Just in case you have never read it before :)
Onika Tanya Maraj, better known by her stage name Nicki Minaj, is an American rapper, singer and songwriter. Born on December 8, 1982 in Saint James, Trinidad and Tobago, Minaj moved to Queens, New York City when she was 5 years old. She has two brothers, Makiya and Jelani, which she mentioned in her song "I'm The Best" from her debut album "Pink Friday". According to Minaj, her childhood was rough. She accused her father of being abusive, of drinking heavily and even of trying to kill her mother by setting their house on fire. Nicki made her musical debut in 2007. She released a series of successful mixtapes like "Playtime Is Over", "Sucka Free" and "Beam Me Up Scotty". 2009 was Nicki's big year as she was discovered by Lil Wayne and signed a deal with his record label Young Money Entertainment. She got her chance to real shine thanks to Mariah Carey who featured Nicki on her hit single "Up Out My Face". After successful collaborations with Rihanna and Kanye West, Minaj released her debut album entitled 'Pink Friday' in November 2010. Featuring hit singles like "Your Love", "Check It Out", "Right Thru Me" and "Moment 4 Life", the album went platinum one month after its release. Nicki's second studio album "Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded" was released in April 2012. To promote the album, the rapper released the acclaimed promotional singles "Roman In Moscow", "Stupid Hoe" and "Roman Reloaded". The lead single was "Starships" which is Nicki Minaj's most popular song to date. Following singles "Right By My Side" with Chris Brown and "Beez In The Trap" featuring 2 Chainz did extremely well in the charts as well. Minaj's career continued to go through the roof when Madonna asked her to guest sing on her hit single "Give Me All Your Luvin". May 16, 2012 marks the date of the rapper's first worldwide tour, the 'Pink Friday Tour'. Aside from a successful musical career, Nicki Minaj does extremely well in other niches as well. She voiced Steffie in the 3D animated film 'Ice Age: Continental Drift' and endorses a series of products such as Pepsi, Mattel, MAC Cosmetics, Give Back Brands, Adidas and OPI.
