Belmont - Nicki Minaj

An Unauthorized Biography

Copyright 2012 by Belmont & Belcourt Biographies

All rights reserved. Neither this book nor any parts within it may be sold or reproduced in any form without permission.

eISBN: 9781619841161

Often, the most memorable music spawns from tragedy and lifes challenges. Eric Clapton's Tears in Heaven or November Rain by Guns N' Roses spring to mind when you think of incredible ballads inspired by death and difficulty. Still, comparing those songs to up-and-comer Nicki Minaj seems a bit unfair. Whereas those classics fit in with their generation and have proven themselves to be timeless, the music world has moved on. While some will cling to their favorite songs from the past, there's no denying that Nicki Minaj and her Barbie followers stand in an arena all their own. Her style of music is unlike anything else out there; combining her range of vocals and accents with heavy beats and harsh lyrics makes for an unusual, yet surprisingly palatable combination. Couple this with an outrageous sense of fashion and cartoonish expressions and it's hard to see her for anything other than what she truly is: an artist.

Trinidad is known for its diverse culture and twenty-four-hour-a-day activity, but now it can add internationally celebrated rap artist Nicki Minaj to its list. Hip-hop's latest darling, Onika Tanya Maraj, was born there on December 8, 1982, in the suburb of Saint James. Looking to raise Onika and her siblings in America, Omar and Carol Maraj left their children in the care of their grandmother in Saint James for the next five years while they prepared a place for them in New York. In the meantime, Onika was crammed in with siblings, cousins, friends and animals, all in one small house. She dreamed of the day she'd go to New York and what her life would be like once she got there. Whenever Carol Maraj would come and visit, Onika would dress up and wait for her mother to find her.

I would sit there and wait for her to leave, knowing that if she sees that Im dressed, shell take me with her.

When their parents finally sent for them, Onika began her American adventures in the portentously named borough of Queens in New York City. If anything, however, her start there was far removed from the privileges of royalty. In an interview with the hip-hop website, Illuminati 2G, Minaj described a bit about her home life in Queens, stating, We didnt have that much money, so we relied on each other and being on the block so to speak. We had to pass the days away. We definitely werent taking any trips or vacations or adventures, none of that type of thing. My mother was very good to us.

In the years that followed their arrival, Omar Maraj, Onikas father, developed an addiction to drugs and alcohol and was known to explode into fits of rage.

We grew up in the 80s, the crack era. It wasnt always nice, but I think it was a good experience. We saw a very rough surrounding. For me, I was just always like, Im gonna make it up outta here. Thats how it was.

In Nicki's song, Autobiography, she discusses a time when her father burned down their house in an attempt to kill her mother.

Daddy was a crack fiend

2 in the morning had us running down the street like a track team

When he burnt the house down n my mother was in it

How could I forget it, the pain infinite.

The same song goes on to describe her feelings towards an abortion she had when she was younger.

Please baby forgive me, mommy was young, mommy was too busy tryna have fun,

now I pat myself on the back for sending you back 'cause God knows I was better than that,

to conceive then leave you, the concept alone seems evil, I'm trapped in my conscience.

It's like I feel it in the air, I hear you sayin' mommy don't cry can't you see I'm right here

I gotta let you know what you mean to me, when I'm sleeping I see you in my dreams with me,

wish I could touch your little face or just hold your little hand

if it's part of Gods plan, maybe we can meet again.

A large number of people have interpreted the song to be about giving birth to her father's child, but this is not the case. The term daddy, which is used elsewhere in the song is a part of the slang expression baby daddy, a name given to the father of a child born out of wedlock.

Minaj discovered an affinity for singing when she was only three years old. Her gift of music advanced in her tween years, playing the clarinet at Elizabeth Blackwell Middle School 210 in the Ozone Park section of Queens. She wrote her first rap song at the age of twelve, and later attended high school at the prestigious LaGuardia Arts High School, best known for inspiring the movie Fame. She had originally planned to study music there, but lost her voice on the day of auditions. Instead of treading down the musical path shed been leaning towards, Nicki signed on with the drama department, hoping to, one day, land herself a glamorous career as a famous actress. This idea wasn't too far off the mark, as Minaj has been well known for her outrageous style, over-the-top performances and quirky personas.

While in school, she was described by her peers as being loud and pretty, one of those people who can't be ignored. She was also known for being scrappy, sticking up for her friends and never afraid to leap into a fight.

Her friends were kind of like the mean girls, said a former classmate. You got the sense when you walked past her that she was talking about you or had some kind of joke going on. But I wouldnt say she was mean ... You could tell at LaGuardia what someones major was based on their behavior, and Nicki was definitely a drama major.

I havent really been going on auditions, Nicki explained, but its funny because, when I graduated out of my class, every year at the end of the drama year they have all the agents come in and you perform and usually you get two or three slips, and that means that thats how many agents are interested in you. I got ten. That should tell you how good of an actress I am, but I wanted to grow up too fast and not focus on my life. I didnt see the big picture. I just thought that stuff was gonna happen. I thought I was gonna be Halle Berry next year so I lost a lot of great opportunities, but I guess my life was just destined to do this. I woulda never thought I would be no damn rapper, thats for sure.

Instead of pursuing her acting dreams, the pressing issues of everyday life led her in a different direction. In an interview with CNN, Nicki Minaj said, "When I got out of high school, I didn't really want to take time and go and audition; I just wanted to get a job and work and get my own place."

The business world wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Minaj worked several hourly positions, none of which were particularly glamorous. Nicki told Billboard magazine she'd been fired from fifteen different jobs because of her horrible attitude. She once detailed a scene at a Red Lobster restaurant where she was a waitress, stating, I chased a customer out of the restaurant once so I could stick my middle finger up at her and demand that she give me my pen back. After losing her cool as an office manager, trapped in a tiny room, where I literally wanted to strangle this guy because he was so loud and obnoxious," she told her mother she wasn't going back to work. It seemed fate had other plans in mind.