Nicki Minaj is like an ever-blooming flower in the dynamic garden of the music industry. The talented, fierce and energetic rapper carved a niche for herself from the very start of her gigantic career, through the present days. Clinching tons of awards on various music platforms, appearing in weird and unusual costumes, and widely known for her distinctive voice tone; Nicki Minaj is truly one of her own kind and has continued to stay on the prestigious category of A-List musicians around the globe. Nicki’s success story is one that should be heard by any aspiring rapper or musician hoping to make it big in the industry. Here are lesser known facts about the talented rapper, singer, songwriter, model, and actress.
Nicki Minaj’s Age & Ethnicity
She was born Onika Tanya Maraj on December 8, 1982, to parents; Robert and Carol Maraj. Minaj is of Afro-Trinidad ancestry; having a father who is of Afro-Trinidad and Indo-Trinidad ancestry, and a mother of Afro-Trinidad ancestry. Onika moved from her birthplace to Queens, New York at the age of 5 after her mother moved to New York to attend college. Young Nicki who was always inclined to arts enrolled at performing arts school, LaGuardia High School in Manhattan New York and went on to pursue a career in acting after she graduated.
A few insignificant roles and several odd jobs later, Nicki Minaj ventured into her musical career in 2004, joining ‘The Hoodstars’, a rap quartet. She released her first mixtape ‘Playtime is Over’ in 2007 and released the second one ‘Sucka Free’ the following year, clinching the award for ‘Female Artist of the Year’ at 2008’s Underground Music Awards. Her third mixtape ‘Beam Me Up Scotty’ was released in April 2009.
Nicki soon caught the attention of rapper Lil Wayne who signed her on to Young Money Entertainment in 2009. After being featured in several artists’ songs, Nicki Minaj released her debut album ‘Massive Attack’ in March 2010. The album title was later changed to ‘Pink Friday’. The album contained hit singles like ‘Your Love’ and ‘Super Bass’. Nicki released a follow-up album from the first, ‘Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded’, in April 2012. The talented rapper became a judge on talent show American Idol in 2012, alongside other judges; Mariah Carey, Keith Urban and Randy Jackson.
Nicki tested waters in the film industry in 2014 when she featured in the movie ‘The Other Woman’. The rapper announced the forthcoming release of her third album ‘The Pinkprint’ in 2013 and released ‘Pills n Potions’ as the lead single in May 2014. She released the second single from the album ‘Anaconda’ in August that same year. ‘Anaconda’ turned out to be her most popular rap song, garnering over 19 million views on the first day it was released. In December 2014, her third album ‘The Pinkprint’ was released officially and got a lot of nods at the Grammy awards. In June that year, she became the only female artist to bag the BET Award for ‘Best Female Hip-Hop Artist’ for five consecutive years.
Nicki Minaj at the 2018 Met Gala, announced her fourth studio album ‘Queen’. Earlier in April 2018, she had released two singles “Chun-Li” and “Barbie Tingz”, meant for the upcoming album.
Meet Nicki’s Brother and Parents
It must have been a matter of heredity for Nicki Minaj whose parents were gospel singers. Her father, though a financial executive, made out time to practice his other interest which was gospel singing and her mother was also a gospel singer. Fate was not so fair to Nicki’s family who witnessed her father’s abject alcoholism and drug addiction; vices that caused him to burn their home in 1987.
Nicki Minaj who has two siblings made the news in 2017 when it was reported that her brother Jelani Maraj was convicted on child rape charges. Jelani was found guilty of raping his 11-year-old stepdaughter.
Nicki Minaj’s Husband and The Previous Boyfriends She Dated
Being an outgoing, sassy, and enigmatic figure in the industry, Nicki Minaj surely has had a fair share of dating rumors, as well as some names in her boyfriend diary. The ace rapper used to be in a highly publicized relationship with rapper Meek Mill. The couple who started dating in 2015 broke up two years later in 2017. News about their break-up had spread after Nicki took to her Twitter handle to announce it.
The early part of 2018 came with rumors of Nicki Minaj being in a relationship with legendary rapper Eminem. The rumors followed the release of YG’s song ‘Big Bank’ which featured 2 Chainz, Big Sean, and Nicki Minaj. Minaj’s lines; “Told them I met Slim Shady, bag the Em/ Once he go black, he’ll be back again” stirred dating speculations which intensified after she posted a video on Instagram lipsyncing the same lyrics.
It didn’t end there, a fan soon asked her if she was dating Eminem and Minaj replied ‘yes’. But it seems that the two megastars are only pulling a stunt on fans.
Recently, Nicki tied the knot with Kenneth Petty after less than one year of dating. Despite criticisms being thrown at the couple due to the husband’s criminal past as a result of a conviction for attempted rape in 1995, and manslaughter for which he spent 7 years in prison, the two got married on the 21st of October, 2019.
It is reported that Nicki Minaj has a daughter named Kamiyah whom she gave up for adoption in a foster home.