Happy Birthday Nicki Minaj!

Happy birthday to Nicki Minaj, one of my favorite characters from Queens! Where to even start with this fabulous diva? She’s quirky, crazy and impossible to ignore. I first heard her voice on the radio last year when she recorded “Bedrock” with Lil’ Wayne, who happens to be one of her BFF’s. I wondered right away who it was – talented lady rappers are pretty rare.  It turns out that Nicki got her start right here in NYC, at LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts. She wanted to try out for singing, but lost her voice on audition day. So she went for acting instead – no big deal.

Nicki Minaj (real name = Onika Maraj) developed her performance skills as a kid by creating a series of characters she’d portray to escape her troubled home life. Onika Maraj went by “Cookie” first, then “Harajuku Barbie” and finally, Nicki Minaj. “Fantasy was my reality,” she said in an interview with New York Magazine.

Nicki embraces complete individuality in an industry that has seriously high standards, especially for girls. Her clothes, makeup and hair are crazy. They don’t follow any trends whatsoever – and I think that’s awesome.  She dressed in a bright purple space-suit outfit for her performance at the VMA’s, and it rocked. She’s worn her hair in every single color of the rainbow, and then some. Nicki says she doesn’t like to be defined, and she’s definitely accomplished that.

Nicki said in an interview with OUT Magazine, “The point is everyone is not black and white. There are so many shades in the middle.” So true, and she’s a living example of this: