Onika Tanya Maraj, known by her stage name Nicki Minaj, is a Trinidadian-born American musician. She was born inSaint James, Trinidad and Tobago and when she was 5 years of age she moved to the New York City borough of Queens, where she grew up.

After releasing three mixtapes between 2007 and 2009 and being signed to Young Money Entertainment in August 2009, Minaj released her debut album, Pink Friday, in November 2010. It quickly became a commercial success, peaking at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 and being certified Platinum by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA) a month after its release. She became the first female solo artist to have seven singles on the BillboardHot 100 at the same time. Her second single, “Your Love”, reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot Rap Songs chart, making Minaj the first female artist to top the chart unaccompanied since 2002. She also became the first female artist to be included on MTV’s Annual Hottest MC List. Minaj was named the 2011Rising Star by Billboard. Her second studio album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded was released on April 3, 2012.