married but faced first-degree rape charges and first-degree course of sexual conduct with a 12-year-old child. His bail set to be $100,000 dollars. Nicki Minaj paid that for his bail raising questions in the media about her stand on the matter.