Nicki+Minaj

= *NICKI MINAJ* =

=**__Biography:__**=

Nicki Minaj is a rising female in the rap business who is breaking ground with her lyrics and outlandish personality. She was originally born in Trinidad on December 8, 1984. Her real name is not actually Nicki Minaj but rather Onika Tanya Miraj. Her grandmother raised her for much of her early life while her mother looked for a place in Queens, NY for the family to move to. At the age of 5, her mother returned to move Nicki from Trinidad to New York. This is a common experience for many children from the islands as it is much easier for families to get established in America without a child with them. Nicki’s childhood in America was from dream worthy. There was much turbulence in her family life caused by the hands of her father. Nicki’s father fought an addiction to drugs and alcohol and would sell the family’s possessions in order to feed the addiction. On top of his drug use he was also abusive toward his wife and not only beat her but once set the house on fire with her in it. Nicki in an interview was quoted saying “ I would go in my room and kneel down at the foot of my bed and pray that God would make me rich so that I could take care of my mother. Because I always felt like if I took care of my mother, my mother wouldn’t have to stay with my father, and he was the one, at that time, that was bringing us pain.” It was these early childhood experiences that would later be a driving force in her career.

Nicki Minaj first delved into the area of music in middle school where she played the clarinet. She later branched out in high school where she studied drama at LaGuardia High School for the performing arts. Originally she planned on studying singing but lost her voice on the day of her audition. Post high school, she put out a variety of mix tapes and began to grow in popularity in the underground scene. She won Female Artist of the Year at the Underground Music Awards in 2008, which gained the eye of Trapaholics Records. Together Nicki and the record company released another mix tape that gained some spotlight on BET and MTV.

After gaining some notoriety, she was offered a 360 deal with Young Money Entertainment. In this deal she held all of her rights to her merchandising, sponsorship, endorsements, touring, and publishing. Nicki also began collaborating with many other big rap names such as Lil Wayne, Trey Songz, and Ludacris. Appearing on these tracks helped her build a solid fan base before the release of her own solo cd. She debuted her cd, Pink Friday, on November 19, 2010 to an excellent response. It debuted at number 2 on the billboard 200 charts and would eventually reach number one and be certified platinum. Through Nicki’s music, she has introduced to her listeners the alter egos of her personality. There are several “personas” she takes on depending on the situation. The first is Nicki who represents normal everyday Minaj as a girl from Queens and south side Jamaica. Her next alter ego is Barbie who is a soft-spoken girl that acts as expected by society. Very contrary to Barbie is the alter ego of Roman. Roman is a gay boy who is described as crazy, flamboyant and into himself. To help balance Roman there is Martha, his mother, who can be heard trying to talk him down in some of Nicki’s songs. Outside of these main ones there are some others referenced such as Rosa but Nicki has not spoken much about them yet. Together the alter egos help identify the many facets of Nicki Minaj’s personality that can be seen at any given time depending on the situation. = **__ Neo-Analytic Perspective: __** = The neo-analytic perspective is one of many that can be used to analyze the personality of Nicki Minaj. The neo-analytic perspective is concerned primarily with the individual’s sense of self in its relation to their core personality. Nicki appears to have a very strong sense of self. Her personality is loud, bold, and unapologetic. She knows that as a girl she is fighting to be successful in a very sexist field. In her MTV interview she stated the double standard she gets when she tries to be assertive and ends up being stereotyped as a “Bitch”. However, she does not let this stop her from doing what is necessary to being successful. Carl Jung, a major neo-analytic theorist, proposed that the mind is comprised of three parts: conscious ego, personal unconscious, and collective unconscious. The sense of self is located in the conscious ego and is your personal identity. Also proposed by Jung are the ideas of archetypes; emotional symbols common among all individuals that predispose us to react in certain ways. Some of the many common archetypes include Persona, shadow and mother. These archetypes can be used when looking at the various alter egos of Nicki Minaj. The combating archetypes of persona and shadow can be seen in the alter egos Barbie and Roman. The persona archetype is the socially acceptable front the people put on for society. It is the role society expects us to fill. This is exactly what Nicki describes Barbie as. It is her soft spoken nature where she tries to be what everyone else wants her to be. On the other end of the spectrum is the shadow archetype or the part of our personalities that is unacceptable and filled by unchecked desires. This is evident in the form of Roman who is often crazy and self obsessed with himself. He often snaps and loses control of his temper at people. Another archetype that can be found amongst the many faces of Nicki Minaj is the mother archetype. This archetype represents generativity and fertility. The mother archetype has the ability to be either good or bad just as any real mother. Nicki Minaj embodies this archetype through the role of Martha, Roman’s mother. Martha is often the voice of reason just like a real mother as she tries to talk Roman down from his fits of mania that he has. In understanding Nicki’s strong drive to succeed in life, one can also use the neo-analytic theory of Alfred Adler. In Adler’s theory he states that a central core of personality is that we strive for superiority. When an individual feels a sense of helplessness or powerless in their life they can develop an inferiority complex. Nicki may have suffered this as a child when she describes how she wishes she were able to save her mother from her abusive father. Adler says that to counter an inferiority complex people can develop a superiority complex. This may be why Nicki developed such a strong and bold personality. It may be an attempt to hide her feelings of inferiority that came as a result of her childhood. = **__ Trait and Skill Perspective: __** = Carl Jung was one of the founders of the trait and skill perspective in his proposal of extroversion and introversion. Extroversion is when one orients towards the outside, being very social and outgoing. Contrary to this is introversion where one orients inwards and is more subdued and contemplative. Although individuals can have elements of both there is usually one more dominant than the others. Nicki’s personality would be described as extroverted due to her outgoing nature, focus on her image, and ability to speak her mind regardless of what others think. A more contemporary trait theory is that of the big five or the five major dimensions that can capture a person’s personality. The five major dimensions are extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness. Extroversion is similar to Jung’s definition in that extroverted people are dominant, sociable, and energetic. Nicki can be rated high in extroversion because she is outspoken and dominant in her opinions and also has a very outgoing personality. However, at times when her ego Barbie is taking over, she would be rated low and considered more introverted and submissive. Agreeableness is whether or not a person is friendly and warm. Nicki would not rate very high on agreeableness because she is not worried about hurting people’s feelings. She is determined to succeed and will not let others stand in the way of it. In many of her songs she tells people not to mess with her. In regards to conscientiousness, or how responsible she is, I would rate her as being very high. She knows what her responsibilities are in life and perseveres toward them. The next big five trait is neuroticism or emotional instability. Many would rate Nicki high on this because of her many alter egos and how she switches between them constantly. Her mood and personality can completely u-turn even during the course of one song. Finally, there is openness and whether or not a person is artistic. Nicki would obviously rate very high on this having majored in drama and having a career in music. She is always willing to take risks in attempting new looks and collaborations in her musical career. = **__ Discussion: __** = Nicki Minaj is probably one of the most complicated artists to understand personality wise. Many may see the bold outfits and alter egos as cries for attention but when looking at her background it is easy to see the symbolism behind it all. The neo-analytic and trait skill perspective are extremely useful in decoding her sometimes bizarre behavior. Her alter egos are merely representative of the various archetypes of her personality and her big five personality traits can be used to summarize her personality and how it shifts. = **__References:__** = Blake, J. (2010). Nicki Minaj talks about her parents, childhood abuse, alcoholism, and drugs. Retrieved from: http://celebpromoter.com/nicki-minaj-talks-about-her-parents-childhood-abuse-alcoholism-and-drugs/


 * Friedman, H.S. & Schustack, M.W. (2009). //Personality: Classic Theories and Modern Research// **
 * (4th ed.) Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon **

Heller, J.M. (2010). //Chelsea Handler: Nicki Minaj introduces her alter egoes. Retrieved from: http://justjared.buzznet.com/2010/12/15/chelsea-handler-nicki-minaj-introduces-her-alter-egos///