How Nicki Minaj Really Became Famous

Britannica reports that Minaj cut her teeth by making music on a local scale, working with fellow ambitious rappers hoping to make it. Crucially, she uploaded footage of some of her performances on Myspace, and they attracted a lot of local attention. Most importantly, per Biography, Fendi (the Dirty Money CEO) was immediately impressed by her talents, and she soon had a contract with the company.

As her fans know, it was Lil Wayne who really set Minaj up as a superstar. He soon signed her to his own label, because, as he explained to XXL in 2014, "I wanted a female. Every team needs a female to rep your gang... she just knocked it out the park from day one. She's just Nicki."

Billboard adds that she was, indeed, the first female to rep Young Money, and Lil Wayne helped her along the way to producing her first recordings. "Beam Me Up, Scotty" was a particular smash in 2009, and her debut album "Pink Friday" — "an ambitious, glossy stunner," per David Jeffries of AllMusic – arrived the following year. Since then, Minaj has gone on to tremendous success, and it seems she's only getting started.

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