Rapper and singer-songwriter Nicki Minaj

Onika Tanya Maraj better known by her stage name Nicki Minaj is a rapper and singer-songwriter from New York City. Born in Trinidad, Minaj moved to the Queens borough of New York City as a child and graduated from LaGuardia High School in 2003. She released her first mixtape Playtime Is Over in 2007, which was followed by Sucka Free and Beam Me Up Scotty in 2008 and 2009, respectively. Minaj was discovered by fellow American rapper Lil Wayne and signed a deal to Young Money Entertainment with distribution from Universal Motown in August 2009.










Birth name     Onika Tanya Maraj
Born     December 8, 1984 (age 26)
Saint James, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
Origin     New York City, New York, United States
Genres     Hip hop, R&B
Occupations     Rapper, singer-songwriter
Years active     2004–present
Labels     Young Money Entertainment,
Cash Money Records, Universal Motown
Associated acts     Young Money, Lil Wayne, Drake, Rihanna


Minaj was born in 1984 in Saint James, (a suburb of Trinidad and Tobago's capital city Port of Spain). Her parents were of Indo-Trinidadian and Afro-Trinidadian ancestry and she lived in Saint James, Trinidad and Tobago with her grandmother until age five, because her parents were looking for a place to live in the Queens borough of New York City at the time. Her mother would occasionally visit, and one day, when Minaj was five, her mother picked her up to move to Queens. According to Minaj, her father drank alcohol, took drugs, and once tried to kill her mother by setting the house on fire.

She attended Elizabeth Blackwell Middle School 210, where she played the clarinet. She graduated from LaGuardia High School. At LaGuardia, a school specializing in music and the visual and performing arts, Minaj participated in the drama program. She had initially planned to sing at LaGuardia, but lost her voice on the day of the audition.

While some songs and interviews have implied that Minaj is bisexual, she has said that she does not date nor have sex with women, but added in an interview with Out magazine, "I don’t date men either." In an interview with Vibe she commented, "I just embrace all people of all lifestyles and I don’t tell them they are bad people. And I say girls are beautiful and girls are sexy and they need to be told that, and if they don’t have anyone to tell them that and mean it, I’m gonna tell them that. But I feel like people always wanna define me and I don’t wanna be defined." She reiterated her dislike of being labeled in an interview with OUT, saying: "The point is, everyone is not black and white. There are so many shades in the middle, and you’ve got to let people feel comfortable with saying what they want to say when they want to say it."

During an interview in the May 2010 issue of Details, Minaj was asked if she felt hip-hop was becoming more gay-friendly. She responded, "I think the world is getting more gay-friendly, so hip-hop is too. But it's harder to imagine an openly gay male rapper being embraced, people view gay men as having no street credibility. But I think we'll see one in my lifetime."





Minaj has stated that artists who have influenced her musical style include Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, Lil Wayne, Lauryn Hill, Jadakiss, Natasha Bedingfield, Foxy Brown, and Missy Elliott.

Post Title

→

Rapper and singer-songwriter Nicki Minaj

Post URL

→

https://shortemohairstyle2011.blogspot.com/2011/04/rapper-and-singer-songwriter-nicki.html

Visit Short Emo hairstyle for Daily Updated Wedding Dresses Collection