Onika Tanya Maraj1.1

Onika Tanya Maraj (born December 8), known by her stage name Nicki Minaj (pron.: /mɪˈnɑːʒ/), is a Trinidadian-born American rapper, singer-songwriter and television personality. She was born in Saint James, Trinidad and Tobago. When she was five (or seven) years old, she moved to the New York City borough of Queens. Minaj trained as an actress before she released three mixtapes between 2007 and 2009 and signed to Young Money Entertainment.Minaj's debut studio album, Pink Friday (2010), peaked at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 and was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) a month after its release. She became the first female solo artist to have seven singles on the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time. Her seventh single, "Super Bass" has been certified quadruple-platinum by the RIAA, and has sold more than four million copies, becoming one of the best-selling singles in the United States. Minaj's second album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded (2012), topped charts internationally, also spawning the top 10 singles "Starships" and "Pound the Alarm". The album became one of the best-selling albums of 2012, according to the Nielsen SoundScan, selling one million copies worldwide, as well as "Starships" becoming one of the best-selling singles of that year. Minaj has been embroiled in a feud with veteran rapper Lil' Kim since her success with Pink Friday. Kim accused Minaj of copying her image saying, "If you are going to steal my swag, you gonna have to pay. Something gotta give. You help me, I help you. That's how it goes to me." Minaj's single "Roman's Revenge" with Eminem was believed to be a response to Kim's comments, although she later denied this,] she responded to the situation in an interview with HOT 97's Angie Martinez saying, "She picked a fight with Foxy, then she picked a fight with Eve, then she picked a fight with Remy, then it was Mrs. Wallace, then it was Nicki Minaj. Every time you in the news, it’s 'cause you gettin' at somebody! Where’s your music? Put your music out, and when I see your name on Billboard, that’s when I’ll respond to you. Other than that, goodbye. It’s Barbie, bitch."Lil' Kim reignited the feud with the release of her mixtape Black Friday (the title of which directly referenced Minaj). The artwork portrays Lil' Kim decapitating Minaj with a sword.[191] A fragment of a diss track called "Tragedy" was released in response by Minaj in April 2011. Following the release of Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, critics suggested that the track "Stupid Hoe" may have contained attacks directed at Kim. Lil' Kim later suggested in an interview with 105's Breakfast Club that the song "Automatic" was similar to her unreleased material, also calling Minaj "obnoxious" and "catty".The feud has drawn attention from various other recording artists and rappers. Minaj's labelmate and rapper, Drake said " didn't give a f--- what Lil Kim or nobody else is talking about." 50 Cent commented on the situation in an online interview with Power 98.3 FM remarking, "It's obvious ... she [Minaj] was inspired by some of Kim's. But that's not bad. There's not a whole lot of female artists that you can make reference to, so you'll see those little influences even stronger. I think she's hot – I think she's got a good little thing going right now, as far as Nicki Minaj is concerned."[199] Diddy spoke of his love and respect for Kim, attributing his personal success, in part, to her, however he defended working with Minaj stating that "I wouldn't be around Nicki if I ever heard anything negative said about Kim. I've never heard anything like that." Mary J. Blige commented on the rivalry, saying, "Kim is my friend and I love and respect Nicki, just met her and got to know the young lady and she's a sweetheart," adding that the feud had arisen because of "crews" behind it.