What did Nicki Minaj do before she was famous? Rapper's early life explored

Nicki Minaj released her debut mixtape— Playtime Is Over—in July 2007. The rapper has since come a long way in her music career, releasing five studio albums and completing four headlining tours. However, before Minaj made it as a rapper, she had worked her share of odd jobs.

Before rapping professionally, Nicki Minaj had worked as a waitress at New York's Red Lobster, and was also a customer service agent at a phone company.

Minaj, originally named Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty, was born in 1982 in Trinidad and Tobago, and moved to Queens, New York with her family at the age of five. The rapper initially wanted to be an actress, but didn't find success in the industry.

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Nicki Minaj's waitressing job helped her gain musical inspiration

Nicki Minaj's failed attempt at acting led her to a waitressing job when she was 19. However, while waitressing, the Your Love rapper found her calling. Talking to the NY Times about it in October 2017, Minaj explained:

"I would take people’s order and then a rap might come to me just by what they’re wearing or what they said or did, and I would go in the kitchen and write it down, put it in the back of my little thing or my apron, and by the time I was done I would have all of these sheets of paper thrown around everywhere with raps."

Waitressing wasn't the only job Nicki Minaj had taken up before getting into the world of rapping. According to Fuse TV, Minaj also worked at a phone company in a 9-to-5 job before becoming famous. Recalling her old job, the Super Freaky Girl rapper said:

"I was doing customer service. I was a bit snappy. I was working for a telephone company, and every day I had to deal with businesses whose phones weren't working and they were spazzing out. I'm like, 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!' It was a lot."

After she quit her phone company job to pursue music full-time, the rapper began to second-guess her decision when her career didn't take off right away.

"When I moved out of my mother's home on my own, I remember thinking, 'What am I doing?' I remember someone telling me that it wasn't going to work. They said, 'You're living a fantasy. You need to go back to your 9 to 5 job.'"

The 41-year-old continued:

"I went home and looked in my refrigerator and cabinets, and there was nothing there. My bank account was empty. For a slight moment, I was like, 'They're right. I need to go back home to my mother. I need to get another 9-5 and forget this music thing.'"

Regardless of the doubts, Minaj persevered, adding that her faith in God got her through. Speaking with people who would encourage her also helped Nicki stay on the path of music before she found success.

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Big Fendi discovered Nicki Minaj

The first music group that Nicki Minaj signed with was Full Force from Brooklyn. She worked with them for a couple of years without any major success, after which the rapper left, uploading all of her work on her MySpace profile.

It was from there that Big Fendi discovered Minaj. The CEO of Dirty Money Entertainment signed her to his label in 2007. The first stage name the 41-year-old had adopted was Nicki Maraj, after her father's surname, but Fendi changed it to Minaj.

Soon after being signed with Fendi, the Anaconda rapper released her first mixtape, followed by Sucka Free in 2008 and Beam Me Up Scotty in 2009. A track from her third mixtape— I Get Crazy— gained favorable coverage, hitting no. 20 on the US Billboard Hot Rap Songs, leading to Lil Wayne offering Minaj a recording contract with his label, Young Money Entertainment.

Fast forward to 2023, Nicki Minaj has launched her own record label - Heavy On It Records, in partnership with Ice Spice.

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Earlier in 2024, Nicki Minaj started touring for her fifth album. The Gag City tour began on March 1 and will conclude on October 11 in Elmont, New York.