Onika Tanya Maraj (born December 8, 1982[1] or December 8, 1984[2]), known by her stage name Nicki Minaj (
/mɪˈnɑːʒ/), is a Trinidadian-born American rapper, singer, songwriter, voice actress and television personality. She was born in Saint James, Trinidad and Tobago. When she was five years old, she moved to the New York City borough of Queens. Minaj trained as an actress before she released three mixtapes between 2007 and 2009 and signed to Young Money Entertainment.
Minaj rose to prominence when she released her debut album, Pink Friday, in November 2010, peaking at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 and being certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) a month after its release.[3][4] She became the first female solo artist to have seven singles on the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time.[5] Her seventh single, "Super Bass" has since been certified quadruple-platinum by the RIAA, and has sold more than four million copies, becoming one of the best-selling singles in the United States. Minaj released her second album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, in April 2012, which topped charts internationally, also spawning the top 10 singles "Starships" and "Pound the Alarm". Since, the album has become one of the best-selling albums of 2012, according to the Nielsen SoundScan, selling 1,000,000 copies worldwide.[6] In 2012, Minaj embarked on two worldwide tours, the Pink Friday Tour and the Pink Friday: Reloaded Tour.
Minaj's artistry features alter egos and accents, notably British cockney. Her outlandish and colorful costumes, wigs and clothing have given her recognition as a fashion icon.[7] She featured as a voice actress in Ice Age 4: Continental Drift, will serve as a judge on American Idol and has endorsed Adidas, MAC Cosmetics, and Pepsi. Minaj's work has earned her six BET Awards, two American Music Awards, two MTV Music Award and Billboard's 2011 Rising Star. She is the first female artist included on MTV's Annual Hottest MC List, with The New York Times suggesting that some consider her "the most influential female rapper of all time.
1981–2001: Early life and career beginnings
Keys was born Alicia Augello Cook on January 25, 1981, in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan, in New York City.[10][11][12] She is the only child of Teresa Augello, a paralegal and part-time actress, and Craig Cook, a flight attendant.[13][14][15][16] Keys' mother is of Italian, Scottish, and Irish descent, and her father is African-American;[17] Keys has expressed that she was comfortable with her biracial heritage because she felt she was able to "relate to different cultures".[11][18] Her parents separated when she was two and she was subsequently raised by her mother during her formative years in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan.[19] In 1985, Keys made an appearance on The Cosby Show at the age of four, where she and a group of girls played the parts of Rudy Huxtable's sleepover guests in the episode "Slumber Party".[20][21] Throughout her childhood, Keys was sent to music and dance classes by her mother.[22] She began playing the piano when she was seven and learned classical music by composers such as Beethoven, Mozart and Chopin.[13] Keys enrolled in the Professional Performing Arts School at the age of 12, where she majored in choir and began writing songs at the age of 14.[14][23] She graduated in four years as valedictorian at the age of 16.[24]In 1994, Keys met long-term manager Jeff Robinson after she enrolled in his brother's after-school program.[25] The following year Robinson introduced Keys to her future A&R at Arista Records, Peter Edge, who later described his first impressions to HitQuarters: "I had never met a young R&B artist with that level of musicianship. So many people were just singing on top of loops and tracks, but she had the ability, not only to be part of hip-hop, but also to go way beyond that."[26] Edge helped Robinson create a showcase for Keys and also got involved in developing her demo material. He was keen to sign Keys himself but was unable to do so at that time due to being on the verge of leaving his present record company. Keys signed to Columbia Records soon after.[26] At the same time as signing a recording contract with Columbia Records, Keys was accepted into Columbia University. At first, Keys attempted to manage both, but after a month, she dropped out of college to pursue her musical career full-time.[24][27]
Keys signed a demo deal with Jermaine Dupri and So So Def Recordings, where she appeared on the label's Christmas album performing "The Little Drummer Girl". She also co-wrote and recorded a song entitled "Dah Dee Dah (Sexy Thing)", which appeared on the soundtrack to the 1997 film, Men in Black.[27] The song was Keys' first professional recording; however, it was never released as a single and her record contract with Columbia ended after a dispute with the label. Keys was unhappy with the label because her career had stalled during her two years under contract at Columbia due to executive indecision over her direction and major changes within the company.[26] Keys called Clive Davis, who sensed a "special, unique" artist from her performance and signed her to Arista Records, which later disbanded.[10][11] Keys almost chose Wilde as her stage name until her manager suggested the name Keys after a dream he had. Keys felt that name represented her both as a performer and person.[28] Following Davis to his newly formed J Records label, she worked with Kerry "Krucial" Brothers and recorded the songs "Rock wit U" and "Rear View Mirror", which were featured on the soundtracks to the films Shaft (2000) and Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001), respectively
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