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1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nicki_minaj_2016_mtv_video_music_awards_red_carpet_fashion_bao_tranchi_tom_lorenzo_site_4.jpg]]
2 [[caption-width-right:350:i'm not difficult, i'm just bout my business.]]
3
4->''"Pink wig, thick ass, give 'em whiplash."''
5-->-- From her verse on Music/KanyeWest's [[Music/MyBeautifulDarkTwistedFantasy "Monster"]]
6
7[floatboxright:
8Influences:
9+ Music/NatashaBedingfield, Foxy Brown, Music/{{Drake}}, Music/MissyElliott, Music/{{Enya}}, Jadakiss, Music/JanetJackson, Music/JayZ, Creator/GraceJones, Music/CyndiLauper, Music/LaurynHill, Music/LilKim, Music/LilWayne, Remy Ma, Music/{{Madonna}}, Music/{{MIA}}, Music/BritneySpears, Smokey Robinson, Music/{{TLC}}, Trina, Music/KanyeWest, Music/{{Eminem}}
10Influenced:
11+ Music/LilNasX, Music/DojaCat, Music/MeganTheeStallion, Music/BillieEilish, Music/CityGirls, Music/CherLloyd, Music/{{Cupcakke}}
12]
13
14Nicki Minaj (born Onika Tanya Maraj, December 8, 1982) is a rapper, singer, songwriter, actress, and former ''Series/AmericanIdol'' judge (for season 12). Born in Trinidad, she attended and graduated from the drama program at UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity[='s=] [=LaGuardia=] High School, a performing arts school. During that time period, she started rapping and making mixtapes and thrived on the underground hip-hop scene where she got much accolades and praise and even won Best Female Artist at the Underground Music Awards.
15
16She eventually got the attention of Music/LilWayne, and was signed to his record label/imprint Young Money Entertainment where she leaped into the mainstream scene by guest rapping on just about every popular artist's song. In November 2010, she released her debut album ''Pink Friday'' to generally positive reception, garnering her three UsefulNotes/GrammyAward nominations. She followed this album up with several more albums, including ''The Pinkprint'', which came out at the end of December 2014 and received a UsefulNotes/GrammyAward nomination for the (in)famous "Anaconda", and ''Queen'', which came out on August 10, 2018.
17
18----
19!!Discography:
20[[AC:Mixtapes]]
21* ''Playtime is Over'' (2007)
22* ''Sucker Free'' (2008)
23* ''Beam Me Up Scotty'' (2009)
24* ''All Pink Everything'' (2011)
25
26[[AC:Albums]]
27* ''Pink Friday'' (2010)
28* ''[[{{Sequel}} Pink Friday]]:'' ''[[AscendedExtra Roman Reloaded]]'' (2012)
29** ''[[UpdatedRerelease Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded -- The Re-Up]]'' (2012)
30* ''The Pinkprint'' (2014)
31* ''Queen'' (2018)
32* ''Pink Friday 2'' (2023)
33----
34!!Starships were meant to trope:
35* ActuallyPrettyFunny: She retweeted "[[https://youtu.be/ZBaNiNkVQkQ Super Balls]]" - Stephen Colbert's parody of Super Bass that makes fun of her tweet that spread Covid 19 misinformation.
36* AlterEgoActing: Onika Maraj is her real self, Nicki Minaj is her larger-than-life "Harajuku Barbie" identity, Roman Zolanski is the angry, twisted version of herself, and Martha Zolanski as Roman's uptight mother with a faux British accent.
37* BarbieDollAnatomy:
38** In "Turn Me On." Justified as the video tells a story of a doll-maker.
39** One of her nicknames is "Black Barbie", even.
40%%* BlatantLies: "Excuse me, I'm sorry, I'm really such a lady..."
41* BoastfulRap: The focus of some of her songs, while others have a verse or two dedicated to it. Usually occurs in the form of calling herself the “baddest bitch” or “queen,” and especially prevalent whenever Roman's the one singing.
42** Her songs “Want Some More” & “Come See About Me” are about Minaj boasting about her achievements.
43* BoobsAndButtPose: [[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/20/Nicki_Minaj_Anaconda.png "Anaconda"]], the cover of which shows her squatting with her back turned to the viewer, wearing only a thong. Minaj is also notable for popularizing an [[https://static.onecms.io/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/08/anaconda.jpg all-fours variation on this pose]] in the same video, lifting up her butt while directly facing the viewer.
44* ButNotTooWhite: In "Wamables," Nicki states her personal preference for dark-skinned men:
45-->Put your hand up, now it's time to make a pledge\
46You'll never catch me in a light-skin nigga bed
47* ButNotTooForeign: On an Creator/{{MTV}} documentary she confirmed that she was born in Trinidad and moved to New York when she was five. She alternates between calling herself a New Yorker and an Island/Trini girl, and has used a Carribbean accent/slang in some of her songs, but her normal speaking/rapping voice has a New York accent.
48* {{Camp}}: Intro for "Moment 4 Life"
49* CampGay: Her {{Alter Ego|Acting}} Roman Zolanski.
50* CanonDiscontinuity: After the flop of "Massive Attack" as a debut single, it wasn't included on the final version of the ''Pink Friday'' album.
51* CatchPhrase: Any variation or combination of "Young Money" or "Barbie".
52* CelebritySong: "Creator/MarilynMonroe".
53* ChessMotifs: A King's capture will finish a chess, but it's usually the versatile and boundless Queens who determine the outcome of the game. Hence the line,
54--> ''You could be the king, but watch the queen conquer!''
55* ClusterFBomb: As expected from a rapper.
56* ColonCancer: ''Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded -- The Re-Up'' is particularly guilty of being this.
57%%* CostumePorn
58* CultureChopSuey: The video for her song "Your Love" has a very obvious Japanese aesthetic, but Nicki the describes a geisha and a samurai speaking Thai.
59* DistaffCounterpart: {{Subverted|Trope}}. There were remarkable similarities between Nicki and Lil Wayne with their free-associative cadences, hard rhyming, and explicitly sexual content back when Nicki put out her mixtapes, but with Nicki's new LighterAndSofter sound and style on ''Pink Friday'', the two have less in common.
60** {{Double Subver|sion}}ted. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6j4f8cHBIM#t=3m11s By Nicki herself.]]
61* DoubleStandard: She discusses the phenomena extensively in her MTV special "My Time Now". She says that when Lil' Wayne says that he doesn't want to talk to anybody, and wants everything ready for him, he's being a boss, but when she does the same thing, she's a bitch.
62* DontExplainTheJoke:
63** Played with in "Only": "I don't duck nobody but tape/yeah, that was a setup for a punchline on duct tape." This was also a subtle reference to Iggy Azalea's leaked sex tape.
64** From "Black Barbies": "These bitches pussy and they don't ever do shit[[note]]sounds like "douche it"[[/note]] / Haha, get it? Douche!..."
65** From "Light My Body Up": "Yes, bitch, I'm me, pretty N-I-C[[note]]sounds like "pretty and icy"[[/note]] / You get it? Icy, but my name is spelled N-I-C"
66* DownerEnding: The Pinkprint Standard Edition ends with "Bed of Lies" and "Grand Piano". Both discussing being cheated on and used by someone.
67** The [=iTunes=] version of the album averts this by ending with the upbeat "Truffle Butter".
68* [[HollywoodExorcism The Exorcism of Roman]]: The theme of her "Roman Holiday" performance at the 2012 Grammy Awards.
69* EyelashFluttering: She flutters her big false lashes to accentuate them a number of times in the music video for "Super Bass."
70* FairyTaleMotifs:
71** The video for "[=Moment4Life=]" incorporates Cinderella-like elements, especially with one of Nicki's persona, Martha, playing the Fairy God Mother.
72** The "Va Va Voom" music video uses many fairy tale and medieval elements in general ({{Unicorn}}s, Nicki in a dragon costume) but mostly borrows from the tale of Snow White, with a huntsman, Nicki in a glass coffin, and Nicki dressed as the evil queen in a mirror.
73* FreestyleVersion: Over songs by Jay-Z ("Encore"), The Notorious B.I.G. ("Warning"), Soulja Boy ("Itty Bitty Piggy"), and also PTAL's "Boss Ass Bitch".
74* GenreShift: Not necessarily a shift, so much as an expansion of the genres she works with. As time has gone on, she's branched out from fast-paced, hard raps into pop and slower, more quiet rhymes.
75%%* GenkiGirl
76* TheHeroDies: In the [[spoiler: "Your Love"]] music video.
77* HimeCut: Her favorite hair style.
78* HotterAndSexier: Inverted on ''Pink Friday'', which has no explicitly sexual lyrics (on the standard edition; the deluxe version does). That said, there's still a fair bit of innuendo, and Nicki didn't refrain from playing MsFanservice in some of the music videos.
79* IconicItem: Her Iced Out Barbie Chain.
80* IHaveManyNames: Nicki Minaj, Onika Tanya Maraj, Roman Zolanski, Martha, Harajuku Barbie, Nicki Lewinsky…
81* InDaClub: "Pound the Alarm", and "Beez In the Trap"'s music video.
82* IncrediblyLongNote: In "Dance (A$$)" (7 seconds) with Music/BigSean, and "Stupid Hoe" (11 seconds). Both notes are over-the-top, if not comical, and [[LampshadedTrope lampshaded]] in both cases with Nicki gasping for air after.
83* IntercourseWithYou: "Whip It" and "Sex In The Lounge". Come to think of it, a good number of her songs have this vibe, with varying degrees of explicitness.
84* LargeHam: She can be quite dramatic when rapping.
85* LighterAndSofter: The ''Pink Friday'' album, which was deliberate. Nicki wanted to go in a different direction than most female rappers and avoid much of the sex and hard rhymes.
86** The new tracks added on ''Roman Reloaded'' seem to [[SubvertedTrope subvert]] this, however.
87%%* ManicPixieDreamGirl: Her Harajuku Barbie persona, with the colored wigs, vocal shifts, and... interesting facial expressions.
88* {{Metaphorgotten}}: We can only hope so anyway in "Did it On 'Em":
89--> [[RunningGag All these bitches is my sons]], and I'mma go and get some bibs for 'em\
90A couple formulas, little pretty lids on 'em\
91''If I had a dick, I would pull it out and piss on 'em''"
92* MidwordRhyme: In "Barbie Tingz" ("Blue" is a word on its own, of course, but the line makes no sense without the word "blueprint" in full):
93-->All they do is copy looks, steal music, too\
94Had to see what bitches do when they lose the blue-\
95-print, I mean the pinkprint, hoe, let it sink in
96* MindScrew: Her scene in the video for Kanye West's "Monster".
97* MoodWhiplash: For the most part, the mainstream only knew her as the (ostensibly) LighterAndSofter Harajuku Barbie, with all the bright colors and the love of pink. This left her performance of "Roman Holiday" at the Grammys (which started with her in a confessional and ended with faking an exorcism on stage) as something that came ''completely'' out of left field.\
98\
99It's something of a MoodWhiplash for her songs in general, as well. Upon analyzing the lyrics, the song suggests a youth being medicated by his [[MyBelovedSmother rather deranged mother]], who disapproves of his behavior; this, itself, is a bit heavier than her usual work. Then the Grammys performance adds on a layer of exorcism, and the boy (Roman) begging for it to stop while his mother, [[AlterEgoActing Martha]], continues to tell him he'll be fine. [[FridgeHorror If you think about it,]] [[NightmareFuel this could be legitimately terrifying]] and is [[DarkerAndEdgier notably darker than anything she's done thus far]].
100* MotorMouth: Very much capable of this, like the start of her verse on "Blazin'" or the end of her verse on "Motorsport".
101* MsFanservice: She's known for showing off her body, particularly her eye catching behind.
102* MurderTheHypotenuse: What happens in "Your Love".
103* {{Narcissist}}: Her song "Chun-Li" says this:
104-->'''Nicki Minaj:''' They need rappers like me!!
105* NoKillLikeOverkill: This section of "Barbie Tingz":
106-->If the bitch get slick, I'll cut the bitch\
107I'll cut up the bitch, I'll [[GuttedLikeAFish gut the bitch]]\
108Had to fuck up the bitch, man, fuck the bitch\
109Won't shoot her but I will [[PistolWhipping gun-butt the bitch]]\
110When we say "fuck the bitch", [[GratuitousRape dick up the bitch]]\
111She was stuck-up so my niggas stuck up the bitch\
112Still draggin' her, so don't pick up the bitch\
113Get the combination to the safe, drug the bitch\
114Know the whole operation been bugged the bitch
115* OdeToYouth: "Young Forever", and lesser "The Night is Still Young"
116* OncePerEpisode: Nicki Minaj is not a bi-winker. She can only wink her left eye. Every single video. Every single clip.
117* ProductPlacement: A shameless example in her rap in "Bang Bang": "It's Myx Moscato/It's friends in a bottle..." Myx is a fruit-infused wine drink, Nicki Minaj is co-owner of the manufacturer and, as we can see, fully endorses it.[[note]]It doesn't hurt that moscato has replaced champagne as hip hop's favourite wine ever since a French champagne manufacturer was asked if he thought the association with hip hop was bad for champagne's image, and he replied "We can't stop people drinking it."[[/note]]
118* PutOnABus: Roman Zolanski in the "Moment 4 Life" video intro: "He's off to boarding school, him and [[Music/{{Eminem}} Slim Shady]], they were wreaking havoc over the industry darling..."
119** With the release of ''Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded'', [[TheBusCameBack Roman's bus came back]] for the duration of the 2012-2014 era.
120* RealWomenDontWearDresses: ''Pink Friday'' is not overtly sexual and written from a feminine point of view. This had to led a lot of criticism decrying her as "soft" and not going as hard as the guys.
121* RhymingWithItself:
122** In "Only", she rhyme "duct tape" with "duct tape" for the sake of anti-humor.
123** From "Come on a Cone":
124--->When I'm sittin' with Anna[[note]]Wintour[[/note]], I'm really sittin' with Anna\
125[[NotHyperbole Ain't a metaphor or punchline]], I'm really sittin' with Anna"
126** Repeatedly at the start of her verse on "Rake it Up" (though there's internal rhymes in there):
127--->Brought out the pink Lamborghini just to race with Chyna[[note]]model/entepeneur Blac Chyna[[/note]]\
128Brought the wraith to China, just to race in China\
129Lil' bad Trini bitch, but she mixed with China\
130Real thick vagina, [[TrouserSpace smuggle bricks to China]]
131** Many of her verses appear to use this on a first listen but are actually her rhyming words that are homophones or sound very similar, such as in "Changed It":
132--->No, you can't bone it, nigga, ain't no Lisa here[[note]]Lisa Bonet (though "bone-it" isn't how her name is pronounced)[[/note]]\
133She gon' dread dissin' Nicki like Lisa hair\
134I buy, little nigga, ain't no leaser here
135* {{Sampling}}:
136** ''Your Love'' uses the Annie Lennox song "No More I Love You's" and pretty much just added more bass.
137** ''Check It Out'' with [[Music/BlackEyedPeas will.i.am]] samples from "Video Killed the Radio Star" by the Buggles.
138** ''Blazin'' with Kanye West very faintly samples "Don't You (Forget About Me)" by Simple Minds.
139** ''Girls Fall Like Dominoes" samples "Dominoes" by The Big Pink.
140** "Right Thru Me" samples the opening of Music/JoeSatriani's "Always With Me, Always With You."
141** And then there's "Anaconda". It takes guts to sample a song as iconic as "[[Music/SirMixALot Baby Got Back]]", but Nicki went and did it.
142** ''Barbie World'', her duet with Music/IceSpice for the ''Film/Barbie2023'' movie, samples Music/{{Aqua}}'s ''Barbie Girl''.
143* SexinessScore: The remix version of "Down in the DM", she boasts about being a "ten".
144-->Nigga know that I'm a 10, that's Celine on my lens
145* SexyPackaging: [[MsFanservice Surprisingly]], averted by her first three studio albums. However, the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_(Nicki_Minaj_album)#/media/File:Queen_Cover.jpeg cover]] of ''Queen'' most definitely plays it straight, showing Nicki completely nude except for a bikini and [[NippleAndDimed pasties]] made of jewels.
146* ShoutOut:
147** Her 2012 Grammys performance of “Roman Holiday” had a brief, ''Film/TheExorcist''-inspired introduction, which ended with this exchange:
148---> '''Priest''': "What's your name, child?"
149---> '''Roman''', in a corner [[CeilingCling on the ceiling]]: "[[SayMyName ROMAAAAAAAN]]!!"
150** In her cameo appearance on Madonna's "Gimme All Your Luvin'": "I'm Roman, [[Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian I'm a barbarian, I'm Conan!"]]
151** [[Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000 Joel and the Bots]] can be seen in the lyric video for ''Anaconda''.
152** In her video for "Stupid Hoe", the pose Nicki mimics at the start of the video is a reference to [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Island_Life#/media/File:Grace_Jones_-_Island_Life.jpg the cover art of ''Island Life'']] by singer Grace Jones.
153** Her song "Chun-Li," where she raps about how she's [[BadassBoast the most powerful female]] in her "game," much like the titular ''{{Franchise/Street Fighter}}'' character. The song also contains references to [[ComicBook/XMen Storm]], [[Franchise/TombRaider Lara Croft]], {{Franchise/King Kong}}, and {{UsefulNotes/Michael Jordan}}.
154* SingerNamedrop: Nicki sometimes namedrops her regular stage name ("Super Bass"), her Barbie persona ("Massive Attack", "Monster"), her Roman persona (most songs featuring Roman, "Gimme All Your Luvin'") and even her real name ("Starships").
155--> "My name is ''Onika''
156--> you can call me ''Nicki''."
157* SingingVoiceDissonance: Outside of rapping and singing, Nicki's normal voice sounds like a less nasally Creator/FranDrescher.
158* StuffyOldSongsAboutTheButtocks: "Anaconda." Unusually for this sort of song, it's from the perspective of the woman with the buttocks, but nevertheless any song with "Oh my gosh. Look at her butt" in the chorus and samples "[[TropeMaker Baby Got Back]]" qualifies.
159* SurprisinglyGentleSong: Several. If not outright peaceful, quite a few songs lack the distinctly harsh, sharp edge in vocals and instrumentation that many people have come to expect from her.
160* TakeThat: "Roman's Revenge", which takes some pretty blatant shots at Music/LilKim.
161** Not to mention how she received one from Keys, an underground rapper from Baltimore.
162** There's also her verse on the "All I Do Is Win" remix.
163** Along with her song [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3t2w99sph4g Stupid Hoe]].
164** "Barbie Dreams" has several of these, with the most infamous one referring to Drake:
165--> Drake worth a hundred mill, always buying me shit
166--> But I don't know if the pussy wet or if he crying and shit.
167* TitleDrop: [[DrinkingGame Take a shot]] every time the word "moment" comes up in the "Moment 4 Life" video.
168* TrueCompanions: Her team/crew, Young Money.
169* UncannyValleyMakeup: Wears a lot of bright garish lipstick colors in "Stupid Hoe".
170* UnresolvedSexualTension: Drake makes it obvious he has some towards Nicki in "Only": "I never fucked Nicki, cause she got a man/but when that's over, then I'm first in line". He also talks about an encounter where he came close to having sex with her while admiring her assets and almost is begging Nicki ("It doesn't take much for us to do this shit quietly") to give him a chance.
171* VerbalTic: The words "uh" and "yo" right before many of her verses.
172* VocalRangeExceeded: PlayedForLaughs at the end in "Stupid Hoe":
173-->You a stupid hoe, you a stupid hoe, [[RuleOfThree you a stu-u-]][[InopportuneVoiceCracking u-pid hoe...]]\
174[[LampshadeHanging And I ain't hit that note]] but fuck you, stupid hoe!
175* WaifFu: In the video for 'Fly'.
176* WardrobeMalfunction: During a ''Good Morning America'' performance one of her breasts was exposed.
177* AWildRapperAppears: During “[[Music/DavidGuetta Turn Me On]],” she sings everything, except for one, short section, which she raps.
178** The case in a lot of her songs, especially "Bottoms Up" with Music/TreySongz, and "Make Me Proud" with Drake.
179* WolverinePublicity: To the point where she's worked with [[Music/BlackEyedPeas will.i.am]], Music/JayZ, Music/KanyeWest, Trey Songz, Music/ChrisBrown, Diddy-Dirty Money, Rick Ross, T.I., M.I.A., [[Creator/WillSmith Willow Smith]], Sean Kingston, Gucci Maine, Natasha Bedingfield, Music/{{Rihanna}}, Music/{{Eminem}}, Music/BritneySpears, Music/ChristinaAguilera, The Lonely Island, Music/MariahCarey, Usher, Ludacris, Sean Garrett, Jeffree Star, Yo Gotti, Music/FloRida, David Guetta, Music/ArianaGrande, Music/JessieJ, Music/{{DNCE}}, Jay Sean, Music/DJKhaled, [[OverlyLongGag Trina]], all of [[Music/LilWayne Young Money]], and [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg Gudda Gudda]].
180** Ironically Lil' Kim too in Diddy-Dirty Money's [[UpdatedRerelease umpteenth remix]] of "Hello Good Morning".
181** For Nicki, his trope is probably most evident during her ''[[Administrivia/BrevityIsWit twelve second]]'' guest rap on Music/{{Madonna}}'s "Give Me All Your Luvin'". She does appear throughout on the ''L-U-V Madonna! Y-O-U You wanna?'' chant, but other than that...
182** In 2017 she broke Music/ArethaFranklin's record for most entries by a female artist on the US Hot 100, and as of 2018 has had '''98 entries''' on the chart; of these, '''60''' are from features on other artists' songs. And that's not counting all the songs she was featured on that didn't chart.
183* JustForFun/XMeetsY: In-universe example, on "Roman's Revenge," Music/{{Eminem}} states the two of them together are "high class meets white trash".

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