Nicki Minaj is officially the first lady of Young Money.

The Queens rapper—who attracted the attention of fans and industry heads alike with her third mixtape, Beam Me Up Scotty—signed to Lil Wayne’s Young Money imprint just two months after Drake inked the dotted line.

“There’s so many people that kind of shut you down as a female before you even get your foot in the door,” Nicki Minaj told XXLMag.com. “So when you get moments like this it’s like ‘yes, finally’.”

According to a press release [see below], Manaj will retain and own all of her 360 rights, including merchandising, sponsorships, endorsements, touring and publishing.

While she’s focused on the Young Money compilation album, set for a year-end release, Minaj has began recording for her as-yet untitled debut album.

“A lot of things that could’ve been on Beam Me Up Scotty weren’t because they were quote-unquote too good to put on a mixtape,” she told XXL. “So I have an arsenal and very soon we’ll start releasing stuff.”

Nicki Minaj’s first LP is expected to drop early 2010, distributed by Universal Motown. –John Kennedy, with additional reporting by Vanessa Satten.

Congradulations Nicki!

Click to continue reading »

Foxy Brown speakin to Golden Girl of Power 99 in Philadelphia. Foxy Calls in and speaks to Golden Girl about the current state of female rap, her respect/embracing of Nicki Minaj (Lil Wayne’s Artist), The rumors of her engagement w/ Rick Ross and her upcoming reality tv show with Vh1 (that should be very entertaining/interesting).

Source: WorldStarHipHop.com

Nicki Minaj performing lastnight in Plush Night Club!

“Itty Bitty Piggy” after the jump!

Click to continue reading »

We broke news to you first last time in regards to Nicki Minaj being featured on the hot track “Automatic” with Teairra Mari. Now I have exclusive news, that she will be featured on a song on returning Mya’s album “Beauty & The Streets”.

The track is called, “Ponytail” and Mya’s album is slated to drop September 29th. However, much like “Automatic” I’m sure this song will be leaked so keep it locked here!

By Kimberly W.

The America’s Most Wanted Tour graced the DMV on Friday, August 7th to a packed Nissan Pavilion in Northern Virginia. Thousands of fans made their way to the venue located about an hour outside of the District. This was the long awaited summer concert explosion that left many fans disappointed.Newcomers Jeremiah and Shanelle opened the show, while Soulja Boy burst onto the stage, and only performed a few of his hits.

Young Jeezy was a “no show” and Drake didn’t perform because of his leg injury – definitely not what fans were anticipating. You could tell that folks came to see Drake, but now had to get over seeing him on stage.

Lil Wayne and his Young Money Crew served as the concert finale – performing a list of songs including “Every Girl”, Drakes “Best I Ever Had” and songs from Lil Wayne’s most recent album – The Carter III.

Click to continue reading »

The Nickster hops on Mario’s smash single. I was in the lab when she recorded this a few weeks ago and she did her thing.

IAmJabari.com posted the remix to Mario’s smash single, “Break Up” featuring Gucci Mane, Sean Garrett & now Nicki Minaj.

 Nicki Minaj often describes herself as a Barbie doll. But don’t let the cute moniker fool you. Minaj’s aggressive flow and fearless wordplay have pegged her as a rising star within Lil Wayne’s Young Money crew.

The 23-year-old rapper is currently displaying her buzzed-about MC skills on Young Money Presents: America’s Most Wanted Music Festival. Adding 10 new dates this week for a total of 32 shows through Sept. 6, the tour is headlined by Wayne and features Young Jeezy, Soulja Boy Tell’Em, Pleasure P, Jeremih and the Young Money camp.

“The lack of female rappers has in some ways made it easier to come up because now there’s an open lane for me,” Minaj says. “I salute the female rappers who came before me, but it’s my time now.”

Minaj’s third Young Money Entertainment mixtape, “Beam Me Up Scotty,” features guest spots by Drake (who was on the Wanted tour before injuring his knee), Busta Rhymes and Gucci Mane. Despite the set’s impressive list of collaborators, Minaj remains in the foreground and displays a unique female persona in an increasingly male-dominated genre.

For the past two years, Minaj has foregone a major-label deal and a formal debut album in order to establish her fan base. Appearances on a handful of high-profile remixes, from Wyclef Jean’s “Sweetest Girl” to Drake’s chart-topping “Best I Ever Had,” have caught the attention of hip-hop enthusiasts. Minaj’s activity on social networking sites has also allowed her to gain mainstream awareness.

“We’re establishing her online first,” says Portia Kirkland, VP of marketing at Minaj’s management company Mizay Entertainment. “Nicki always stays in touch with her fans through Twitter, MySpace and blogging. We didn’t position her as music but as a lifestyle.”

That lifestyle began to take shape while the Queens-born rapper attended LaGuardia High School, the performing arts school on which the film “Fame” was based. An appearance on Dirty Money’s “The Come Up” street DVD series caught the attention of Lil Wayne, who contacted Minaj and asked her to work with Young Money. Since then, the two have developed a chemistry, with Minaj appearing on his acclaimed 2007 mixtape “Da Drought 3″ and Wayne guesting on all three of her Young Money-issued mixtapes.

“He’s no-holds-barred when he raps, and I’ve always been like that,” Minaj says. “I bring sarcasm and comedy, which [Wayne] connects with. I guess we both dare to be different.”

Though not yet attached to a label deal, Minaj is recording a debut album that she hopes to release early next year. Her main focus now is on the Wanted tour and impressing arena-sized crowds. “It’s intimidating 30 seconds before I go onstage,” Minaj says. “But once I’m out there, it’s all gone. I’m the fearless Barbie doll.”

Thanks to my friend Dee who recorded some exclusive video footage of Nicki Minaj during her performance at the VA Beach stop. She also had the privilege of meeting Nicki afterwards, so hopefully we’ll have some pictures soon! In the meantime, here’s the footage of Nicki’s set.

Nicki Minaj performing with Lil Wayne at the America’s Most Wanted Tour at the NIssan Pavillion

Nicki MInaj performing at the Molson Ampitheatre in Toronto during the Americas Most Wanted Tour, August 4 2009

HipHopStan.com caught up with Young Money’s Nicki Minaj, when the America’s Most Wanted tour stormed into the Nikon at Jones Beach Theater in New York.

Nicki Minaj aka the “Hara Juku Barbie” talks about her friendship with Amber Rose and Drake being forced to leave the tour after re-injuring his knee.

At the Nikon Theater in Jones Beach (Wantagh, N.Y.) this past weekend, the tour’s headliner, Lil Wayne, assured the crowd Drake was gearing for surgery would make a full recovery from a torn ACL. As an act of double duty, Wayne was left to cover the Drake’s set and even perform his popular verse of the hit single, “Every Girl.”

Keeping it Young Money, in a KarenCivil.com exclusive, Nicki Minaj recently spoke about new happenings in her life including: her new friendship with Kanye West’s girlfriend, Amber Rose, her new deal and upcoming projects in the future.

Part 2 after the jump!

Click to continue reading »