Who Is Nicki Minaj? Wiki, Rapper, Net Worth, 'Anaconda' & Facts To Know

Nicki Minaj is an award-winning rap artist and songwriter who gained fame in a short period of time. The popular rapper has established herself as a songwriter, rapper, singer, hip-hop artist, and TV host. Nicki Minaj is every woman’s hero since she supports female empowerment and she is well recognized for her solo artist rap songs as well as her vocals in other albums. Nicki Minaj overcame a lot during her childhood including being raised by a father who was heavy into drugs. Therefore, she emerged a strong woman who has made her name in the music industry.

The popular rapper was born as Onika Tanya Maraj on December 8 1982, in Saint James, Trinidad, and Tobago. Her father was a financial executive named Robert Maraj while her mother Carol Maraj worked at a foreign exchange. Both parents were singers but Minaj’s mother for the most part sang gospel. The Maraj family had four children, two brothers Brandon Lamar and Michaiah Maraj and a sister Jelani Maraj. Nicki Minaj has an Afro-Indo-Trinidad ancestry though her parents moved the family to America when she was young. Her father was an alcoholic who made the situation worse when he started taking all types of drugs. He became violent, especially to Nicki Minaj’s mother. He burnt down their house at one time trying to kill his wife. This resulted in Nicki Minaj and her siblings going to live with their grandmother in Saint James while their mother went back to New York to further her studies. When Minaj was five years old, her mother came and took her and the other siblings back to New York where she would continue to raise them. She attended a school where she played clarinet for the school band because she loved music since she was a little girl. She attended La Guardia High School of Performing arts where the rapper graduated successfully and decided she wanted to act. She was given a role in the play called 'In Case You Forget,' and she continued to juggle between her acting career and being a waitress. However, Minaj was fired countless times due to lack of good customer care as a waiter and her acting career was unsuccessful as well. Therefore, she decided to do what she was good at, which just happened to be rapping.

Nicki Minaj started her career as a rapper when she signed with Brooklyn group and she started accumulating her net worth during this time. She was among the four rappers in a song called 'The Hoodstars.' The other rappers were 7even Up, Lou$tar, and Breezy. The group Hoodstars further recorded another song called 'Don’t Mess With.' After that, Nicki Minaj decided it was time to go solo so she left the group and uploaded her songs to her Myspace profile page. Her work caught the attention of the CEO of Dirty Money Entertainment, a man named Fendi. He signed Nicki Minaj for 180 days during year 2007 and the popular rapper released 'Playtime is Over,' 'Sucka Free,' and 'Beam Me Up Scotty,' respectively. The song 'Beam Me Up Scotty' featured the epic song called 'I Get Crazy.' 'Beam Me Up Scotty,' of Hip-Hop genre, received positive appraisals from the music critics. Her performance on the rap song 'Beam Me Up Scotty' captured the attention of the famous rapper Lil Wayne. Minaj further signed with the Young Money Entertainment record in 2009 and she released her debut called 'Pink Friday.' The initial title of her 'Pink Friday' album was 'Massive Attack.' 'Your Love' was released as the 'Pink Friday' lead song that turned out to be epic. 'Pink Friday' was a hip-hop R&B song that eventually landed at number two on the Billboard and several singles were released on this album. 'The Pinkprint' was the next album to be released in 2014 and it was her largest hit album to this date. It featured several singles, 'Anaconda' being one of them. 'Anaconda' was number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and she was the famous rapper who helped write the song 'Anaconda.' 'Pinkprint' album made Nicki Minaj gain fame in the music industry. Nicki Minaj received a Grammy Award for Best Rap Song because of 'Anaconda.' The next song that took her to fame was 'Bang Bang,' where Minaj was also one of the writers of the song. 'Bang Bang' was recorded by Ariana Grande, Jessie J, and Nicki Minaj. 'Bang Bang was the leading single from Ariana Grande’s album 'My Everything,' and it reached number three on the US Billboard Top 100. 'Bang Bang' earned Nicki Minaj another another Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album. By this time, Nicki Minaj’s net worth had grossed tremendously. The popular rapper has also appeared on a single called 'Motorsports' alongside Cardi B and Migos. 'Motorsport' was a single from the album Culture II and it was released in 2017 as the lead single from the Migo’s third album. 'Motorsport' reached number two on the US Billboard Hot 100. Nicki Minaj was among the writers who contributed to 'Motorsport.'

• The popular rapper’s major work includes 'Beam Me Up Scotty,' 'Super Bass' and 'I Get Crazy' from album 'Pink.' All three songs were Top 100 on the US Billboard. • The song 'Anaconda' from 'The Pinkprint' album was number two on the US Billboard Hot 100. • Nicki Minaj was given the title Female Artist of the Year at 2008 in the Underground Music Award. • In 2010, Nicki Minaj appeared on ‘MTV’s Hottest MC’S in the Game’. She is the first female rapper to attend the show. Minaj also appeared again in the show the following year. • The famous rapper became the first female to perform solo at the Grammy Awards. • Nicki Minaj won the award for the Best Hip-Hop at the MTV Europe Music Awards in 2012. • She received a BET Award for four years in a row for Best Female Hip-Hop Artist. • The rapper also won the Best Female Video for Starships at the MTV Music Awards.

Nicki Minaj was engaged to the hip-hop artist Meek Mill in 2015. The duo separated after being together for over two years. The songwriter then got together with an American rapper, actor, and entrepreneur Nasir Bin Olu Daren Jones in May 2017. The two dated for a couple of months and then called it quits in January 2018. Nicki Minaj has no children. Nicki Minaj attended a party at Coachella and at the party, she nearly kissed Kylie Jenner who is the youngest sister in the Kardashians’ family. It seems that Kylie Jenner is a huge fan of Nicki Minaj. She approached Minaj during the party and kissed her on the cheek before returning to her dance. The famous rapper was seen having a good time in the after party with the Kardashians. She also took a group photo with famous musicians such as Shania Twain.

The popular rapper and songwriter has a $75 million dollar net worth. Minaj has accumulated a handsome net worth at a short time in her professional career. She has worked hard to establish her name as a rapper and a songwriter. Her performance in 'The Pinkprint' and 'Pink Friday' albums was epic and she has also rapped in 'Motorsport,' 'Bang Bang,' and 'Anaconda' singles, which has added a tremendous amount to her net worth.

1. Nicki Minaj’s real name is Onika Maraj. She adopted the name for her stage performance. She first came up with Cookie followed by Harajuku Barbie and finally settled with Nicki Minaj. 2. Nicki Minaj wanted to kill her father after he burned down their house in an attempt to kill her mother. Her father was an alcoholic and a drug user who sold their household furniture in order to get enough money to deal drugs. 3. Nicki Minaj was the first female rapper to have seven songs to hit the US Billboard Top 100. 4. The popular rapper once worked as a waitress while she was juggling between her acting career. She worked in numerous hotels only to be fired due to a lack of customer care skills. 5. She has one tattoo on her left arm. The tattoo was inscribed in Chinese and it means 'God is always with me.' 6. Minaj is a great cook. She was taught to prepare chicken curry by her father before the family separated. 7. She is the first female rapper to appear on Forbes Hip-Hop Cash King list. She gained $29 million hence increasing her net worth fortune. 8. The famous rapper Lil Wayne discovered Nicki Minaj. He signed her to his recording label Young Money Entertainment. It was during this period that she became famous. 9. Nicki Minaj has performed at Yankees stadium, hence being the first female rapper to get the privilege. 10. The popular rapper is a dog person and she has no love for cats. 11. She at one time aspired to become an actress. However, it did not work out. Nicki Minaj is still following her passion for acting by making her appearance in a movie called 'The Other Woman.' 12. Apart from being a rapper and a songwriter, Minaj loves reading books and she once said that reading books calm her. This is also her way of escaping reality. While she was young, the vibrant rapper would wish the characters in the storybooks would be her family. 13. She believes in women empowerment and this desire was driven by her past when her father continuously abused her mother. She wants every woman to be empowered. 14. She is acrophobic. 15. The popular rapper has appeared in more than 20 tracks from other famous musicians and rappers. 16. She has joined forces with beauty products such as MAC and OPI so that she can launch her own beauty products. 17. She kissed Madonna on the lips during her 29 birthday party. 18. She loves consuming mango and this is her favorite fruit. 19. The album 'Pink Friday' reminded Minaj of her sad past. It reminded her of the horrifying things she experienced with her abusive father. 20. The star has a big heart and she helped raise money for the AIDS victims. The MAC Cosmetics helped her raise $250 million. Nicki Minaj is a popular rapper who has a humble troubled background. Her passion for music and a lot of hard work has made her become globally famous. The rapper does not seem like she is stopping anytime soon. Nicki Minaj has more music to offer her fans.