Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj (/mɪˈnɑːʒ/), is a Trinidadian-born[a] rapper, singer, songwriter, and actress.[2][3] Minaj is known for her animated flow in her rapping, versatility as a recording artist, and double entendres in her songwriting.[4][5]
Born in the Saint James district of Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago and raised in Queens of New York City, she gained public recognition after releasing the mixtapes Playtime Is Over (2007), Sucka Free (2008), and Beam Me Up Scotty (2009). Early in her career, Minaj became known for her colorful costumes and wigs, her distinct flow, and the use of alter egos and accents, primarily British cockney.[6] In 2010, Minaj released her debut studio album, Pink Friday (2010), which was certified triple-platinum by RIAA,[7] and peaked at number-one on the Billboard 200 chart. With 375,000 copies sold, Pink Friday was the second highest sales debut for a female rap album since Lauryn Hill. It yielded Minaj's first top-five single, "Super Bass", which peaked at number three, becoming the highest-charting solo song by a female rapper since 2002.[8] Her second album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded (2012), saw Minaj move towards a dance-pop and pop rap sound. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200,[9] with its lead single, "Starships", peaking at number five on the Hot 100. Minaj's third and fourth studio albums, The Pinkprint (2014) and Queen (2018), marked a departure from her previous style and a return to her hip hop roots. The former's second single, "Anaconda", peaked at number two on the Hot 100. Her 2021 re-release of her 2009 mixtape, Beam Me Up Scotty, debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, the highest debut for a female rap mixtape.[10]
Her feature on the remix of Doja Cat's "Say So" and her collaboration with 6ix9ine, "Trollz", both released in 2020, marked her first and second number-one singles on the Hot 100, respectively, with the latter making her the second female rapper to debut at number one, following Lauryn Hill in 1998.[11] Minaj is the female artist with the second-most entries on the Hot 100, behind singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, with each accumulating over 100.[12] She has nineteen top 10 singles on the chart, the most for any female rapper so far, with four of those being solo songs.[13] Her collaboration with Karol G, "Tusa", became the longest-running number-one single on the Argentina Hot 100, having spent six months at number one on the chart.[14]
Minaj has been referred to as the "Queen of Hip-Hop" by some western publications such as The New York Times, Billboard, NPR, and XXL.[15][16][17][18] She is one of the best selling female artists of all time with 100 million records sold worldwide,[19] received numerous accolades, and was ranked as Billboard's top female rapper of the 2010s, as well as seventh among the top female artists of the decade.[20][21] In 2015, The New York Times called her the "world's biggest female hip-hop star."[22] In 2016, Time included Minaj on their annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.[23] Outside of music, Minaj's film career has included voice roles in the animated films Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012) and The Angry Birds Movie 2 (2019) as well as supporting roles in the comedy films The Other Woman (2014) and Barbershop: The Next Cut (2016). She also appeared as a judge on the twelfth season of American Idol in 2013.
- ^ Penrose, Nerisha (June 21, 2018). "Nicki Minaj Weighs In on Children Border Crisis: 'I Came to This Country as an Illegal Immigrant'". Billboard.
- ^ "Nicki Minaj - Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
- ^ Sisario, Ben (2021-03-08). "For Women in Music, Equality Remains Out of Reach". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
- ^ "13 Lyrics That Prove Nicki Minaj Is One of the Greatest Rappers of All Time". Mic. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
- ^ "How TikTok made Nicki Minaj cool again (by a reformed Barb)". NME. June 2, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
NYT20120330was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "American album certifications – Nicki Minaj – Pink Friday". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
- ^ Cirisano, Tatiana (November 21, 2019). "Songs That Defined the Decade: Nicki Minaj's 'Super Bass'". Billboard. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
...It reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, where it became not only Minaj's then-biggest hit, but the highest-charting rap hit by a solo female since Missy Elliott's "Work It" nearly a decade earlier.
- ^ "Nicki Minaj's 'Roman Reloaded' Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
- ^ "J. Cole Collects Sixth No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart With 'The Off-Season'". Billboard. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
- ^ "Nicki Minaj Reacts to Going Number One in 2020 — Again". PAPER. June 22, 2020. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
- ^ McIntyre, Hugh. "Yet Again, Nicki Minaj And Taylor Swift Swap The Honor Of Being The Woman With The Most Hot 100 Hits Of All Time". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
- ^ Nilles, Billy (December 8, 2020). "The Ultimate Ranking of Nicki Minaj's 19 Top 10 Hits". E!. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
- ^ "Karol G and Nicki Minaj's "Tusa" Hits 13 Weeks on Top of Argentina Hot 100". Billboard. April 16, 2020. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
- ^ Best, Tamara; Chow, Andrew R. (2015-08-30). "VMAs 2015: Moments to Watch". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-08-21.
- ^ Fitzgerald, Trent (Dec 8, 2020). "Nicki Minaj's Most Essential Songs You Need to Hear". XXL Mag. Retrieved 2021-08-21.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Nicki Minaj's 13 Most Priceless Music Moments". Billboard. Retrieved 2021-08-21.
- ^ "Nicki Minaj Is The 21st Century's Insatiable Hip-Hop Monarch". NPR.org. Retrieved 2021-08-21.
- ^ Nkanjeni, Unathi (September 6, 2019). "Nicki Minaj quits the rap game: 'I've decided to retire & have my family'". TimesLIVE. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
- ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Artists - Decade-End". Billboard. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
- ^ "Top Artists - Decade-End".
{{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires|magazine=(help) - ^ Grigoriadis, Vanessa (October 7, 2015). "The Passion of Nicki Minaj". The New York Times. Retrieved June 9, 2020. "Nicki Minaj is the world’s biggest female hip-hop star, a top pop star and the first woman to achieve success in both genres."
- ^ "The 100 Most Influential People 2016". Time magazine. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
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