Nicki Minaj

17 Dec 12, 10:05 AM, Africa/Lagos

Nicki Minaj

Onika Tanya Maraj was born on December 8, 1982 in a suburb of the city of Port of Spain. She lived with her grandmother until her parents found a place in Queens, New York when she was five. According to her accounts, her father was abusive to her mother and had a drug and drinking problem.

Onika is a graduate from LaGuardia High School, which specialized in music. She began to write her own lyrics and started a music career under the name Nicki Minaj in 2007. She began by releasing mix tapes beginning with "Playtime Is Over." Then came "Sucka Free" and "Beam Me Up Scotty."

Lil Wayne discovered Minaj in 2009 and signed her up with Young Money Entertainment. The first album under the label was "Pink Friday" in 2010. The first offering was financially successful and became Platinum scarcely one month after its release. Her fame propelled her to a female record seven singles on the Hot 100, all on the list at the same time.

"Your Love" was Minaj's second single and it made the top spot on Hot Rap Songs for Billboard. She is the first artist of the female gender to be listed on MTV's Annual Hottest MC list.

Minaj was featured with Britney Spears and Kesha on "Till The World Ends," which made it to number three on the charts. From her "Pink Friday" album, "Super Bass" landed in the top 10 in the UK, Australia, Canada, and the U.S.