Onika Maraj, publicly known as Nicki Minaj, is a twenty-five year old native of Jamaica Queens, New York. Although she initially aspired to be a singer and actress, Minaj began writing rap lyrics over seven years ago and is now currently signed with Young Money Record label founded by Lil Wayne. She has released three mixtapes: Playtime is Over, Sucka Free, and Beam Me Up Scotty.

Her latest mixtape, Beam Me Up Scotty, has received the most publicity to date. In addition, being featured on records, such as "Five Star Chick Remix," "Bedrock," "Shakin it for Daddy," to name a few, has placed her on the same plateau as main stream artists. Moreover, she has been able to sustain as a strong rap artist among label mates such as Drake, Mack Maine, and Jae Millz as well as founder, Lil Wayne.

History of Female Rap

Female emcees have been around almost as long as their male counterparts. Beginning with rappers like the Mercedes Ladies, Lady B, MC Lyte, Queen Latifah, Yo-Yo and Salt-N-Pepa, the rap industry was flooded by women demanding respect and equality. Later in the 1990s, the image of female rap began to change. Rappers like Lil' Kim, Foxy Brown, and Eve made female rap edgy, trendy, raw and often times controversial.

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