New York Times considered her to be, “The most influential female rapper of all times,” opening a new pathway for female rappers in a male-dominant industry. Successful rapper and hip-hop artist, Onika Tanya Maraj, has become an influential figure in music culture today. Onika Tanya Maraj, better known as Nicki Minaj, is a well-known music artist who debuted in 2010. She ultimately became the first female rapper to have over six songs at once on the Billboard 100 list (contactmusic). Despite her popular works, many consider her songs to be controversial and a negative influence on the youth. Whether one would consider her music to be a negative or positive influence, her work is undoubtedly influential in some way. However, her influence…show more content… Shortly after turning five, she immigrated with her parents to Queens, New York, which would eventually become the starting place of her career. Minaj grew up in a rough environment, often facing conflictions with an abusive father and school bullies. Her father was a violent drug addict who would often abuse her and her mother. Minaj talked about how she and her mother would be forced to move and transfer to different schools after a fight between her parents (teenvogue). At different schools, she often faced the issues of bullying. Despite constant struggles and hardships, these obstacles did not hinder her progress, but instead fueled her ambitions to become successful. She started rapping at an early age of 12, and her early music career started off as a backup singer for local rappers (biography). Her early works were published on a social media site, Myspace. From there, her skills were acknowledged by Young Money CEO Company, and eventually she collaborated with rapper Lil Wayne. Upon signing her to his label, Minaj’s music career skyrocketed. Within just three years, she was given the title of most “Influential Female Rapper of all Times” by the New York Times