Why Nicki Minaj has always hated her stage name: “It feels like one big theatre piece”
Nicki Minaj has undoubtedly been one of the most successful female MCs of all time and has been a cultural mainstay since she became a sensation in the mid-2000s. Having been featured on songs with Jay-Z, Kanye West, and even Beyonce, she has become a formidable force.
When Nicki first came onto the scene, her primary ambition was to prove that she could emcee better than any male in the game and surpass every other female that had been before her. The Queens artist was launched by a handful of people before Lil Wayne picked her up, and by the late 2000s, she had found a lane.
Inspired by Lil Kim, Minaj was extremely colourful when she first emerged. With vibrant wigs and outlandish fashion choices, she turned heads when she appeared on people’s TVs. However, before she took on the character of Nicki Minaj, she was very different.
Prior to signing a management deal with Deb Antney, the founder of Mizay Entertainment, Minaj was managed by New York A&R Big Fendi. However, when she first began rapping, she used her real surname, Maraj. She had already developed the nickname Nicki, which her friends still called her, leading up to her rise in hip-hop.
The ‘Chun-Li’ lyricist was proud of her surname as she believed her family name was a testament to her roots. Unfortunately for Minaj, Big Fendi wasn’t so keen on her last name and wanted to follow in the footsteps of Diddy, who, when he launched Lil Kim, insisted that, concerning female rap, sex sells.
That said, Big Fendi suggested that the South Jamaica native change her name to Minaj. An innuendo to ‘ménage à trois’ but styilised in a similar way to her actual surname Maraj. This resulted in the name she then inherited.
In 2012, while speaking to The Guardian, the ‘Roman’s Revenge’ rhymer unveiled that she actually hated the stage name when Fendi changed it and didn’t want the focus to be on her body or sexuality but on her ability to rap.
Explaining her frustration surrounding the label, the Pink Friday creator detailed, “I don’t [like my name]. My rule is, whatever you were calling me four years ago is what you should be calling me now because I don’t like it when my family or close friends call me Nicki Minaj. To me, I’m not Nicki Minaj when I’m with them.”
Detailing the actions of Fendi, she continued, “Somebody changed my name. One of the first production deals I signed, the guy wanted my name to be Minaj and I fought him tooth and nail. But he convinced me. I’ve always hated it. I feel it’s like one big theatre piece. It’s a show.”
While rappers like Kanye West and J Cole choose to rap under their real names, more often than not, an emcee’s stage name can be a summary of who they are, or in the case of Nicki Minaj and Slim Shady, a persona they take on the stage.
Despite Minaj hating the name, she hasn’t changed it since the day she was asked to change it, and it has undeniably been a success for her.