12 Things You Didn’t Know About Nicki Minaj
12 Things You Didn’t Know About Nicki Minaj
While we are all familiar with Nicki Minaj, there are plenty of things that most people don’t know about the woman whose career seems to know no bounds. Starting out in Lil Wayne’s Young Money crew as an MC, Minaj broke away from the group to produce a torrent of hit under her own name, but there’s a lot more to her than meets the eye. Here are 12 things you (probably) didn’t know about Nicki Minaj.
Early Life
- Born Onika Tanya Maraj on 8th December 1982 in Saint James, Trinidad and Tobago.
- Minaj seems to be a born performer and started out singing in the church choir and wrote her first rap at age 12.
- While there was initial interest, Minaj’s career didn’t take off as quickly as she hoped and she was forced to get a job. In fact, Minaj was fired from 15 different jobs owing to her awful attitude!
- Minaj didn’t have an easy upbringing and was raised by a drug addicted father who at one stage sold the family’s furniture in order to fund his habit.
A Star Is Born
- Minaj attended La Guardia High School of Music and Art where acting, rather than singing, consumed her passion. Her biggest inspiration while she attended high school was actress Meryl Streep and at one point she watched The Devil Wears Prada every night before going to bed. While we aren’t sure if Minaj is a fan of real money online pokies, she clearly loves Meryl!
- The now defunct social media platform MySpace launched many a musical career and Minaj is no different. In fact, she was discovered on MySpace by Dirty Money Records CEO Fendi who went on to introduce her to Lil Wayne.
Personal Life
- Minaj has been outspoken throughout her career about her personal struggles and has commented on the abortion she had at age 15 saying it was the hardest thing she’s ever done.
- Clearly a big personality and not one to keep quiet when things upset her, Minaj has had several online feuds with fellow music stars Remy Ma, Miley Cyrus, Mariah Carey, Taylor Swift, Demi Lovato, Lil Kim, and most recently Cardi B.
- With a style that is best described as unique, Minaj also has Chinese symbols tattooed on her left arm which translates to “God be with you”.
The Rise and Rise of Nicki Minaj
- With a career that seems to know no bounds, Minaj was listed in Time Magazine’s ‘List of 100 Most Influential People in the World’ in 2016, accompanied by a moving tribute penned by Lil Wayne – “She’s an icon, a boss and a role model to all these young girls out here on how to do it the right way.”
- Minaj’s 2014 hit Anaconda broke YouTube records by racking up 19.6 million views in the first 24 hours after release.
- In 2017, Minaj surpassed Aretha Franklin’s record for the most Billboard Hot 100 hits of any female musician in the chart’s history. Today Minaj’s Billboard Hot 100 hits stands at 87!