How did Nicki Minaj get discovered? Rapper's ties with Dirty Money Entertainment explored

Nicki Minaj is a world-renowned rapper today. However, over two decades ago, when Minaj graduated from college, she wanted to pursue acting. Rap wasn't her first choice but something she stumbled upon while struggling as an actress.

Minaj started writing rap when she was working as a waitress at Red Lobster. In 2007, she was discovered by Big Fendi - a music mogul at the time, and the owner of Dirty Money Entertainment.

It was also at Dirty Money Entertainment that Minaj first adopted her stage name; she was known by her birth name - Onika Tanya Maraj - before that point.

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Dirty Money Entertainment signed a 180-day contract with Nicki Minaj in 2007

In 2007, Nicki Minaj was offered a 180-day contract by Big Fendi's record label, which she was happy to sign. As a Dirty Money artist, Minaj launched her first mixtape, Playtime is Over, on July 5, 2007.

A year later, the artist dropped her second mixtape, Sucka Free. Both of her mixtapes featured guest appearances from many famous rappers of the time, including Gravy, Lil Kim, Gucci Mane, Diddy, Murda Mook, and more.

Lil Wayne had collaborated with Nicki on both albums, which is probably when the Lollipop rapper saw her talent firsthand. Minaj reportedly didn't renew her contract with Fendi's label after the first two mixtapes.

By 2009, Nicki was signed to Young Money Entertainment - Lil Wayne's record label. Her third mixtape, Beam Me Up Scotty, was also released by Young Money in April 2009.

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Nicki Minaj was the first guest invited to Big Fendi's podcast

More than a decade later, when Big Fendi started his own podcast - Big Fendi Podcast - in 2020, he invited Nicki Minaj as his first guest. As the two sat down, Fendi admitted he hadn't seen her since 2008.

Confessing that he wanted to rebuild their relationship, Fendi said:

"You know what, I gotta sit down with this girl and we gotta come to some type of balance because moving on in life and trying to prosper, you can’t hold no grudges."

When the Hey Mama rapper accused Fendi of "dissing" her in the past, the manager admitted he had been hurt by her, elaborating:

"I felt like I started something and didn't reap the benefits from it... at the end of the day, I feel like you did not give me my credit."

Responding to it, Nicki Minaj said that she had always acknowledged him and talked about the bond they shared, adding:

"We gelled also just as human beings outside of rap. We had good banter in front of the camera. We was playing, dissing each other, laugh and stuff like that. So, it just worked."

The Only rapper continued:

"But, I just want to make it clear that we weren’t cool for a while and I was out there busting my ass for a while by myself in Atlanta. So it wasn’t like as soon as I made it I dropped you. I would never do that."

During the podcast, it was revealed that the duo first met online on MySpace in 2006, where Nicki was a viral sensation at the time. The reason behind Minaj and Fendi's fallout in the 2000s was also addressed in their conversation.

The rapper confessed to being unhappy about how she was being marketed at Dirty Money. However, the duo settled all their differences and appeared to be open to an opportunity to work together in the future.

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Following her departure from Dirty Money, Nicki Minaj released her third mixtape, which was followed by her debut studio album in 2010. Since then, the Anaconda rapper has released four more albums and is currently touring for her fifth album, Pink Friday 2.