Nicki Minaj – American rapper and actress
Nicki Minaj’s real name is Onika Tanya Maraj. She was born on 8 December 1982 in Port Of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. Her mother had Malaysian and Trinidadian roots while her father had Indian, African, and Trinidadian heritage. When Onika was 5, the family moved to the United States.
The future celebrity’s father was an alcoholic and a drug user. He often assaulted the girl’s mother. Due to constant fights and scandals at home, Nicki was forced to spend her nights elsewhere. She could spend the whole night in the car, writing poetry. Back then, she came up with the draft lyrics for the popular song “Autobiography”. Onika attended Elizabeth Blackwell Middle School and Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School.
In the early 2000’s Nicki signed a contract with Dirty Money Records. Together, in 2007, they recorded her first mixtape, Playtime Is Over. The second mixtape, Sucka Free, came out in 2008. A year later, she released Beam Me Up Scotty. The mixtapes weren’t very popular. However, they helped Nicki Minaj jump-start her career. She was noticed by Lil Wayne, who was already a famous rapper. He offered the singer a contract with Young Money Entertainment.