Case Study by Khadija Marrakchi

Biography

marrakchik1 — 2023-09-13 17:44:27 UTC

Onika Tanya Maraj was born on December, 8, 1982, she was five years old when she moved to Queens, New York from Trinidad and Tobago. Her childhood was very dominated by her drug-addicted father. Due to that she spent most of her time creating fantasies for herself. While doing that she adopted a New name that's well known "Nicki Minaj". She wrote her first rap song when she was 12 years old, She started as a Backup singer and posted most of her videos on MySpace which got her scouted by a local record label. She released her first single "Massive Attack" two months later she won best Hip Hop Female at the annual BET Awards. in 2013 she claimed the title to a record 44 appearances the most by a female rapper on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. She rocketed to fame with tracks like "Super Bass" "Starships" and "Anaconda". Today she is one of the most well known Female Hip Hop Artists. #NickiMinaj #OnikaTanyaMaraj #Biopost #Biography #NickiLife

History/Influence on Nicki Minaj

marrakchik1 — 2023-10-04 17:43:04 UTC

Someone that Nicki Minaj mentioned that she looked up to was Foxy Brown, She says that as a female rapper herself and as Trinidadian she admired Foxy Brown because she never thought she would see a rapper from the same country as her. Nicki considers Foxy Brown to be one of her biggest influences. Nicki Minaj also said that Lil Wayne, Jay-Z and Slick Rick are her other influences, Lil Wayne shaped her overall style and so did Jay-Z; She would do a lot of things similar to those two. As for her Childhood, It was a horrific childhood, Her childhood was dominated by a drug-addicted father to escape from her hard life she would create fantasies for herself. Creating fantasies has led to the iconic name "Nicki Minaj" being created. #NickiInspo #NickiChildhood #NickiMinajFoxyBrown #NickiMinajInfluences #NickiMinajHomelife

Lyric Analysis

marrakchik1 — 2023-10-04 17:45:11 UTC

Red Ruby Da Sleeze features Nicki Minaj rapping about her lavish lifestyle and her dominance and confidence in the rap game, The Title "Red Ruby Da Sleeze" can have different meanings however a popular theory is that she is comparing herself to a Red Ruby which means she's a precious gemstone meanwhile her haters are worthless/trashy. A Red Ruby is a symbol of love and commitment and can also mean Wealth, Success meanwhile Sleeze is a derogatory term meaning a vulgar/dishonest person. One of her lyrics is "But I Don't f**** with horses since Christopher Reeves" which is referencing an actor who became paralyzed after falling off of a horse to Diss Megan Thee Stallion. Red Ruby is one of Nicki Minaj's many personas that she uses to represent different parts of her personality, Red Ruby expresses Nicki Minaj's Fierceness and confidence in herself. #RedRubyDaSleeze #NickiMinajRedRuby #NickiMinajMeganTheeStallion #NickiMinajpersona #NickiMinajLyrics #NickiMinajConfidence

Nicki Minaj Influential Lyrics

marrakchik1 — 2023-10-04 17:45:46 UTC

One of Nicki Minaj's Influential lyrics have to be from "Moment 4 Life" and It's; "I fly with the stars in the skies I am no longer trying to survive I believe that life is a prize but to live doesn't mean your alive." It's very influential and inspiring because just because your alive doesn't mean your truly living life and it can encourage her listeners to actually live life and appreciate life because it's not forever and not Everybody can get the chance to live life. Moment 4 Life was the fourth single from Nicki's Debut Album. #NickiMinajInfluential #NickiMinajLyrics #NickiMinajDebut #Moment4Life #NickiMinajInspiring

Musical Influences

marrakchik1 — 2023-10-04 17:47:16 UTC

Nicki Minaj has often credited Lil Wayne as her mentor. He had made an influence on a young generation of rappers. He then famously discovered Nicki Minaj and began to mentor her. Nicki Minaj has even mentioned in an interview how she would not be able to imagine her career without him This is from an interview of her imagining her career without Lil Wayne; "I don’t ever want to imagine that. I can’t even imagine my career, um, my creative spirit without Wayne. I credit him with a lot of what I do. Prior to him, no one relevant in hip-hop really gave me that support. I feel like I’m still intertwined with him creatively. Before I met Wayne, the person that was spearheading my career was the one person who always told me, “Don’t be too playful, don’t be too kooky and weird… no one’s gonna feel that, nobody wants to hear that.” So I stifled a lot of that early on, and then once that we parted ways, I was like, “Guess what, I’m gonna just be me.” Nicki Minaj said that Lil Wayne had helped her to get loose and really find her identity. With him as her mentor she was able to explore so many different styles as silly as they are and was able to express herself in the most honest way she can. #Influenced #LilWayne #NickiMinaj #Mentor #NickiMinajInterview

Musical Influences

marrakchik1 — 2023-10-04 18:02:48 UTC

Minaj admits to have been influenced by Lil Kim and even gave Lil Kim props for being a fashion icon and for influencing her and believes Lil Kim deserves credit for her influence on others. Minaj considered Lil Kim as an inspiration and has many songs that are about Lil Kim. Some notable songs are "Roman's Reverse" "Tragedy" and "Y.U.". Lil Kim has also influenced Nicki's colorful, playful sense of fashion. Lil Kim has laid the foundation for female rappers to front a fashion campaign. #LilKim #Fashion #NickiMinajLilKim #Inspired #Influencedbylilkim

Musical Influences

marrakchik1 — 2023-10-04 18:11:54 UTC

The R&B singer Monica has inspired Nicki Minaj. She sings "Why I Love You So Much" by Monica at every single Talent show she's entered. When she performed in Atlanta for her Pink Friday Tour. Minaj called Monica one of her all time greatest Musical Influences. Nicki even mentions in an interview that Monica was her idol; "I was telling Meek 'Did you know Monica was my idol? Did you know how obsessed I was with her?'" Nicki even said in an instagram post on Monday, June, 2022 about Monica "Nothing's changed still a dope a** singer, entertainer and person. I used to try to sing exactly like her, doing them low notes and riffs." #Monica #NickiMonica #R&BSinger #R&BMonica #NickiMinajIdol

My Own Story

marrakchik1 — 2023-10-24 17:25:49 UTC

I grew up listening to Nicki Minaj, I think the first song I ever heard was "starships". I was around 8/9 years old at the time and I really admired her unique and colorful style and tried to incorporate some of that into my style as a kid. Another song that I really enjoyed listening to was Super Bass, I remember when I was younger I really liked how she dressed and I loved her hair. The reason why I decided to make my Case study about her is because she is one of the artists I remember listening to and I still listen to her. Some ways how she inspired me was that she helped me learn to be unforgivably myself. She taught me to love myself and that the best version you can be of yourself is unequivocally your true self, Because that's the only version you can ever be and that's OK. #MyStory #AllAboutMe #MyOwnTelling #HowNickiMinajImpactedMe #HowIGotInspired

Fashion Post

marrakchik1 — 2023-10-25 17:42:37 UTC

Nicki Minaj has always been known for her bold style of clothing. She has been the center of attention for her distinct style. She likes a lot of neon colors and is very good at matching wigs with her looks. Nicki has had a huge impact on fashion. Due to that she has even released her own fashion line called "The Nicki Minaj Collection" the brand was released in October 2013. She has often called herself a major fashion icon and is considered as a fashion trendsetter. She recently signed as the spokeswoman for Adidas, shooting their Fall campaign commercial in New York as major designers like Givenchy's Ricardo Tisci, Donatella Versace and Oscar de la Renta clamor to dress her.

#NickiMinaFashion #FashionIcon #Fashionista #NickiStyle #UniqueFashion

Geographical post

marrakchik1 — 2023-10-30 17:23:17 UTC

Nicki Minaj was born in Saint James, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago to Parents of mixed origins, Nicki is one quarter Indian While her father Robert Maraj is of Indo-Trinidadian origins, Her Mother Carol Maraj is of Afro-Trinidadian descent. Minaj has always opened up about her proud Trinidadian Identity. She even returned to Trinidad for her song Red Ruby Da Sleeze, She also created a song called "Trini Dem Girls" Nicki minaj never fails to rep her Trinidadian roots and even returns to Trinidad for carnivals. When Nicki was five Her Mother got her first house on 147th Street in South Jamaica, Queens. Nicki has even had a song called "Hold Yuh" which was a reggae song featuring her and Gyptian.

#Trinidadian #NickiTrinidadianIdentity #NickiJamaicanCulture #TrinidadianCulture #BorninTrinidad

Politics post

marrakchik1 — 2023-10-30 17:23:58 UTC

Nicki Minaj has always been open on her views and politics however during 2015 she became way more outspoken about her views. In one of her #1 Hit "Black Beatles" she called out Donald Trumps anti-immigrant bile on the track "Island girl, Donald Trump want me go home," "Now I'm prayin' all my foreigns don't get deported." Minaj has spoken out about how the war on drugs is "slavery" and has said "I love the president for trying to be a voice for people who no other person has ever tried to be a voice for.” and she has also spoken out about Hilary Clinton, She said that she understood her struggles as a woman and has said that every woman should feel inspired by her bravery despite if your voting for her or not. Nicki has also showed her views on the Black Lives Matter Movement and how it resonated with her after she did research on the Sandra Bland Case. “I did research on the Sandra Bland case. That’s why it hit me so hard. I remember speaking to other women at the time. This could have been me. I’m a sassy woman. I may have given a little bit of attitude to a police officer. I could have never come home.” #Politics #NickiTrump #NickiOnWaronDrugs #NickiHilaryClinton #NickiBLM

Art/Imagery Post

marrakchik1 — 2023-10-30 17:56:01 UTC

Hip-hop and street art has always been closely associated however it started intersecting in the 80s, Despite the fact that hiphop was popular in the 1980s it started really skyrocketing in the following decades when artists like Notorious B.I.G, 2 Pac, Snoop Dogg and Nas began ruling the hiphop industry, Due to hiphop's newfound fame becoming the biggest selling genre It meant that many rappers could find common ground with those in the art industry who wanted to make their mark on the world as-well. Hip hop artist's started becoming Art collectors like Jay-Z Q-Tip and Ja Rule all became collectors. Graffiti allowed people to convey a message and so did Hip Hop. Graffiti then became one of the four elements of Hip Hop. Graffiti and Hip Hop are intertwined, The same neighbourhoods that birthed Graffiti also created Hip hop (DJ-ing, MC-ing) These two forms of art were interlocked and created a cultural movement that was the embodiment of self expression and creativity.

#TheBirthOfGraffiti #GraffitiHipHop #ArtandImagery #TheBirthofHipHop #StreetArt