Onika Tanya Maraj (born December 8, 1982), known by her stage name Nicki Minaj , is a Trinidadian-born American musician. She was born in Saint James, Trinidad and Tobago, and moved to Queens when she was five.
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 the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) a month after its release. She became the first artist to have seven singles on the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time.[4] Her second single, "Your Love", reached #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 2011 Rising Star by Billboard.