Dec. 8: rapper and R&B singer-songwriter Nicki Minaj is 26 today.

Onika Tanya Maraj - known by her stage name Nicki Minaj - was born in Saint James, Trinidad and Tobago. When she was 5, her mother moved her to Queens, New York.

She attended Elizabeth Blackwell Middle School 210, where she played the clarinet. She graduated from LaGuardia High School, which specialized in music and the visual and performing arts. She had initially planned to sing at LaGuardia, but lost her voice on the day of the audition.

Instead, Minaj participated in the drama program.
Early in her career, she released three mixtapes, Playtime Is Over, Sucka Free, and Beam Me Up Scotty. In 2008 she won the Female Artist of the Year award at the Underground Music Awards.

Minaj was discovered by fellow American rapper, Lil Wayne in 2009, and signed a recording contract with Young Money Entertainment.

Soon after, Minaj began working on her debut album, titled Pink Friday, which charted at number-two on the US Billboard 200. Minaj became the first artist ever to have seven songs within the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time.

Her second single, "Your Love" reached number-one on the Billboard Hot Rap Songs chart, making Minaj the first female artist to top the chart unaccompanied since 2002. One month after the release of Pink Friday, Minaj's album gained a Platinum certification in the U.S.

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While growing up Nicki's parents were always fighting and other problems. To escape her real life problems she would create characters and live her life through them. In an interview with New York she stated, “[t]o get away from all their fighting, I would imagine being a new person. "Cookie" was my first identity—that stayed with me for a while. I went on to "Harajuku Barbie," then "Nicki Minaj." Fantasy was my reality.”




For her debut album, Minaj created another alter-ego named "Roman Zolanski." She stated that in songs like "Bottoms Up" with Trey Songz it is not Nicki rapping, but instead Roman Zolanski, and claims that Roman is her "twin sister."

Roman has been compared to Eminem's alter ego Slim Shady, and on the song "Roman's Revenge" from Pink Friday, Minaj and Eminem collaborate, using these alter egos. In songs such as "All I Do Is Win (Remix)" it is Nicki rapping.

On November 18, 2010 Nicki Minaj assumed a different alter-ego named "Nicki Teresa." Wearing a colorful scarf around her head, she went around as the "healer to her fans" as she visited them at The Garden of Dreams Foundation at Fuse studios in New York City.

Minaj made an appearance on Lopez Tonight on December 6, 2010 and presented a different alter-ego for the Spanish-inspired occasion, named "Rosa" (pronounced Rrrrrosa).

Besides Lil Wayne and Eminem, Minaj has collaborated with numerous artists and guest raps on many popular singles.

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