Nicki Minaj's unique combination of ferocity and humor, and a rap style built on razor-sharp wordplay, mercilessly blunt lyricism, and delivery that turns on a dime from sugary to snarling, has skyrocketed her from mixtape phenom to enduring global pop star.The rapper's early days included attempts at an acting career and losing her job at Red Lobster for being rude to customers, but she progressed quickly from MySpace demos to nationally adored mixtapes to household-name status. Pink Friday, Minaj's 2010 album debut, saw her appeal to a broader audience with chart-topping reception. Although she has had similar success with later full-lengths such as 2014's The Pinkprint and 2018's Queen, her singles have made an even greater impact. In just over a decade, Minaj has hit the Top 40 over two-dozen times as a headliner with singles such as "Super Bass," "Starships," and "Anaconda." These and other highlights were compiled in 2022 for Queen Radio, Vol. 1, an anthology containing the number one hit "Super Freaky Girl" among its new songs. Her Top 40 entries as a featured artist are even more numerous and include Kanye West's "Monster," David Guetta's "Turn Me On," and Ariana Grande's "Side to Side." In 2023, Minaj finally released the long-awaited sequel to her debut with her fifth studio album Pink Friday 2.

Nicki Minaj was born Onika Tanya Maraj in 1982. Born in Saint James, Trinidad and Tobago to parents who were both gospel singers, she lived with her grandmother in Saint James until the age of five, when she joined her mother, who had relocated to Queens, New York. In high school she discovered the performing arts, setting her sights on acting as her main pursuit. She eventually transitioned into music, working as part of a group called the Hood$tars in the early 2000s before going solo. In 2007 she was discovered by Dirty Money Entertainment CEO Big Fendi, who happened upon her demos on MySpace and signed Maraj to the label. At Fendi's suggestion, Maraj took on the stage name Nicki Minaj, jumbling her last name to reflect a more ruthless persona. Dirty Money Entertainment released both her 2007 debut mixtape, Playtime Is Over, and its 2008 follow-up, Sucka Free. Industry buzz was already surrounding Minaj on her earliest releases, and these mixtapes featured guest appearances from stars like Lil Wayne, Gucci Mane, Jadakiss, and Lil' Kim.

The 2009 mixtape Beam Me Up Scotty was a favorite among a growing fan base and included her first songs to hit the Billboard charts. In August of 2009 Minaj signed to Lil Wayne's Young Money Entertainment, becoming the label's first female artist. The floodgates opened from there, as Minaj made cameo appearances on tracks from Gucci Mane, Kanye West, Pusha T, and others as well as offering verses to hits like "Bedrock" and "Roger That" from the 2009 Young Money collaborative album We Are Young Money. An official non-mixtape debut album came in the form of Pink Friday, released in November of 2010 but preceded by the hit singles "Your Love" and "Check It Out." The album saw her leaning more into a pop style than the hard-edged rap of her mixtapes, but the hybrid of the two proved immediately successful, and the album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 and went platinum, selling upwards of 375,000 copies during its first week alone. She earned a handful of 2011 Grammy nominations, including Best New Artist, Best Rap Album, and Best Rap Performance. An all-out media blitz followed between albums, with extravagant performances at award shows across the globe, an appearance as a musical guest on Saturday Night Live, and joining Madonna -- alongside M.I.A. -- for her Super Bowl XLVI halftime show.

In early 2012, the Euro-dance-influenced single "Starships" signaled the coming of her official sophomore effort, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, an album built around her devil-may-care alter ego "Roman Zolanski." Guest artists included Nas, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, Chris Brown, and Beenie Man, while production came from the likes of RedOne and Ke'Noe. The album hit number one on the U.S. album charts, driven by a Top Ten showing for "Starships," and "Va Va Voom" also reached the Top 40. By the end of 2012, Minaj had been announced as a judge for the 12th season of American Idol, although she left at the end of the season. It hardly affected her success, as she set two career records during 2013: the most-charted female rapper in the history of Billboard's singles chart, and the first person to win Best Female Hip-Hop Artist at the BET Awards four times in a row.

In December 2014, Minaj released her third studio album, The Pinkprint. First single "Lookin Ass" was also featured on the Young Money compilation Rise of an Empire released in March of that year, while follow-up "Anaconda" was nominated for Best Rap Song at the 2015 Grammy Awards. Filled with songs about guilt and failed relationships, the album was well received by critics and debuted at number two on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart. Throughout 2016, Minaj guested on numerous singles, including DJ Khaled's "Do You Mind" and Ariana Grande's "Side to Side," and she also released her own "Black Barbies." In 2017, she issued a trio of stand-alone singles: "Regret in Your Tears," "Changed It" with Lil Wayne, and "No Frauds" with Lil Wayne and Drake. The latter track went gold and broke into the Top 20 of the Hot 100 and Top Ten of the R&B and rap charts. That year, she also appeared on the Migos track "MotorSport" with Cardi B, and on Jason Derulo's "Swalla" with Ty Dolla $ign.

She returned with the singles "Chun-Li" and "Barbie Tingz" in spring 2018, paving the way for her fourth studio album, Queen, which arrived in August of that year. In addition to third single "Bed" featuring Ariana Grande, the LP also features guests Labrinth, Eminem, Lil Wayne, the Weeknd, Future, Foxy Brown, and Swae Lee. Upon release, Queen matched its predecessor with a number two debut on the Billboard 200. More singles arrived the following year, including the non-album track "Megatron," "Tusa" with Karol G, "Trollz" with 6ix9ine. Minaj was also featured alongside Murda Beatz on PnB Rock 2019 track "Fendi." In February 2020, the rapper returned with her own stand-alone song "Yikes." Minaj's third mixtape Beam Me Up Scotty was reissued in 2021, eleven years after its original release. The project was given new cover art and the track listing was altered somewhat, omitting some of the songs from the original 2009 release and including several new tracks. This new version of Minaj's breakout project debuted in the number two spot on the Billboard 200, making it the highest-charting mixtape from a female rapper up to that point.

Throughout the early 2020s, Minaj continued her usual bevy of guest features and collaborations, appearing on tracks by Doja Cat, former Little Mix vocalist Jesy Nelson, BIA, and Elton John. In 2022, she scored more hits as a lead artist with the Lil Baby collaborations "Do We Have a Problem?" and "Bussin," then topped the pop chart with "Super Freaky Girl." All three of these singles were included on Queen Radio, Vol. 1, a celebratory anthology released that August. Minaj kicked off 2023 with the flamenco- and trap-inspired "Red Ruby da Sleeze," which she followed with a feature on YoungBoy Never Broke Again's "WTF," as well as collaborative singles with Ice Spice and Kim Petras, spots on tracks from Lil Uzi Vert and Sexyy Red, and a very on-brand take on Aqua's "Barbie World" (again with Ice Spice) for the Barbie soundtrack Barbie The Album. In September of 2023, Minaj released the slow-moving R&B song "Last Time I Saw You" following "Super Freaky Girl" as the second single to precede the upcoming album Pink Friday 2. The album, Minaj's fifth proper studio effort and sequel to her 2010 studio debut Pink Friday, had been in the works since 2019 and was slated for release on December 8, 2023, the rapper's 41st birthday. ~ David Jeffries & Fred Thomas

Maluma is the stage name of award-winning Colombian pop singer, songwriter, and rapper Juan Luis Londoño Arias. Possessed of a sweet, grainy tenor voice and streetwise yet romantic delivery, the pop urbano was able to cross over from a reggaeton audience to the mainstream thanks to infectious early singles such as "Obsesión" and "Miss Independent" (whose videos also went viral). His 2012 debut Magia endeared him to radio listeners across Latin America, while 2015's Pretty Boy, Dirty Boy broke through in the U.S., landing on the upper rungs of the Latin Pop, Urban, and Tropical charts. Since that time, Maluma has been charging toward world domination with a steady stream of videos, charting singles, and hit albums like 2019's 11:11 and 2020's Papi Juancho. He was also the subject of the documentary Maluma: Lo Que Era, Lo Que Soy, Lo Que Seré. His success continued in the next decade with the chart-topping 2021 single "Sobrio," his starring role in the 2022 Jennifer Lopez rom-com Marry Me, and the release of The Love & Sex Tape. 2023 brought additional hits like "La Fórmula" (with Marc Anthony) and "Coco Loco," before the August release of his sixth long-player, Don Juan. That album returned him to the Top 20 of the Latin charts and was followed by the 2024 Pirlo team-up "MIONCA."

Maluma's name is a tribute to his family. Before he began singing professionally, his now-famous stage name was a tattoo on his left leg. He made the word up from the initial syllable of his family's names -- his mother Marlli, his father Luis, and his sister Manuela. He adopted the name a few years later when he started singing and gained fame as a teenager. He originally pursued football as a vocation for eight years and was gifted enough to attract the attention of the media in his native Medellín. He initially sang for pleasure at hundreds of birthday parties, weddings, and celebrations. Given the rise of social media, and YouTube in particular, his already intense focus on music turned exclusive.

In 2011, at the age of 16, Maluma cut his first independent single, "Farandulera." Due to its internet popularity and emergent radio airplay in Colombia, the song gained the attention of Sony Music, which signed him. The following year, Maluma released Magia, his debut album. Several of its singles -- "Obsesión," "Loco," and "Miss Independent" -- received consistent airplay and hit the charts in Colombia and Latin America. His next single, "La Temperatura," entered the North American charts and earned him a Latin Grammy nomination in 2013. The following year, he was the featured vocalist on Elvis Crespo's hit "Ole Brazil," recorded for the World Cup.

Maluma returned in early 2015 with PB DB. The Mixtape, a compilation of hits with two new singles, "Me Gustas Tanto" and "Climax." The new tracks charted and set the stage for a brand-new album, Pretty Boy, Dirty Boy, which appeared in the fall. The recording was produced by Walter Kolm. In 2016, Maluma released a collaborative track with fellow Colombian star Shakira, "Chantaje," and the video became massively popular, racking up over one billion views online within five months. The track "Cuatro Babys," which reflected him as a swaggering Lothario with a rotating cast of women in and out of his bedroom, sparked a backlash when offended listeners called out the song's objectification of women. Some circulated a petition to have it removed from digital platforms. (It wasn't, but Maluma apologized.)

In 2017, Maluma was named "Artist of the Year" at the Premios Lo Nuestro, a Latin music awards show presented by Spanish-language television network Univision. That same year, he began work on his next album, writing songs in English as well as Spanish. In November 2017, he delivered an initial pre-release single, "Corazón," featuring Brazilian singer Nego do Borel, that peaked at number five at Hot Latin Songs. In May, he released the full-length F.A.M.E., produced mainly by the artist's Medellín camp, including Édgar "Edge" Barrera and "Rude Boyz" Kevin ADG & Chan el Genio, with further duet contributions by Timbaland ("Mi Declaración"), Prince Royce ("Hangover"), and Jason Derulo on the bilingual "La Ex." The album reached the top spot on the Latin Albums chart and number 37 on the Hot 200.

Early 2019 saw Maluma issue a remix of the single "Mala Mía," which featured contributions from Anitta and Becky G. A few months later, he collaborated with Madonna on the song "Medellín" from her album Madame X. The pair's hi-tech performance of the song at the Billboard Music Awards brought the house down with its use of holograms. That May, Maluma released his fourth studio album, 11:11, supported by the singles "HP" and "11 P.M." His collaborators on the record included Ozuna, Madonna, Daddy Yankee, and Ricky Martin. It entered the Top Latin Albums chart at number one in June while F.A.M.E. was still in the Top 20. Also in 2019, YouTube Originals premiered its documentary on the singer, Lo Que Era, Lo Que Soy, Lo Que Seré, directed by Dominican filmmaker Jessy Terrero.

In early 2020, Maluma scored another hit with the single "ADMV," which paved the way for his fifth album, Papi Juancho. Released in August of that year, it featured appearances by Yandel, Yomo, Lenny Tavárez, Justin Quiles, and others, peaking at number two on Billboard's Top Latin Albums chart and reaching number 34 on the Billboard 200. 2021 began with the release of the #7DJ (7 Días en Jamaica) EP, followed by the chart-topping stand-along single "Sobrio." Among Maluma's other singles that year were "Imposible Amor" with Natti Natasha and "Mama Tetema" featuring Rayvanny. In 2022, Maluma starred alongside Jennifer Lopez in the romantic comedy Marry Me, and also sang on the soundtrack. A few months later, he revisited the steamier side of his sound with The Love & Sex Tape which yielded several hits including "Cositas de la USA" and "Nos Comemos Vivos" featuring Chencho Corleone. Subsequent single "Junio" hit number one in Colombia, and Maluma recorded "Tukoh Taka" with Nicki Minaj and Myriam Fares for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

"La Fórmula," a duet with Marc Anthony, became another Colombian chart-topper in 2023. Maluma followed with solo single "La Reina" and "Diablo, Qué Chimba" with Anuel AA. "Coco Loco" followed in June. In August, Sony released the long-player Don Juan. The whopping 25-track album, is, according to the artist, titled after an alter ego. The set includes collaborations with a range of singers and rappers like Carin Leon, Jowell & Randy, Ryan Castro, Don Omar, J Balvin, and Yandel, and boasts ten pre-release singles. It hit number 11 on the Top Latin Albums chart and cracked the Billboard 200. "MIONCA," a collaboration with Pirlo arrived in May 2024. ~ Thom Jurek