Nicki Minaj (born Onika Tanya Maraj; December 8 1984) is a rapper and singer. In August 2009, Minaj signed to Young Money Entertainment with distribution from Universal Motown, who will release her untitled debut studio album in 2010, which will consist of the hit "Your Love". Onika Maraj grew up in Queens, New York . She is of mixed Afro-Trinidadian and Indo-Trinidadian descent. According to Minaj, she grew-up in a home with an abusive father who drank alcohol, did drugs, and once tried to kill her mother by setting the house on fire. She graduated from LaGuardia High School in Manhattan where she studied singing and acting. Music career 2004 –2008: Career beginnings Nicki Minaj began her career in 2004 singing background vocals and hooks for local rappers. She was discovered on MySpace by Dirty Money CEO Fendi, who signed her to that label. After appearing on "The Carter Edition" of Young Money's The Come Up DVD series, Minaj was contacted by Wayne. The two collaborated on a number of mixtape tracks. In April 2007, she released her first mixtape, Playtime Is Over posing as a Barbie doll on the cover. Lil Wayne appeared on the track "Can't Stop, Won't Stop." In 2008 , Minaj released the mixtape Sucka Free . She appeared in the July issue of XXL magazine, giving a brief overview of her life thus far. Later that year, she won Female Artist of the Year at the Underground Music Awards. Nicki Minaj released Beam Me Up Scotty, another mixtape, in 2009. It received generally positive coverage on both BET and MTV. Minaj was also featured on Jeffree Star 's 2009 album Beauty Killer on the track "Lollipop Luxury." Collaborations and debut album Before Minaj released any solo material besides mixtapes, she was featured on 18 album tracks and 11 remix's singles with high- profile acts including " Up Out My Face (Remix) " with Mariah Carey , My Chick Bad Minaj released her first single "Massive Attack" on April 13 , 2010. The song features Sean Garrett , who produced the song along with Alex Da Kid. A music video for the single was shot on March 16 in the desert near Lancaster, California with director Hype Williams . The music video for the single premiered on BET's 106 & Park on Wednesday, March 31 and features Sean Garrett, with a cameo appearance by Amber Rose . The song is the lead-off single from Minaj's as-yet-untitled debut album that is set for a summer 2010 release. Although the album was scheduled for release as early as March 2010 , Minaj does not see any reason to rush it, stating she did not feel pressured to prematurely release the album. Minaj released " Your Love as the second single from her debut album, after the leaked version started receiving heavy airplay on the radio after being released on the Barbie World mixtape. The single went on to become Minaj's most successful single so far, peaking at number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topping the Rap Songs chart. A music video for the single is set to be shot as confirmed by Minaj.While working on her solo debut album, Minaj featured on additional high-profile acts including Christina Aguilera 's " Woohoo " and Sean Kingston 's "Letting Go (Dutty Love)". Musical style and image Image In an interview with Vibe Minaj discussed her sexual image stating "When I grew up I saw females doing certain things, and I thought I had to do that exactly. The female rappers of my day spoke about sex a lot... and I thought that to have the success they got, I would have to represent the same thing. When in fact I didn’t have to represent the same thing." In addition to her funny voices and on-screen character she stated "I'm not abandoning the funny voices. ... But it’s coming up more with the album. I had a teacher in elementary who would stand on her table and whisper. We’d all turn around like, ‘What is this lunatic doing?’ But she would achieve what she wanted. She wanted us to stop talking and listen. I feel like I need to mellow it down so people can hear what I have to say." In an interview Minaj commented on her sexual image again stating, “I made a conscious decision to try to tone down the sexiness, I want people—especially young girls—to know that in life, nothing is going to be based on sex appeal. You’ve got to have something else to go with that." Minaj has cited various artists who have influenced her musical style. Among others, she has cited Lil Wayne and Lauryn Hill as major influences. In an interview with VladTV. com, Minaj also mentioned Natasha Bedingfield as a musical favorite, and Jada Pinkett Smith as a major influence on her desire to be an actress. She is influenced by the unpredictable rhymes of Missy Elliott and has been compared to the sexually charged attitudes of Lil' Kim and Foxy Brown.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Nicki Minaj.
Nicki Minaj (born Onika Tanya Maraj; December 8 1984) is a rapper and singer. In August 2009, Minaj signed to Young Money Entertainment with distribution from Universal Motown, who will release her untitled debut studio album in 2010, which will consist of the hit "Your Love". Onika Maraj grew up in Queens, New York . She is of mixed Afro-Trinidadian and Indo-Trinidadian descent. According to Minaj, she grew-up in a home with an abusive father who drank alcohol, did drugs, and once tried to kill her mother by setting the house on fire. She graduated from LaGuardia High School in Manhattan where she studied singing and acting. Music career 2004 –2008: Career beginnings Nicki Minaj began her career in 2004 singing background vocals and hooks for local rappers. She was discovered on MySpace by Dirty Money CEO Fendi, who signed her to that label. After appearing on "The Carter Edition" of Young Money's The Come Up DVD series, Minaj was contacted by Wayne. The two collaborated on a number of mixtape tracks. In April 2007, she released her first mixtape, Playtime Is Over posing as a Barbie doll on the cover. Lil Wayne appeared on the track "Can't Stop, Won't Stop." In 2008 , Minaj released the mixtape Sucka Free . She appeared in the July issue of XXL magazine, giving a brief overview of her life thus far. Later that year, she won Female Artist of the Year at the Underground Music Awards. Nicki Minaj released Beam Me Up Scotty, another mixtape, in 2009. It received generally positive coverage on both BET and MTV. Minaj was also featured on Jeffree Star 's 2009 album Beauty Killer on the track "Lollipop Luxury." Collaborations and debut album Before Minaj released any solo material besides mixtapes, she was featured on 18 album tracks and 11 remix's singles with high- profile acts including " Up Out My Face (Remix) " with Mariah Carey , My Chick Bad Minaj released her first single "Massive Attack" on April 13 , 2010. The song features Sean Garrett , who produced the song along with Alex Da Kid. A music video for the single was shot on March 16 in the desert near Lancaster, California with director Hype Williams . The music video for the single premiered on BET's 106 & Park on Wednesday, March 31 and features Sean Garrett, with a cameo appearance by Amber Rose . The song is the lead-off single from Minaj's as-yet-untitled debut album that is set for a summer 2010 release. Although the album was scheduled for release as early as March 2010 , Minaj does not see any reason to rush it, stating she did not feel pressured to prematurely release the album. Minaj released " Your Love as the second single from her debut album, after the leaked version started receiving heavy airplay on the radio after being released on the Barbie World mixtape. The single went on to become Minaj's most successful single so far, peaking at number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topping the Rap Songs chart. A music video for the single is set to be shot as confirmed by Minaj.While working on her solo debut album, Minaj featured on additional high-profile acts including Christina Aguilera 's " Woohoo " and Sean Kingston 's "Letting Go (Dutty Love)". Musical style and image Image In an interview with Vibe Minaj discussed her sexual image stating "When I grew up I saw females doing certain things, and I thought I had to do that exactly. The female rappers of my day spoke about sex a lot... and I thought that to have the success they got, I would have to represent the same thing. When in fact I didn’t have to represent the same thing." In addition to her funny voices and on-screen character she stated "I'm not abandoning the funny voices. ... But it’s coming up more with the album. I had a teacher in elementary who would stand on her table and whisper. We’d all turn around like, ‘What is this lunatic doing?’ But she would achieve what she wanted. She wanted us to stop talking and listen. I feel like I need to mellow it down so people can hear what I have to say." In an interview Minaj commented on her sexual image again stating, “I made a conscious decision to try to tone down the sexiness, I want people—especially young girls—to know that in life, nothing is going to be based on sex appeal. You’ve got to have something else to go with that." Minaj has cited various artists who have influenced her musical style. Among others, she has cited Lil Wayne and Lauryn Hill as major influences. In an interview with VladTV. com, Minaj also mentioned Natasha Bedingfield as a musical favorite, and Jada Pinkett Smith as a major influence on her desire to be an actress. She is influenced by the unpredictable rhymes of Missy Elliott and has been compared to the sexually charged attitudes of Lil' Kim and Foxy Brown.
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