As a proud female of color, Nicki Minaj has become an icon for young girls who want to rap someday. She is using her voice to be a role model and help others in need of mental health support.

Who is Nicki Minaj?

Between being the first solo female rapper to perform at the Grammy Awards in 2012, the most-charted female rapper in the history of the Billboard Hot 10, and one of the most influential people in the world on the Time100 list in 2016, Nicki Minaj has made an amazing mark on the music industry and pushed cultural boundaries with controversial songs and music videos like Anaconda and Roman Holiday.

Her fan base calls themselves the Barbz, and as the world’s most followed rapper on Instagram, many keep up with her constantly changing hairdos and colorful outfits.

Nicki Minaj is one of the world’s best selling artists, and she constantly puts up a bubbly and optimistic demeanor. However, she still recognizes the struggle it took for her to get where she is.

Her struggle

Nicki Minaj’s father was addicted to alcohol and other drugs, and at one point, tried to kill her mother by burning down their house. With her parents’ tumultuous relationship during her childhood, she found her escape living through characters. Her first identity, Harajuku Barbie, later became her current identity of Nicki.

During an interview with Cosmo, Nicki revealed that she became so depressed that she had suicidal thoughts at one point:

“I kept having doors slammed in my face. I felt like nothing was working. I had moved out on my own, and here I was thinking I’d have to go home. It was just one dead end after another. At one point, I was, like, ‘What would happen if I just didn’t wake up?’ That’s how I felt. Like maybe I should just take my life?'”

However, she was able to get through it and now uses her fame to set a strong image for what women can accomplish. She is even planning on starting a charity to help her Barbz pay for college.

Overcoming her obstacles

After talking about a point where she could not imagine living any longer, she was asked about what she saw in her future: “I will have put out five albums and will have an Oscar and Grammys, and I will be getting married and, a couple of years after that will have a bun in the oven. My whole life is about being Nicki Minaj now. It’s a never-ending saga.”

Nicki Minaj is a proud, strong, and determined woman. Furthermore, she was able to work through her suicidal thoughts. She is now constantly looking towards what’s in the future. Nicki has worked hard for everything she has achieved, and can be a role model for anyone struggling.

If you want to tell your story, too, hit Chat Now–sharing her struggle helped Nicki Minaj, so it might also help for you.