I always thought that Nicki Minaj looked quite Indian and thanks to an article found during some random Wikipedia stumbling, I can now confirm that she is. (I think I started looking at an article about honey and 45 minutes later I found my way to her page??)
Well, Nicki was born on December 8th, 1984 on the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago (an area known for a predominant population of South Asian Indians) and is actually ¼ Indian.
Nicki confirms her South Asian heritage in a DesiHits.com interview with ‘Arun and Doctor P’ where she responds to the question of her Indian heritage by saying: “My father is half Indian, yes!”
During the course of the interview, Arun goes on to mention that even her nick-name Nicki is Indian, meaning “little.” Nicki goes on to say, “My real last name is Maraj, and that means king…so Little King- I like that better!”
Although Maraj doesn’t speak Hindi or is in touch with the Desi culture, as seen in the interview, she is open and willing to dive in to her Desi roots. She even shows her fondness for her father’s curry chicken, rotis, and Bollywood heartthrob, John Abraham. One thing is for sure, anytime Nicki Minaj is mentioned, I will make sure to stop and remind people that “Hey, did you know she is part Indian?” So much for her alter egos Roman, Martha Zolanski, and Nicki Teresa; Nicki Minaj is the one that I like best!
