Nicki Minaj immigrated to America when she was five years old and built her own music career from scratch. Did Nicki Minaj come from a wealthy background, or did she earn her millions on her own?
Nicki Minaj was poor before becoming famous. The singer herself has discussed her poor childhood and self-made rise to wealth.
Nicki Minaj is a multi-millionaire now, but she did not always have wealth. Nicki comes from a poor family and worked her way up to fame and success on her own.
Nicki Reveals Her Poor Background
Nicki Minaj opened up about her poor family and rise to fame in an interview with Contact Music. Nicki revealed that as a child she would not get the things she wanted, like not getting the best toys as Christmas presents.
Although Nicki’s poor childhood was not easy, she credited her upbringing with giving her strength. She said that not getting what she wanted made her accustomed to working for it.
Nicki’s meager background gave her the determination to work for her dreams. She warned that anyone born with a silver spoon in their mouth could not make it in the cutthroat music industry, where only the “mentally strong” can succeed.
Nicki also reflected on her upbringing and said that she never wants to go back to being poor. She explained that once she got a taste of wealth and success she would always be driven to work hard and maintain her earnings.
Nicki Worked Hard After High School
After she graduated high school, Nicki took on various jobs and started earning her own money. In an interview with Jay Leno, Nicki explained that she worked at Red Lobster when she was nineteen years old.
Nicki’s Red Lobster job was not easy, but it paid well. The singer said the job was tiring but she earned $500 a week with tips and saved up to buy her own brand new BMW.
Nicki returned to Red Lobster years later in 2019 with Jimmy Fallon. The pair enjoyed drinks and a seafood meal while talking about Nicki’s past employment at the restaurant chain:
Nicki worked other similar jobs in her youth, but was frequently fired for her behavior. Nicki said she was fired from “at least fifteen jobs” for her bad attitude and discourtesy to customers at work.
Nicki’s last formal job was an office manager role in a small office. She revealed that she used to come home with stress pains in her back and neck, and realized that she could not keep working the job with her annoying coworker.
Nicki Built Her Music Career
After working a few jobs and saving some money, Nicki was financially secure but certainly not rich. She briefly rapped with the quartet “The Hoodstars” but eventually caught attention with her solo work.
Nicki started her career by posting solo rapping tracks to her MySpace profile. Her songs caught the ears of Fendi, CEO of Brooklyn label Dirty Money Entertainment, who signed Minaj in 2007.
Nicki then gained the attention of Lil Wayne, who signed her to his label Young Money Entertainment in 2009. From there Nicki’s career flourished, and she went on to create award-winning albums that earned her millions of dollars.
Although Nicki received support from fellow rappers, she largely built her successful music career all by herself. Nicki takes great pride in writing all of her own raps and shuts down anyone who doubts her authenticity.
Nicki explains that even if it takes more time, she insists on writing her own rap lines. She is proud of her ability to come up with lyrics and refuses to let anyone put words in her mouth.
Nicki Is The Wealthiest Female Rapper
Nicki has come a long way from her poor beginnings. In 2020 her label announced that she was the first female rapper to earn a net worth of $100 million.
Nicki was once poor but now flaunts a large sum of wealth. The rapper is a self-made millionaire who rose from a poor family to stardom.