Onika Tanya Maraj was born on December 8, 1982, in the Saint James district of Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. Her father was Robert Maraj (1956–2021), a financial executive and part-time gospel singer of Dougla (Afro-Trinidadian mother and Indo-Trinidadian father) descent. Her mother, Carol Maraj, is also a gospel singer with Afro-Trinidadian ancestry. Carol worked in payroll and accounting departments during Minaj’s youth. Minaj’s father was addicted to alcohol and crack cocaine and had a violent temper, burning down their house in December 1987. She has an older brother named Jelani, a younger brother named Micaiah, and a younger sister named Ming.
As a child, Minaj and her older brother, Jelani, grew up with her grandmother in Saint James in a household with 11 cousins. Minaj’s mother, Carol Maraj, was working numerous jobs in Saint James before getting her green card at the age of 24. She then moved to the Bronx in New York City to attend Monroe College leaving both Minaj and Jelani in Trinidad with their grandmother. Eventually, when Minaj was five, Carol got her first house on 147th Street in South Jamaica, Queens and migrated both Minaj and Jelani to live with her and their father. Minaj recalled, “I don’t think I had a lot of discipline in my household. My mom motivated me, but it wasn’t a strict household. I kind of wanted a strict household.” Minaj successfully auditioned for admission to Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, which focuses on visual and performing arts. After graduation, Minaj wanted to become an actress, and she was cast in the Off-Broadway play In Case You Forget in 2001.
Minaj has revealed that she had an abortion as a teenager in her songs “All Things Go” and “Autobiography.” She has said that although it has “haunted” her, she stands by her decision. At the age of 19, as she struggled with her acting career, she worked as a waitress at a Red Lobster in the Bronx, but was fired for discourtesy to customers. She said she was fired from “at least 15 jobs” for similar reasons. Other jobs included customer service representative and office management on Wall Street. Minaj recalls buying a BMW as a 19-year-old with the money from waitressing.
2004−2009: Career beginnings and mixtapes
Minaj briefly signed with Brooklyn group Full Force, in which she rapped in a quartet called The Hoodstars composed of Lou$tar (son of “Bowlegged Lou”), Safaree Samuels (Scaff Beezy) and 7even Up. In 2004, the group recorded the entrance song for WWE Diva Victoria, “Don’t Mess With“, which was featured on the compilation album ThemeAddict: WWE The Music, Vol.6. Minaj later left Full Force and uploaded songs on her Myspace profile, sending several of her songs to people in the music industry. Later, Fendi, CEO of Brooklyn label Dirty Money Entertainment, signed Minaj to his label in 2007 under a 180-day contract. Originally adopting the stage name Nicki Maraj, she eventually changed it to Nicki Minaj stating that “my real name is Maraj. Fendi flipped it when he met me because I had such a nasty flow!”
Minaj released her first mixtape, Playtime Is Over, on July 5, 2007, and her second, Sucka Free, on April 12, 2008. She released her third mixtape, Beam Me Up Scotty, on April 18, 2009; it received favorable coverage on BET and MTV. At the time, she was managed by Debra Antney. One of its tracks, “I Get Crazy“, reached number 20 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Rap Songs chart and number 37 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. After Minaj was discovered by fellow rapper Lil Wayne, she signed a recording contract with his Young Money Entertainment. That November, she appeared with Gucci Mane and Trina on the remix of “5 Star Bitch” by Yo Gotti.
In early February 2010, Minaj made her first two appearances on the U.S Billboard Hot 100 chart with her features on “Knockout” and “Up Out My Face” by Lil Wayne and Mariah Carey respectively. Minaj also appeared on “BedRock” and “Roger That” on the compilation album, We Are Young Money (2009). The singles peaked at numbers two and 56, respectively, in the U.S. Their parent album reached number nine on the U.S. Billboard 200, and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). At Jay-Z’s suggestion, Robin Thicke featured Minaj on his single “Shakin’ It 4 Daddy“. Allison Stewart of The Washington Post stated that, during that time, she “became the go-to girl for artists who wanted to add some skank to their tracks without sullying themselves in the process”. Minaj became the first female solo artist to have seven singles simultaneously charting in the U.S.
2010–2011: Breakthrough with Pink Friday
On March 29, 2010, Minaj released “Massive Attack” featuring Sean Garrett. Intended as the lead single from her forthcoming debut album, Pink Friday, the song was dropped from the album due to poor commercial performance. The next single, “Your Love“, later became the album’s lead single. Released in June, it peaked at number 14 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Rap Songs chart. In September, Minaj released “Check It Out” featuring will.i.am and “Right Thru Me” as follow-up singles.
In October, Minaj was featured on Kanye West’s “Monster“, a posse cut with Jay-Z and Rick Ross featuring vocals from Justin Vernon of Bon Iver. Her verse received widespread acclaim with many critics regarding it as the best verse on that song. Complex rated Minaj’s “Monster” verse as the number-one best rap verse in the past five years, while Sean Fennessey of The Village Voice stated that “Monster” was “the track that announced Minaj’s “brilliance” to most people.” Shortly after, she performed “Monster” with West and Jay-Z at Yankee Stadium, becoming the first ever female rapper to perform there. In November 2010, Minaj received her first Grammy Award nomination for her guest verse on Ludacris’ song “My Chick Bad“.
Pink Friday was released on November 19, 2010, debuting at number two and later reaching number one on the Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 375,000 copies. It had the highest sales week for a female rap album this century and second highest sales week overall after Lauryn Hill’s The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998). Upon release, the album received generally positive reviews from critics.[57] The album was certified platinum in December, with it becoming the first album by a solo female rapper to go platinum in seven years. “Moment 4 Life” featuring Drake was released as the fourth single from Pink Friday shortly after the album’s release. The song served as the third single off the album, released as a single on December 7, 2010. Minaj performed “Right Thru Me” and “Moment 4 Life” as the musical guest on the January 29, 2011 episode of Saturday Night Live.
“Super Bass“, the album’s fifth single, was released in April 2011. It became a sleeper hit and commercially successful, ultimately peaking at number three in the U.S. and was eventually certified octuple-platinum in the U.S. Super Bass was the highest charting solo single by a female rapper since Missy Elliott’s “Work It” in 2002. The music video has 925 million views on YouTube as of March 2022. Early in her career, Minaj identified as bisexual and made several references to it in her music. However, she eventually stated in a 2010 Rolling Stone interview, “I think girls are sexy, but I’m not going to lie and say that I date girls.” She once again addressed her sexuality in 2020 on Doja Cat’s “Say So” remix. The lyrics divided members of the LGBT community, with some accusing her of “bisexual erasure” while others voicing there is nothing wrong with originally identifying as bisexual, and then later identifying as straight.
Minaj was one of the opening acts on Britney Spears’ 2011 Femme Fatale Tour. She and Kesha appeared on the remix of Spears’ “Till the World Ends“, which peaked at number three in the U.S. On August 7, 2011, Nicki experienced a wardrobe malfunction during a live performance on Good Morning America. Both ABC and Minaj apologized for the incident, with Minaj denying it was a publicity stunt. Minaj continued to perform at high-profile events throughout 2011 with Donatella Versace inviting her to perform with Prince for the introduction of a Versace collection for H&M. She also performed “Super Bass” at the 2011 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. In July 2011, her cousin Nicholas Telemaque was murdered near his home in Brooklyn, an incident she later references in her songs “All Things Go” and “Champion“. In December 2011, Minaj was nominated for three Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist and Best Rap Album for Pink Friday. Also that year, she won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Hip-Hop Video for “Super Bass“, marking her first VMA win.
2012–2013: Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded and American Idol
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“Starships” was released in February 2012 as the lead single from Minaj’s forthcoming second album Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded. The song reached number five on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and went on to become the fifth best-selling single of 2012. Her crossover into pop music was criticized by some, despite her commercial success. Follow-up singles “Beez in the Trap” featuring 2 Chainz and “Right by My Side” featuring Chris Brown were released shortly after.
Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded was eventually released on April 2, 2012, two months later than initially planned. The album was preceded by the promotional singles “Roman in Moscow” and “Stupid Hoe“. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 253,000 copies, and was certified platinum by the RIAA in June 2012. However, the mix of hip-hop songs and mainstream pop material received mixed reviews. “Pound the Alarm” and “Va Va Voom” were later released as the final singles from the album. Minaj along with fellow rapper M.I.A. joined Madonna to perform the single, “Give Me All Your Luvin” during the Super Bowl XLVI halftime show on February 6, 2012. Minaj was the first solo female rapper to perform at the Grammy Awards, performing “Roman Holiday” during the 2012 ceremony on February 12. Her exorcism-themed performance was controversial, with the American Catholic League and its president criticizing her performance.
Minaj began her headlining Pink Friday Tour on May 16, 2012, which was followed by the Pink Friday: Reloaded Tour beginning October 14, 2012. Although she was scheduled to headline the June 3 Hot 97 Summer Jam at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, at the request of Lil Wayne she canceled her appearance the day of the show after Peter Rosenberg of the station dismissed her single “Starships” as “not real hip-hop”. The following month, she voiced Steffie in the animated film Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012). Minaj won awards for Best Female Video (for “Starships”) at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards and Best Hip-Hop at the 2012 MTV Europe Music Awards.
An expanded version of Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, subtitled The Re-Up, was released on November 19, 2012, with seven new songs. That month, she was the subject of a three-part E! documentary titled Nicki Minaj: My Truth. In September, Minaj joined the judges’ panel for the twelfth season of American Idol with Mariah Carey, Keith Urban, and Randy Jackson. Throughout the show there were disagreements between Carey and Minaj, with both of them leaving the series at the end of the season.
2014–2017: The Pinkprint and acting ventures
Minaj’s first live-action theatrical film The Other Woman was filmed in spring 2013 and premiered on April 25, 2014. In late 2014, Minaj separated from her longtime boyfriend Safaree Samuels, whom she had dated since 2003. According to Minaj, he had proposed to her, but she declined. Several tracks on her forthcoming third album, The Pinkprint, are believed to have been heavily inspired by the end of their relationship. Minaj began dating rapper Meek Mill in early 2015, shortly after her breakup with Samuels. As she was working on The Pinkprint, she described the album as “a continuation of The Re-Up with a lot more” and said it would focus on her “hip hop roots”. During an MTV interview, she additionally said that it would be “next level” and that she has “much to talk about“.
“Pills n Potions” was released as the lead single from The Pinkprint in May 2014. In July, she appeared as a featured artist on the song “Bang Bang” with singers Jessie J and Ariana Grande, which peaked at number three on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. “Anaconda” was released in August as the second single from the album, peaking at number two, which became her highest-charting single in the U.S. at the time. The music video for “Anaconda” went viral upon release online; it set a 24-hour Vevo record, accumulating 19.6 million views on its first day of release, breaking the record previously held by Miley Cyrus for “Wrecking Ball”. On November 9, 2014, Minaj hosted the 2014 MTV Europe Music Awards in Glasgow, Scotland. She also won the Best Hip-Hop Award for a second time. The Pinkprint was officially released on December 15, 2014, and debuted at number two in the U.S, with first week sales of 244,000 equivalent units (198,000 in pure album sales and 46,000 combined album-equivalent units and streams). Upon release, critics praised the production and personal lyrics.
At the 58th Grammy Awards, Minaj received three more Grammy Award nominations, including a second Best Rap Album nomination for The Pinkprint, a Best Rap Song nomination for “Anaconda” and a Best Pop Duo/Group Performance nomination for “Bang Bang“. In March 2015, Minaj embarked on her third world tour entitled The Pinkprint Tour and also became the first female artist to chart four songs simultaneously in the top 10 of Billboard‘s Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop airplay chart. At the 2015 BET Awards, Minaj won her sixth consecutive award for Best Female Hip-Hop Artist, becoming the female rapper with most wins in that category. In August 2015, Madame Tussauds unveiled a wax figure of Minaj, which depicted a pose from the “Anaconda” music video. The attraction received criticism from some, including Angharad Welsh of The Independent, who called it “a sexist, racist mistake”. Despite this, Minaj voiced her approval of the wax figure on social media.
In May 2015, it was announced that Minaj would feature in the third installment of the Barbershop film series, alongside Ice Cube, Cedric the Entertainer, Eve, and other original cast members. Titled Barbershop: The Next Cut, the film was released on April 15, 2016. For Minaj’s performance as a “sassy” hairdresser named Draya, she was nominated for a Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actress: Comedy. In September 2015, it was announced that Minaj would executive produce and appear in a scripted single-camera comedy series for ABC Family (now Freeform) based on her life growing up in Queens, New York City. The show was titled Nicki and the pilot episode was filmed in Minaj’s hometown in January 2016. In October 2016, Minaj stated the filming was postponed for undisclosed reasons.
In February 2017, Minaj was featured on Jason Derulo’s single “Swalla” which reached the top ten in several countries, including a peak of number six in the UK. The following month, Minaj signed with the major modeling agency, Wilhelmina Models. On March 20, 2017, when her singles “No Frauds“, “Changed It“, and “Regret in Your Tears” were released simultaneously, Minaj broke the record for the most Billboard Hot 100 entries for a female artist, which at the time was previously held by Aretha Franklin. In May 2017, Minaj opened the 2017 Billboard Music Awards with a medley performance that was described by Elias Leight of Rolling Stone as “flamboyantly produced” and “dexterous”. Throughout the remainder of 2017, Minaj performed guest verses on several singles, including Migos’ “MotorSport” and Yo Gotti’s “Rake It Up“, both of which peaked inside the top ten in the U.S. at numbers six and eight, respectively. She also featured on Katy Perry’s “Swish Swish“, which was certified platinum in the US and Canada. In January 2017, she announced that she had ended her relationship with Meek Mill. Shortly after, she briefly dated fellow rapper Nas in 2017 before they broke up in January 2018.
2018–2019: Queen and marriage
After a social media hiatus, Minaj released two singles from her fourth studio album Queen. She released “Chun-Li” and “Barbie Tingz” simultaneously on April 12, 2018, with both reaching number ten and number twenty-five in the U.S. respectively. She performed “Chun-Li” on Saturday Night Live and the 2018 BET Awards. While “Chun Li” appears on the tracklist of the album, “Barbie Tingz” is only included on the Target version of the album. On the red carpet of the 2018 Met Gala, she announced the title of the album and the original release date. The second single, “Bed“, featuring Ariana Grande was released on June 14, 2018, alongside the album pre-order, reaching number 42 on the Hot 100. Additionally, Minaj appeared as a featured artist on the song “Fefe” along with Murda Beatz and Tekashi 6ix9ine. It debuted at number four in the U.S, marking Minaj’s highest debut on the chart at the time, besting the sixth place start of “Bang Bang” in 2014. It later peaked at number three and was added to Queen in the middle of its first tracking week. The day before the album’s release, Minaj launched her own Beats 1 radio show, Queen Radio.
Queen received multiple delays before finally being released on August 10, 2018. It debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 with 185,000 album-equivalent units, of which 78,000 came from pure album sales. It also debuted at number five in the UK and at number four in Australia, marking Minaj’s highest debut in the latter country. Minaj later expressed frustration and criticized several people including Travis Scott, whose album Astroworld claimed the top spot for a second week in a row, blocking Queen from the top spot. Minaj alleged that Travis Scott sold shirts, merchandise, and ticket passes for an unnannounced tour to boost his album sales. This controversy and Queen‘s roll-out was documented by several news outlets and commentators. Queen received generally positive reviews, with some critics deriding the album’s length and direction. The album was certified Platinum by the RIAA in January 2019, for moving over 1 million equivalent units.
Minaj performed at the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards where she also won her fourth MTV Video Music Award for the “Chun-Li” music video. The same month, she featured on the remix of “Idol” by South Korean boy band BTS. It debuted and peaked at number eleven in the U.S. which was the group’s second highest charting song at the time. She also featured on the song “Woman Like Me” by British girl group Little Mix, which was released on October 12, 2018. A music video was shortly released after, with Minaj and Little Mix later performing the song together at the 2018 MTV Europe Music Awards. She was also featured on “Dip” by American rapper Tyga which reached number sixty-three in the U.S. making her the first female artist to have 100 entries on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. She later attended the year-end Billboard Women in Music event, receiving the Game Changer Award for the accomplishment.
In September, Minaj co-headlined the annual Made in America Festival and suffered a wardrobe malfunction. In November, she was invited to the DWP music festival in China but did not perform due to problems with the company hosting the event. The next year in April 2019, Minaj made a surprise guest appearance at the 2019 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival during Ariana Grande’s set where they performed their collaborations “Side to Side” and “Bang Bang“. However, she experienced technical difficulties with her earpiece. Later that month, Minaj parted ways with her longtime management team after a mutual agreement, with American entertainment executive Irving Azoff serving as her new manager.
In June 2019, Minaj released a standalone single titled “Megatron” along with an accompanying music video. In the U.S, the song debuted at number twenty. A month later, she provided information on her upcoming fifth studio album, appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, stating that “there’s definitely a new album, of course.” She featured on the song “Hot Girl Summer” alongside fellow female rapper Megan Thee Stallion in August 2019, which reached number eleven in the U.S. Minaj began dating her childhood friend Kenneth Petty (nicknamed “Zoo”) in December 2018, and after less than a year of dating, filed for a marriage license in August 2019. She announced that they had officially married in October, hyphenating his last name to hers upon marriage. Minaj had a voice role as “Pinky” in The Angry Birds Movie 2, which was released in August 2019. In November, Minaj appeared on the Charlie’s Angels: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack on the song “Bad To You“, along with Ariana Grande and Normani, marking her sixth collaboration with Grande. Minaj also collaborated with Colombian singer Karol G on the song “Tusa“, which was released to streaming platforms on November 7. The song reached forty-two in the U.S. and reached the top of many other charts including the “Hot Latin Songs” chart, which made it the first song with two lead female artists to debut in such position. “Tusa” later became the longest-running number one single in Argentina, spending five months on the top of the chart.
2020–2021: Motherhood, Beam Me Up Scotty re-release, and lawsuit
In January 2020, Minaj was featured on “Nice to Meet Ya” by American singer-songwriter Meghan Trainor. The song is from the latter’s third studio album, Treat Myself (2020). In February, she released a standalone song called “Yikes” as a promotional single. By the end of that month, Minaj appeared as a guest judge on the twelfth season’s premiere of the reality television show RuPaul’s Drag Race. In March, her husband Kenneth Petty was entered into the California Megan’s Law database after he was charged for failing to register as a sex offender after he relocated to California. Petty was convicted of attempted rape in New York and served nearly four years in prison for it. For this charge, he has been sentenced to one year of house arrest and a fine of 55,000 USD in 2022.
In May, fellow rapper Doja Cat announced a collaboration with Minaj on two remixes of her song “Say So“. The remix later debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, becoming both Minaj and Doja Cat’s first single to reach number one in the U.S. It became the all-female collaboration that had reached number one in the U.S. since “Fancy” by Australian rapper Iggy Azalea featuring English singer Charli XCX did it in 2014. It marked the first time that a song by two female rappers reached the top, for which Guinness World Records later gave them an award. A month later, she released a collaboration with 6ix9ine called “Trollz“, which debuted at number one in the U.S. becoming Minaj’s second number one single. This made Minaj the first female rapper to debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 since Lauryn Hill did so in 1998 with “Doo Wop (That Thing)”. The song dropped to number 34 in its second week, at the time breaking the record for biggest fall from number one in the U.S.
In July, Minaj announced via Instagram that she was expecting her first child. She gave birth to a son on September 30, 2020, whom she refers to him publicly as “Papa Bear“. His real name is still unknown. She later collaborated with rappers ASAP Ferg and MadeinTYO on a song called “Move Ya Hips“. Almost a month later, Minaj featured on rapper Ty Dolla Sign’s track “Expensive“. She continued to appear as a featured artist on several songs in late 2020, and released “What That Speed Bout!?” with producer Mike Will Made It and rapper YoungBoy Never Broke Again on November 6. On the 10th anniversary of her debut album Pink Friday (2010), Minaj announced a six-part docuseries about her, produced by Bron Studios and was originally said to premiere on HBO Max. However, in 2022, the streaming platform confirmed it dropped the still-unreleased project.
The next year in February 2021, Minaj’s father, Robert Maraj, died while walking along a road on Long Island in a hit-and-run accident. Charles Polevich, a 70-year-old man, was charged as the suspect of Maraj’s death. Polevich was arraigned and charged with two felonies, which were leaving scene of incident involving death of a person and tampering with or suppressing physical evidence. Three months later, she commented on her father’s death in a letter, saying, “[..] it has been the most devastating loss of my life. I find myself wanting to call him all the time, more so now that he’s gone. […] May his soul rest in paradise. He was very loved & will be very missed.“
In May 2021, Minaj released a reissue of her mixtape Beam Me Up Scotty (2009), including new songs previously unavailable on streaming services. The reissue debuted at number two on the U.S. Billboard 200, which gave it the highest debut for a female rap mixtape in the U.S. A song from the reissue, titled “Seeing Green” featuring fellow Young Money rappers Drake and Lil Wayne reached number twelve in the U.S. and appeared in the mid-year “Best Hip Hop Songs of 2021 (so far)” critics list by magazine HipHopDX. Minaj’s verse on “Fractions” from the reissue appeared on the mid-year “Best Rap Verses of 2021 So Far” critics list from Complex. In July, Minaj collaborated with fellow rapper Bia on the remix of her song Whole Lotta Money. The remix appeared on several “Best Songs of the Year” lists from publications such as Rolling Stone and NPR.
In August, her husband’s victim (named Jennifer Hough) filed a lawsuit against Minaj and Petty for alleged harassment and intimidation. She later gave an interview about the accusations on the daytime talk show The Real. While Minaj has not publicly commented on the lawsuit, she addressed the accusations in a case filing: “I never asked [Hough] to change her story, I never offered her any money in return for a statement, and I did not threaten her with any type of harm if she chose not to provide a statement.” Hough later voluntarily dropped the case against Minaj, with her lawyers claiming “jurisdictional issues” and telling a judge that it was going to be refiled in California. Minaj’s lawyer countered their claims, saying that the refiling was a “friviolous gambit to avoid sanctions” and that “their claims received an aggresive response.” Hough’s initial claim of refiling the case was in January 2022.
In September, Minaj collaborated with English singer-songwriter Elton John’s fifth collaboration album The Lockdown Sessions (2021). She appeared on the song “Always Love You” with John and rapper Young Thug. Later that month, she split with her previous manager Irving Azoff and is now being managed by Wassim Slaiby, also known by his management company SALXCO, who is best known for managing The Weeknd and Doja Cat. Furthermore, English singer Jesy Nelson released her solo debut, called “Boyz“, which Minaj features on. The song peaked at number four in the UK and number sixteen in Ireland. In October 2021, Minaj appeared as a surprise host for the season six reunion of the reality television show The Real Housewives of Potomac. In November 2021, her 2011 Pink Friday single “Super Bass” received a Diamond certification by the RIAA, making her the second solo female rapper to receive a diamond certification. Minaj won the Best Hip Hop award in the MTV Europe Music Awards 2021, becoming the sixth time she has won this award.
2022–present: Upcoming fifth studio album
At the beginning of the year, after a social media hiatus, Minaj announced a song collaboration with rapper Lil Baby called “Do We Have a Problem?“. The track was released on February 4, along with a music video that featured guest appearances from actors Joseph Sikora and Cory Hardrict. The video also contained a snippet of another Lil Baby collaboration titled “Bussin“, which was officially released a week later, on February 11. “Do We Have a Problem?” debuted and peaked at number two on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. It became Minaj’s twentieth top ten entry in the U.S, extending her record as the female rapper with the most U.S. top ten singles. In a promotional Apple Music interview with DJ Zane Lowe, Minaj said her forthcoming fifth studio album is “coming very soon“. She described it as “fun, gutta, and back to the basics“. Her other ventures also include fronting the campaign for the “Heaven” Spring 2022 collection by Marc Jacobs, which launched on March 3.
In March, Minaj collaborated with fellow rapper Coi Leray on a song titled “Blick Blick“, from the former’s debut studio album, Trendsetter (2022). Prior to the song’s release, she revealed that her verse was almost scrapped due to American rapper Benzino (who is also Coi Leray’s father) leaking the collaboration. Later that month, she surprise-released the standalone single “We Go Up” featuring rapper Fivio Foreign. The drill track was initially teased on Minaj’s social media as a scrapped song from her album, before fans had requested her to release the song. The next month, Minaj appeared on English television host James Corden’s Carpool Karaoke segment, kickstarting its returning broadcast on The Late Late Show with James Corden after a two year hiatus. After that, she was named the new creative director of American men’s magazine Maxim and became the new global ambassador and advisor for MaximBet, a sports betting brand launched by Maxim. She also came along on board as a stakeholder.
In early July, Minaj did several live performances by headlining the 2022 Essence Music Festival in New Orleans and the 2022 Wireless Festival in London. The same month, she posted a snippet of a song on social media that samples American singer Rick James’s 1981 song, “Super Freak.” On July 22, she announced that the full track would be released on August 12. She revealed the song’s title as “Super Freaky Girl” and the accompanying cover art for the song. On July 28, 2022, she released a two-minute trailer of her upcoming six-part docu-series titled “Nicki“, produced by Canadian production company Bron Studios. After its initial release, “Super Freaky Girl” also received an additional extended version called the “Roman Remix”, which features the return of her alter ego Roman Zolanski. “Super Freaky Girl” debuted at number one in the U.S, making the song Minaj’s third U.S. number one and her first unaccompanied number one. It became the first solo song by a female rapper to debut at number one in the U.S. in 22 years, after fellow rapper Lauryn Hill’s song “Doo Wop (That Thing)” also debuted at number one in 1998.