music makes me happy
(born January 2, 1993) is an American singer and rapper. He began his career in 2011 with his debut mixtape, Killer Instinct Vol. 1. He gained mainstream recognition following the release of his 2015 single "Don't," which peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and received septuple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Its success led to a recording contract with RCA Records, who issued "Don't" as the lead single for his debut studio album Trapsoul (2015), which entered the top ten of the Billboard 200.
Trapsoul received triple platinum certification by the RIAA and spawned two additional singles: the Grammy Award-nominated "Exchange" and "Sorry Not Sorry." He guest appeared alongside Rihanna on DJ Khaled's 2017 single "Wild Thoughts," which peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. His second studio album, True to Self (2017), debuted atop the Billboard 200, while his third album, Anniversary (2020) peaked at number five. His self-titled fourth album (2024) peaked at number 12 and spawned the Billboard Hot 100-top 20 single, "Whatever She Wants".
Tiller has received multiple accolades, including two BET Awards for Best New Artist and Best Male R&B/Pop Artist; and in March 2016, he received the key to the city from Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer. He received a total of three Grammy Award nominations, two of which for his work with singer H.E.R. on her 2018 single "Could've Been" and album Back of My Mind (2021).
Bryson Vernard Tiller was born on January 2, 1993, in Louisville, Kentucky. His mother died when he was four years old, and he was subsequently raised by his grandmother. Tiller lived with his cousins, Ryan and Kevon Smekrud, until he was 17 years old. He has three brothers. He attended Iroquois High School and started singing and rapping at the age of 15.
In 2011, he recorded a mixtape titled Killer Instinct Vol.1, which included 21 songs. In 2013, Tiller had a child and took a break from music while working at Papa John's and UPS to provide for his daughter, Harley.
In October 2014, Tiller uploaded his debut single "Don't" to his SoundCloud account, which started receiving some internet attention from music industry insiders. It was officially released on iTunes for digital download in May 2015, becoming the lead single of his debut studio album. "Don't" peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It has been remixed by artists like K Camp, Mila J, Sevyn Streeter, DRAM and WSTRN.[12][13] Early co-signs from record producer Timbaland and rapper Drake led to major-label attention for Tiller, with him eventually choosing to sign a record deal with RCA Records, which was announced on August 25, 2015.[14] Tiller was offered a chance to sign with Drake's OVO Sound record label, but declined the offer.[15] In September 2015, Rolling Stone included Tiller in their list of "10 New Artists You Need to Know".
On October 2, 2015, Tiller released his debut studio album, Trapsoul, which debuted at number 11 on the US Billboard 200 and later reached number eight.[17][18][19] The album's second single, "Exchange", peaked at number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned him a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Song. "Sorry Not Sorry", which was released as the third single from Trapsoul, peaked at number 67 on the Billboard Hot 100.[11] The album was included on a number of 2015 year-end lists, such as Complex's The Best Albums of 2015, The Root's 10 Favorite Albums of 2015, and PopSugar's The 24 Best Albums of 2015.[21][22][23] In 2015, he also co-wrote the track "Proof" for singer Chris Brown's seventh studio album Royalty.
Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj
is a Trinidadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as the "Queen of Rap" and one of the most influential rappers of all time, she Is noted for her dynamic rap flow, witty lyrics, musical versatility, and alter egos, and is credited as a driving force in the mainstream resurgence of female rap since the 2010s. Raised in New York City, Minaj began rapping professionally in the early 2000s and gained recognition with her three mixtapes between 2007 and 2009.
Her debut studio album, Pink Friday (2010), topped the US Billboard 200 and achieved the largest female rap album sales week of the 21st century, spawning the global hit single "Super Bass". Minaj explored dance-pop on her second US number-one album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded (2012), which produced the top-five single, "Starships". She returned to her hip hop roots with her third and fourth albums, The Pinkprint (2014) and Queen (2018), which yielded the hit singles "Anaconda" and "Chun-Li". Minaj achieved her first two Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles in 2020 with the duets "Say So" and "Trollz"; the former was the first female rap collaboration to top the chart. She had her first solo US number-one song in 2022 with "Super Freaky Girl", the lead single from her fifth studio album, Pink Friday 2 (2023). The album debuted at number one in the US, making Minaj the female rapper with the most US number-one albums (three) in history. Its concert tour became the fourth-highest grossing tour for a rapper and highest-grossing tour for a female rapper in history.
Minaj is one of the world's best-selling music artists and the best-selling female rapper, with over 100 million records sold.[1] She has three diamond-certified songs by the RIAA and in 2024 became the first female rapper with multiple diamond-certified solo songs. She is among the RIAA's 50 highest-certified digital singles artists with 54.5 million certified units. In 2023, Billboard and Vibe ranked Minaj as the greatest female rapper of all time. Her various accolades include a Brit Award, five Billboard Music Awards, nine American Music Awards, eight MTV Video Music Awards (including the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award), 11 BET Awards, a Soul Train Music Award, and three Guinness World Records. Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2016, and she was honored with the Billboard Women in Music Game Changer Award in 2019.
Minaj founded the record label imprint Heavy On It in 2023. Outside of music, her other endeavors include a fragrance line, a press on nails line, a Loci sneakers collection, and the radio show Queen Radio (2018–2023). She has also voice acted in the animated films Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012) and The Angry Birds Movie 2 (2019), and acted in the comedy films The Other Woman (2014) and Barbershop: The Next Cut (2016). On television, she served as a judge on the twelfth season of American Idol (2013). Her outspoken views have received significant media attention.
Onika Tanya Maraj was born on December 8, 1982, in the Saint James district of Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. Her father was Robert Maraj (1956–2021),a financial executive and part-time gospel singer of Dougla (Afro-Trinidadian mother and Indo-Trinidadian father) descent.[3] Her mother, Carol, is also a gospel singer with Afro-Trinidadian ancestry. Carol worked in payroll and accounting departments during Minaj's youth. Minaj's father was an alcoholic and crack cocaine addict[10] whom Minaj described to be "violent" and abusive to her mother. He committed arson onto their house in December 1987.[11][12] She has an older brother named Jelani, a younger brother named Micaiah,and a younger sister named Ming.
As a child, Minaj and Jelani grew up with their grandmother in Saint James in a household with 11 cousins.Carol was working numerous jobs in Saint James before getting her green card at the age of 24. She then moved to the Bronx in New York to attend Monroe College, leaving both Minaj and Jelani in Trinidad with their grandmother. When Minaj was five, Carol brought Minaj and Jelani to live with her and their father in South Jamaica, Queens.[12] Minaj said she arrived in the United States as an illegal immigrant, and by the time she moved to the country, her mother and father had lawful permanent residency.[16] She stated in 2024 that she is not a US citizen.[17][18] Minaj recalled, "I don't think I had a lot of discipline in my household. My mom motivated me, but it wasn't a strict household. I kind of wanted a strict household.
Minaj successfully auditioned for admission to Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, which focuses on visual and performing arts.[4] A week after graduation, Minaj was cast in the Off-Broadway play In Case You Forget in 2001.[20] At the age of 19, she worked as a waitress at a Red Lobster in the Bronx, but was fired for discourtesy to customers. She said she was fired from "at least 15 jobs" for similar reasons.
From 2002 to 2004, Minaj rapped in a New York hip hop group called Hoodstars, which included rappers Lou$tar and 7even Up and hype man Safaree Samuels. The son of Bowlegged Lou from Full Force, Lou$tar recruited Minaj when he and his father heard her work.Bowlegged Lou liked Minaj's rapping, and said that back then she was already doing "the crazy voices" in her vocal performances.[26] In 2004, the group recorded the entrance song for WWE Diva Victoria, "Don't Mess With", which was featured on the compilation album ThemeAddict: WWE The Music, Vol.6.[27] Full Force tried to get Hoodstars a record deal but were unsuccessful. They then worked with Minaj as a solo artist, meeting with some record companies, including Warner Brothers, who expressed interest in signing Minaj out of the group but required a ghostwriter for a deal. Minaj refused, adamant that she will always write her songs. Brian George from Full Force said that Minaj was impressive in her ambition, describing her as "broke and hungry" while determined to be in control of her craft.
Minaj continued to work independently and uploaded her songs on her Myspace profile, sending several of them to people in the music industry. In 2006, Fendi, who owned the Brooklyn production company Dirty Money Entertainment, reached out to Minaj on Myspace, and signed her to Dirty Money under a 180-day contract. Originally using the stage name Nicki Maraj, she eventually changed it to Nicki Minaj after Fendi switched her last name when he met her due to her having a "nasty flow". Minaj wrote a number of songs, including "Itty Bitty Piggy" and "I Get Crazy", and booked shows in New York and New Jersey.She released her first mixtape, Playtime Is Over, on July 5, 2007.She filmed a music video for the track "Click Clack", which was featured on the underground rap DVD The Come Up Vol. 11. Her rap on the DVD caught the attention of rapper Lil Wayne, who got in contact with Fendi to set up a call with Minaj and asked her to join his crew he was assembling for his new imprint called Young Money. Minaj collaborated with Wayne, who featured on her next mixtapes, but she did not sign a contract with Young Money then. She continued working on her songs, communicating with fans on social media, and booking shows
In early February 2010, Minaj made her first two appearances on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart with her features on "Knockout" and "Up Out My Face" by Lil Wayne and Mariah Carey respectively.[48][49] Minaj also appeared on "BedRock" and "Roger That" on the compilation album, We Are Young Money (2009).[50][51] The singles peaked at numbers two and 56, respectively, in the U.S. Their parent album reached number nine on the U.S. Billboard 200, and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[52][53] At Jay-Z's suggestion, Robin Thicke featured Minaj on his single "Shakin' It 4 Daddy".[54] Allison Stewart of The Washington Post stated that, during that time, she "became the go-to girl for artists who wanted to add some skank to their tracks without sullying themselves in the process".[55] Minaj became the first female solo artist to have seven singles simultaneously charting in the U.S.
music makes me happy