Nicki Minaj's deft lyricism, playful personality and inimitable style has become an inspiration for a whole new generation of women in rap. Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty, the Queens, N.Y.-bred rapper is a true renaissance woman, having done it all from rapping to fashion to acting and now a CEO of her own record label, Heavy On It Records. Her wordplay, unmatched rhymes and talent for writing memorable hit songs has earned her top spots on the Billboard 200 chart with her solo albums Pink Friday, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded and The Pinkprint. Her 2018 album, Queen features the Sir Mix-A-Lot-sampled track "Anaconda," whose accompanying video helped Nicki become the first female rapper to have reached 1 billion views on YouTube.
During Nicki's over 20-year career, she has racked up some impressive accolades. She has sold over 100 million records worldwide, making her one of the best-selling female rappers of all time. She’s earned over 100 Billboard Hot 100 entries and has earned two diamond songs for selling 10 million each—"Super Bass" and "Tusa" with Karol G. Additionally, Nicki's alter egos are another key part of her success. She has created a number of different characters, including Roman Zolanski, the Harajuku Barbie and Chun-Li. These personas allow Nicki to explore different aspects of her personality in songs like "Roman's Revenge," "Chun-Li" and "Red Ruby Da Sleeze." Last year, she earned her first No. 1 solo song on the Billboard Hot 100 with "Super Freaky Girl." Before that, Nicki locked in a No. 1 as a feature on Doja Cat's "Say So" in 2020.