Nicki Minaj

Nicki Minaj is called the "Queen of Rap" for good reason. One of her most recent tours, in promotion of her album Pink Friday 2, is considered the most successful for a female rapper ever. She has sold approximately 100 million albums over the past 15 years, and her trophy case is full of glittering statuettes, including those from the Billboard and MTV Music Awards. She also appears in films like Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012), The Other Woman (2014), Barbershop: The Next Cut (2016), and The Angry Birds Movie 2 (2019). Nicki Minaj is also involved in a variety of businesses, from cosmetics to clothing and sneakers.

Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty was born on December 8, 1982, in Trinidad. Her childhood was turbulent, partly due to her addicted father. Determined to make it in music, she moved to America. In the Bronx, New York, she became involved with the hip-hop collective Hoodstars. Her self-titled mixtapes attracted considerable interest from record labels. Nicki Minaj is featured on Lil Wayne's single "Knockout" and Mariah Carey's "Out of My Face." In her early days, she also toured as Lil Wayne's support act.

Her debut album, "Pink Friday," was released in 2010 and was an instant hit, thanks in part to the single "Super Bass." Anyone who listened knew that American hip-hop had gained a unique talent, one who, through her humor, varied music, and ability to empathize with others, gave hip-hop tradition a unique twist. She leaned more towards dance with the successful follow-up, "Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded" (2012), but on subsequent albums, she returned to her hip-hop roots: "The Pinkprint" (2014), "Queen" (2018), and "Pink Friday 2" (2023).