Nicki Minaj

Nicki Minaj, to paraphrase one of the songs off her platinum-selling debut album Pink Friday, is blazin'. How else to describe the colorful rapper/singer¹s meteoric rise from underground hopeful to hip-hop's trend-setting, fashion-forward leading lady in less than three years?

Minaj's hotly anticipated Young Money/Cash Money/Universal sophomore set, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded was released on April 3, 2012 and debuted atop the Billboard 200 list. In addition to her No. 1 US debut, the first-time Grammy® Award nominee for best new artist is thriving internationally. She snagged the #1 spots in the UK, Japan and Canada and debuted in the Top 5 in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Ireland. With her #1 debut in the UK, Minaj has been named the highest charting solo female rapper in history with the UK's Official Albums Charts. Minaj's first single "Starships" off Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, became certified double Platinum and debuted at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and quickly moved to No. 5, marking her second solo arrival in the Top 10 of the chart, after her hit single "Super Bass." Reaching unprecedented success with her sophomore album, on November 19, 2012 Minaj released her third album Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded The Re-Up, an extended version of Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, adding 7 new songs including "The Boys" featuring Cassie and her already hit single "Freedom". A special edition of the CD was released that included 90-minute behind the scenes DVD featuring exclusive footage from her European tour, special award performances and never before seen footage of the artist.

Coming off her first-ever international tour in 2012, Minaj sold out shows in Sydney, Australia as well as London, Birmingham, Manchester, Helmsford and Staffordshire in the UK. Immediately wrapping her international tour, Minaj began her North American Pink Friday tour. This 18 stop tour began on July 16th in Chicago and ended August 12, in Vancouver, British Columbia.

R&B hip-hop charting single "Your Love" debuted in November 2010. More hits followed as did a growing list of accolades: first female artist to be included on MTV's annual Hottest MC tally and first female MC to place seven simultaneous entries on the Billboard Hot 100. Beyond its eclectic mix of guests from will.i.am and Kanye West to Natasha Bedingfield, Pink Friday clicked with fans because of Minaj's determination to not let people "make me like the typical New York rapper."

Indeed, she can effortlessly veer from rollicking hip-hop to vulnerable R&B, drawing on British and Jamaican accents coupled with breathy vocals and quick-draw rhymes delivered by her own cast of colorful characters from alter egos Harajuku Barbie and sexy Nicki to Roman Zolanski (who joins Eminem's own alter ego Slim Shady on the riveting "Roman's Revenge"). The album soared straight to No. 2 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and the Billboard 200 its first week, then commanded No. 1 on both charts in early 2011. After scoring her first chart-topper with "Moment 4 Life" featuring Drake, Minaj spent last year steadily racking up more hits ("Super Bass," "Fly" featuring Rihanna) and setting chart records ("Bass" became the highest-charting Hot 100 rap hit by a solo female—without a featured artist—since Missy Elliott's "Work It" in 2002). She simultaneously became the featured "It" girl on a string of high-profile singles by others, like David Guetta ("Where Them Girls At"), Trey Songz ("Bottoms Up"), Ludacris ("My Chick Bad"), Usher ("Lil Freak"), Kanye West ("Monster"), Drake ("Make Me Proud"), Britney Spears ("Till the World Ends" remix) and the new Madonna single with M.I.A. ("Gimme All Your Luvin").

Minaj went on to edge out her label mates Drake and Tyga at the 2012 American Music Awards to win the favorite album and favorite artist in rap/hip-hop music categories as she did to her mentor Lil Wayne, West and Jay-Z in 2011.  Minaj won Best Female Pop Video at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards for her video, "Starships" beating out Katy Perry, Rihanna, Selena Gomez and Beyonce. And in 2011, she won an MTV Video Music Award for Best Hip Hop Video for "Super Bass". She also won Best Hip Hop Video at the 2012 MTV Europe Music Awards. At the BET Awards Minaj has won Best Hip Hop Female for three consecutive years also snagging the Best New Artist award in 2010. Minaj has also received Grammy nominations in the Best New Artist, Best Rap Performance, and Best Rap Album categories.

A branding and media darling, she graced 10 magazine covers, including W, Elle and Cosmopolitan, and was named Billboard's Rising Star of 2011. Recognizing her pop cultural influence, Mattel issued a limited-edition Nicki Minaj Barbie that was auctioned for charity. A fixture at top designers' shows during New York Fashion Week, the diminutive dynamo was tapped as the 2012 and 2013 MAC Cosmetics Viva Glam spokesperson and OPI launched its custom-designed Nicki Minaj nail polish collection. Minaj was recently signed on to be the new face of Pepsi in 2012 and ventured her creativity outside of the entertainment bubble when she released her highly anticipated perfume, "Pink Friday" in the fall of 2012 and released a special edition of "Pink Friday" in April of 2013.  Minaj is also embarking on her own line of clothing with Kmart, the "Nicki Minaj Collection" set to be released this year.

It's all part of the Minaj mystique, an engaging persona The New York Times has dubbed "the Technicolor Barbie with the big voice and an elastic smile." But behind the fluorescent nails and makeup (including Minaj's signature pink lipstick), neon wigs and provocative costumes, you'll find a determined yet passionate artist whose singular goal remains unchanged: connecting musically with her growing legion of fans. And those fans, 7.5 million global Twitter followers whom she lovingly nicknamed "Barbies" (aka Barbz), have helped her spark a long-awaited female rap revival.

"They inspire me to work harder—hold me up while I'm down," Minaj told Billboard about the love affair with her fans. "I wouldn't be here without them. I could never have predicted any of this."

Not only is Minaj taking the music world by storm, but TV and film as well. On the 12th season of the very popular TV show "American Idol," Minaj appeared as a judge alongside Randy Jackson, Maria Carey and Keith Urban. In the summer 2012, she was featured as one of the voices in "Ice Age 4: Continental Drift" as a wooly mammoth named Steffie.

Not even when she was attending LaGuardia High School, a music, visual and performing arts school where she studied drama. Born Onika Maraj in 1982 in Saint James, Trinidad and Tobago, Minaj moved to Jamaica, Queens when she was five. A one-time office manager and Red Lobster employee, Minaj released three mixtapes between 2007-2009—including the highly praised "Beam Me Up, Scotty"—and won the female artist of the year award at the 2008 Underground Music Awards. A year later, Lil Wayne signed her to Cash Money subsidiary Young Money. She subsequently appeared on Young Money's 2009 debut compilation album We Are Young Money, featuring the hit "BedRock," which included a solo rap verse by Minaj. The compilation itself reached No. 9 on the Billboard 200.

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