Onika Tanya Maraj (born December 8, 1982, in Trinidad and Tobago but now lives in New York City, New York, United States), better known by her stage name Nicki Minaj, is a Trinidadian-American, rapper and singer-songwriter signed to a joint venture between Lil Wayne's Young Money Entertainment and Universal Motown. After releasing several mixtapes and building substantial buzz online her debut album, Pink Friday, was released on November 22, 2010.