When did Nicki Minaj move to the US? Rapper says she is still not an American citizen

Nicki Minaj has spent over a decade and a half in the music industry, firmly establishing herself as the queen of rap. With five albums, four world tours, and numerous awards and achievements to her name, she is not only the most popular but also the wealthiest female rap artist.

While the Pink Friday rapper has spent the majority of her life in Queens, New York, she is not an American citizen yet. This might come as a surprise to some of her fans, but the 41-year-old is originally from the island of Trinidad and Tobago.

Nicki Minaj moved to the US in the late 1980s - when she was five years old - as an illegal immigrant with her parents.

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Nicki Minaj shared her immigration status information in recent TikTok livestream

Nicki Minaj recently shared on a TikTok live session that despite living in the US for so long, her citizen status in the country is still pending, adding, "I’m not a citizen of America. Isn’t that crazy?"

The Starships rapper continued:

"I was born on a beautiful island called Trinidad and Tobago. But I’ve been in the States for many years. You would think that with the millions of dollars that I’ve paid in taxes to this country that I would have been given an honorary citizenship many, many, many thousands of years ago."

This isn't the first time Nicki Minaj has spoken about her immigrant status in America.

Six years ago, on June 21, 2018, the Barbie World rapper advocated for immigrant rights by sharing a picture of immigrant children separated from their parents, sleeping on floor mattresses without knowing anything about the well-being of their families.

In her post, Minaj stated that she had been an illegal immigrant when she moved to the country as a child and found the scenario and treatment of those children "too scary."

Even after arriving in the US, Nicki's life wasn't exactly easy. She was raised in a household dominated by a father, who was a drug addict and engaged in domestic violence. In a February 2021 interview with People magazine, Minaj recalled hearing "lots of screams" and seeing "holes punched into the walls in anger." The rapper added:

"I was disappoint­ed in my father, I just wanted him to be Daddy and be the happy person that I re­membered, and I was afraid, very afraid, that something would happen to my moth­er. I had nightmares about it."

However, over time, both her father's temperament and relationship with her mother improved, which her mother credited to her faith in God. The couple was never separated and were eventually living happily until Robert Maraj was killed in a hit-and-run accident in February 2021.

Talking to Apple Music about it in 2024, Nicki shared that her last conversation with Robert had been a "happy" one, where he made plans to visit her in New Work.

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Minaj announced the arrival of Pink Friday 3 instead of her fifth album's deluxe version

Another recent revelation that Nicki Minaj made was about her upcoming album. The Swalla rapper had previously announced the release of her fifth album's deluxe version on September 13. However, she seemingly had a change of heart and shared with her fans three days later that instead of a deluxe album, she would now release a full fledge.

Writing to her fans on X last Monday, Minaj wrote:

"The new music is just too good to be thrown away on a deluxe album. Last night, the songs I recorded were just way too iconic."

The rapper also mentioned that the release date of Pink Friday 3 would be revealed in the coming weeks.