Nicki Minaj
Nicki Minaj |
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Nicki Minaj (born Onika Maraj) is an American rapper and singer.[1]
Biography
Nicki Minaj was born on December 8, 1984, and grew up in Queens, New York. She is of African , Trinidadian and Indo-Asian descent.[2] She graduated from LaGuardia High School in Manhattan where she studied singing and acting.[3] She started off singing background vocals and hooks for local rappers. In order to stand out from other aspiring singers, she began writing raps, and started out as the lone female in a group, (which she left in 2006).
Minaj was discovered on MySpace by Young Money CEO Fendi, who signed her to his Young Money label. After appearing on The Carter Edition of Young Money's The Come Up DVD series, Minaj was contacted by Lil Wayne. The two collaborated on a number of mixtape tracks.[4] In April 2007, she released her first mixtape, Playtime Is Over, where she posed as a Barbie doll on the cover. Lil Wayne appeared on the track "Can't Stop, Won't Stop".
In 2008, Minaj released her mixtape, Sucka Free. She appeared in the July issue of XXL magazine, giving a brief overview of her life up to that point in time. Later that year, Minaj won Female Artist of the Year at the Underground Music Awards.[5]
Nicki Minaj released Beam Me Up Scotty, another mixtape, in 2009. It received generally positive coverage on the websites of both BET and MTV.[6][7]
In August 2009, Minaj officially signed to Young Money Entertainment with distributution from Universal Motown wherein she will release her debut studio album in 2010. [8].
Discography
Mixtapes
- 2007: Playtime Is Over
- 2008: Sucka Free
- 2008: Dedication 3 (with Young Money Entertainment)
- 2009: Beam Me Up Scotty
- 2009: Its Barbie Bitch
- 2009: Step Your Pussy Up (unofficial)
Appearances
 |
| Year | Artist | Song | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Angel DeMar (featuring Nicki Minaj) | "Who Run This" | |||
| 2006 | Gravy (featuring Nicki Minaj) | "Affirmative Action" | |||
| 2007 | Ciara (featuring Nicki Minaj) | "Make It Last Forever" (Remix) | |||
| 2008 | Pritty Boy (featuring Nicki Minaj) | "Excellent" | |||
| Ashley (featuring Nicki Minaj) | "Tempo" | ||||
| Enur (featuring Nicki Minaj & The Chopper City Boyz) | "Ucci Ucci" | ||||
| Angel DeMar (featuring Nicki Minaj) | "Pamper Me" | ||||
| Wyclef Jean (featuring Lil Wayne & Nicki Minaj) | "Sweetest Girl" (Remix) | ||||
| Lil Wayne (featuring Nicki Minaj) | "Lollipop" (Remix) | ||||
| Gucci Mane (featuring Nicki Minaj, Bobby Valentino & So Icey Boys) | "Shopaholic" | ||||
| Gucci Mane (featuring Nicki Minaj) | "You A Failure" | ||||
| "Slumber Party" "freaky girl (remix)" | |||||
| Jeffree Star (featuring Nicki Minaj) | "Lollipop Luxury" (Remix) | ||||
| Bow Wow (featuring Nicki Minaj) | "Kiss My A.S.S." | ||||
| Beyoncé (featuring Nicki Minaj) | "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)" (Remix) | ||||
| Ne-Yo (featuring Nicki Minaj) | "Miss Independent" (Remix) | ||||
| Ricky Blaze (featuring Ron Browz, Nicki Minaj, Red Cafe), | "I Feel Free" | ||||
| 2009 | Gucci Mane (featuring Nicki Minaj & Rocko) | "Easy" | |||
| Drake (featuring Nicki Minaj) | "Best I Ever Had" (Remix) | ||||
| Eric Benét (featuring Nicki Minaj) | "Chocolate Legs" (Remix) | ||||
| Teairra Marí (featuring Nicki Minaj) | "Automatic" | ||||
| Gucci Mane (featuring Nicki Minaj) | "Girls Kissing Girls" | ||||
| Pearl Future (featuring Nicki Minaj) | "Lookin at Me" | ||||
| Jabari (featuring Nicki Minaj & Pusha T) | "Dopeman" | ||||
| DJ Diamond Kutz (featuring Nicki Minaj & Ron Browz) | "Strippin In Da Club" | ||||
| Randall Rock (featuring Nicki Minaj) | "1234" | ||||
| Mario (featuring Gucci Mane, & Nicki Minaj) | "Break Up" (Remix) | ||||
| Young Money (featuring Lil Wayne, Drake, Gudda Gudda,Lloyd,Tyga, Nicki Minaj) | "Bedrock" | ||||
| Yo Gotti (featuring Trina & Nicki Minaj) | "5 Star" (Remix) | Mya (feautring Nicki Minaj) | "Ponytail" |
References
- ^ Starbury, Allen (2009) "Nicki Minaj Wants Fans To Focus On Her Music, Also Her Sexy Image", BallerStatus, 21 May 2009
- ^ McGarry, Kevin (2009) "The New Queen Bee | Meet Nicki Minaj", New York Times, 4 June 2009
- ^ Jeffries, David "Nicki Minaj Biography", Allmusic, Macrovision Corporation, retrieved 13 June 2009
- ^ "FEATURE: Nicki Minaj:Climax", XXL, 24 November 2008
- ^ "Nicki Minaj - Beware Sucka MCs", HipHopRuckus, 28 August 2008
- ^ Reid, Shaheem (2009) "Lil Wayne Introduces Nicki Minaj", MTV, 4 May 2009
- ^ "SoundOff TV: One On One With LowKey & Nicki Minaj", BET, 1 May 2009
- ^ [1]