One of the people Nicki Minaj likes to spend her reported $150 million fortune on is her mother, Carol Maraj.
In a recent interview with The New York Post’s Page Six, Maraj’s mom shared that one of the best gifts she ever received from the Queens rapper was her Long Island house.
Gifts, and More Gifts
Maraj has gotten many expensive gifts from her celebrity daughter, such as several cars including a Mercedes-Benz. Minaj, whose real name is Onika Tanya Maraj, also helped her start a namesake foundation to empower women.
However, the house purchased during the early stages of her daughter’s successful career stood out as the most meaningful and valuable gift.
“She has bought me a Mercedes-Benz. She bought me a beautiful home, and many different cars,” Maraj told Page Six. “But I love my home. [Nicki] was born in Trinidad [and] came here at 5 years old. So to see her become this major success is amazing.”
The purchase of the house was also a milestone in Nicki Minaj’s career. In her own words, the acquisition signified the moment when she knew she had made it.
“It felt amazing. I remember when I was little I used to pray that I would get money to help my mom and it’s crazy that it comes to fruition even before the album comes out…,” Nicki Minaj said at a Houston interview.
Her journey to success as a rapper began in 2004 when she signed with a Brooklyn hip-hop group, Full Force. In 2007, she was discovered by Lil Wayne and subsequently signed to his label, Young Money Entertainment.
In November 2010, Minaj became a household name with hits off her debut album, “Pink Friday.” In one song titled, “I’m the Best,” the rapper explains explicitly her rise to fame and fortune and how it has benefited her mother.
“I remember when I couldn’t buy my mother a couch/ Now I’m sittin’ at the closin’ bought my mother a house,” Minaj said on the “I’m the Best” track.
The Long Island home that Maraj cherishes so much was purchased in 2010, and it was a subject of a MTV docuseries, “Nicki Minaj: My Time Now” that shed light on her stardom.
Recently, Carol Maraj was honored at the Pink Apple Brunch & Awards in Brooklyn for her work with domestic violence survivors, through her organization, the Carol Maraj Foundation.
“I never expected this, raising my children here in the States, that my daughter would become this big superstar. I love that my daughter is so successful,” she said, adding that she’s glad that her daughter “has a platform – but I have my own passion and drive. It’s really nice to know that I’m different.”
