Nicki Minaj
LOS ANGELES – APR 21: Nicki Minaj arrives to the The Bridge” Season 2 Premiere Screening on April 21, 2014 in Westwood, CA Photo by DFree/Bigstock.com
Birth Name: Onika Tanya Maraj
Place of Birth: Saint James, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
Date of Birth: December 8, 1982
Ethnicity: Trinidadian [African, one quarter Indian, possibly one eighth Japanese]
Nicki Minaj is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, model, and actress. Her songs include “Your Love,” “Check It Out,” “Right Thru Me,” “Moment 4 Life,” “Super Bass,” “Fly,” “Starships,” “Beez in the Trap,” “Pound the Alarm,” “Va Va Voom,” “Pills n Potions,” “Bang Bang,” “Anaconda,” “Only,” “Truffle Butter,” “The Night Is Still Young,” “No Frauds,” “MotorSport,” “Barbie Tingz,” “Chun-Li,” “Bed,” “Barbie Dreams,” “Megatron,” “Tusa,” “Trollz,” “Do We Have a Problem?,” “Bussin,” “Blick Blick,” “Super Freaky Girl,” “Princess Diana,” “Barbie World,” and, in a featured role, “Monster,” “Where Them Girls At,” “Dance (A$$),” “Beauty and a Beat,” “All Eyes on You,” “Do You Mind,” “Side to Side,” “Idol,” “Hot Girl Summer,” “Say So,” and “Whole Lotta Money.” She has appeared in the films The Other Woman, Barbershop: The Next Cut, and, in voice role, Ice Age: Continental Drift and The Angry Birds Movie 2; and been a judge on American Idol. She has also recorded dance-pop, and utilizes an animated flow in her singing. She has sold more than 100 million records worldwide, and is known as the “Queen of Rap.”
Nicki was born Onika Tanya Maraj on Saint James, Trinidad and Tobago, the daughter of Carol (Daniel) and Robert Maraj, a financial executive. Her parents were both gospel singers. Her paternal grandfather, whose surname was Maraj, was of Indian-Trinidadian, from India, descent; her father was of Dougla background, a Caribbean term for a mix of Indian and African. It appears that the rest of her family is of African-Trinidadian ancestry. She has evidently also stated that her great-grandfather is Japanese. It is not clear if this is accurate.
Nicki was raised on Saint James initially, though her mother immigrated to New York City, U.S., and later brought Nicki and her brother over when Nicki was five, settling in Queens.
Nicki is married to Kenneth Petty, with whom she has a son.
Source: http://themoment.blogs.nytimes.com
Minaj in 2011, photo by PR Photos
lol how is she not black when her dad is half African that’s as black as it gets and Afro Trinidadians are BLACK Indo Trini’s arent so wth is every 1 talkin about
Indo Trinidaidans are black to they just have more Indian in them
@Ghana,Indo-trinidadians are 100% indian descent with indian last names so get your facts straight dumb ass…
Everyone is Trinidad mixed so many IndoTrinidadians have African DNA too
@Ghana gyal you are 100% correct , @ person you are wrong. I am black/Indian from the Carribean
@midori You obviously don’t know anything about Trinidad. Half Black/ half Indian = Dougla. There are 100% EAST INDIANS in Trinidad and NO we all are not mixed. So please get your facts straight. Again, everybody is not mixed. Smh
but nicki minaj is more black – only her dad is black and half indian – the mother is full black and the dad looks full black – just like her mom
To Everyone that posted Comments Calling her BLACK she ISN’T Black she is mixed. No descrimination She is mixed don’t just consider her one race black because she isn’t. She’s not even From America. Call her what she is Mixed their is nothing wrong with that. She only lets people consider her that because thats what people want to label her as. She’s many different races…. People black & white aren’t the only two races.
@Lexi
I do understand your point of view.However,She has stated in a number of interviews,that she is a black woman.So whether you believe it’s for business or not,you have to go by what she says.Also we are not different races,we all belong to the same group.
Lexi being from America has nothing to do with it. I was born right next to Trinidad and there are racial categories, white, black, asian just like in America. Some people arereally really ignorant.
Also Lexi I have the exact same Indian /African mix as Nicki Minaj but I am a BLACK woman as I consider myself. I am not American, I am from theCarribean too right next to Trinidad. Even though many of us have Native Indian and Indian from India blood we are proudly BLACK still. We are even more Afrocentric than Black Americans are and sometimes more mixed. .
SHES NOT MIXED
SHES BLACK – HER MOM IS BLACK AND HER DAD IS BLACK AND half indian
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shes not mix with white
I would say she’s multiethnic since being a quarter mixed means that one of your parents isn’t just of one race.
No technically she is Bi-Racial. A Multiethnic person is someone who is more than 2 races. She is Dougla. :) She also stated in interviews that she has DESI roots. She claims that she’s a Black woman and a Desi woman.
Nicki Minaj is black.She is mostlybalck. I would not call her mixed. Because the Tirnidadian Indians have black DNA someof them and they were African descent dravidians from India.
@midori It doesn’t really matter what you or anyone else calls her or sees her as. All that matters is how she self identifies, because if she has East Indian blood, regardless of the degree, she is still Black and East Indian. Y’all kill me.
@Realness Thank you! Well said. They act like its a shame to be mixed.
Nikki is not Black she is Afro Trinni and part East Indian get over it Black people and yes I am of an Afro Background too so don’t go calling me racist. She has an Indian Grandparent so no she is not just Black even if she says she is. This Black thing is getting out of hand way to go Jim Crow and your racist One drop rule is all crap.
hahaha i bet you aint even a REAL Trinidadian cause if you were you would know what you were talkin about … and 2 my REAL Trinidadians izza love !
bullshit – NICKI MINAJ IS BLACK more than indian
HER MOM IS FULL BLACK AND her dad is black and half indian
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her dad doesnt even look like he half indian he looks just black
I am from the Carribean Guyana right next to Trinidad. Let me tell you the truth. Nicki Minaj is BLACK period. Nearly every black person from Trinidad or Guyana has some type of Indian past mixture but we are still BLACK. The Indians have balck past mixture too but they are still INDIAN. There is a native American carib Indian aboriginal population and an Indian populaiton from India. So there are ALOT of Indians. But there are BLACKS then there are Indians.
Being a small percentage of Indian mix does not make you mixed when the majority of your blood is BLACK.
Nicki is BLACK.
For one, my dad’s family is from trinidad. Most Trinidadians are actually of Indian heritage. There are only a few, who are fully black. Most have more Indian heritage, and here’s a link to prove this. Also, I’m not surprised because I get told a lot that I look like her. So it’s no surprised.
http://www.indexmundi.com/trinidad_and_tobago/demographics_profile.html