By the time you finish reading this, Nicki Minaj may be the biggest rapper alive. With her debut albumPink Fridayset to drop in late November, Minaj is poised to turn the flurry of buzz that first emerged with the release of her mind-melting mixtapes into mind-melting record sales. In the blink of an eye, Minaj has emerged as one of the hottest emcees in the game, and she did it without even having an album out. What makes her rise even more remarkable is that she did it in a male-dominated industry, with as much experimentation and exploration as a certain pop star she’s often compared to,Lady Gaga. With hip-hop heavyweights likeDrake,Jay-ZandKanye Westin her corner, and her mentorLil Wayneleading the way, Nicki Minaj is poised to become not only one of the biggest female rappers of all time, but one of the biggest rappers of all time, period.

The point is, everyone is not black and white. There are so many shades in the middle, and you’ve got to let people feel comfortable with saying what they want to say when they want to say it. I don’t want to feel like I’ve got the gun pointed at my head and you’re about to pull the trigger if I don’t say what you want to hear. I just want to be me and do me.

andFoxy Brownwere best known for bragging about their abilities in the bedroom over their abilities in the studio, but Nicki Minaj has changed all that. Although her early career features the requisite ual posturing, she’s since branched off into more avant-garde re, dressing up in intergalactic couture and spitting rhymes like forget barbie f-ck nicki she’s ke/she’s on a diet but my pockets eating cheese cake/and I’ll say bride of Chucky is child’s play/just killed another career it’s a mild day. In ct, Minaj has gone out of her way to remain ually ambiguous, once calling boys yucky, but denying persistent rumors of her biuality. When all is said and done, we may never know Minaj’s true ual intentions, but we do know one thing: That girl’s got some booty.

,Usher, Robin Thicke, Ludacris, andMariah Carey, Minaj topped off her incredible year by out-rapping both Kanye West and Jay-Z on West’s epic party track Monster. The thunderous verse was the talk of the hip-hop world the second it dropped, and instantly made Minaj’s upcoming debut albumPink Fridayone of the most anticipated releases of the year.

When Nicki Minaj graduated high school, the aspiring rapper took a job at Red Lobster and bought herself some studio time, and a shiny white BMW in which she would drive around the neighborhood, blasting her own songs. Brooklyn rapper Fendi took notice of Minaj and signed her to his underground label Dirty Money, where she would go on to rap on a DVD calledThe Come Upover The Notorious B.I.G’s Warning. The audacious move created buzz in the rap world, and caught the attention of a certain tattooed, dreadlocked rapper from Atlanta who would change Minaj’s life forever.

There may be no better way to jump start a fledgling rap career than to hook up with and be steered by one of the industry’s biggest names. So when Lil Wayne called Nicki Minaj after hearing her work onThe Come UpDVD, her success suddenly seemed preordained. Weezy oversaw Minaj’s two seminal mixtapes, 2008’sSucka Freeand 2009’sBeam Me Up Scotty, which also marked the emergence of Minaj’s stable of split personalities that would color the rest of her career.

Minaj’s inclusion in Wayne’s Young Money mily was cemented after her appearance alongside Drake and Weezy on the "Bedrock single, an appearance that almost fell through after Minaj had to leave the recording sessions to honor a prior engagement. When she learned that Wayne had kicked her off the track, she scheduled a dinner with her mentor and dropped a rhyme that he just couldn’t ignore. Bedrock became a hit, and Minaj’s path to stardom was now carved in stone.

In her verse on Kanye West’s track Monster Nicki Minaj boasts that she makes 50k for a verse no album out, alluding to the ct that even without releasing a proper LP, Minaj has risen to hip-hop’s upper echelon. With her slew of mixtapes, and cameos on songs by everyone from Ludcaris to Christina Aguilera, Minaj has set the standard for female rappers, and has the music world salivating over the release of her upcoming debutPink Friday. We already know that Drake and Eminem make appearances on the record, and Minaj’s relentless use of Twitter has hinted toward more surprises in store. We’re particularly excited for Minaj’s collaboration withEminem, in which their respective alter egos -- Roman Zolanski and Slim Shady respectively -- square off on the track Roman’s Revenge. Expect fireworks, and expectPink Fridayto be one of the highest selling albums of the year.

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IfNicki Minajs latestPink Friday: Roman Reloadedtrack,Stupid Hoe,seems off-the-wall, her ns should probably expect the video to be as well. And given the hints that the fierce MC has dropped onTwitter,something zany is definitely in store.

Over the course of the last few days, the singer has been keeping her Barbz and Kenz up-to-date on the video shoot, which will by all accounts fenicki minajature multiple costume changes, multiple setups and even some fried chicken.

Next shot is in a bathing suit and [hairstylist] terrence got me eating fried chkn and carrot cake! she tweeted, later adding, gettin my nailz done. still shootin the vid. 2 more looks!!!! The rapper later posted a photo of her manicure, which featured animal prints and rainbow colors.

Barbz, shld i twerk in the stupid hoe vid??? she asked. but i 4got my twerkin moves ... dang. She may not end up twerkin in the video, but as of Wednesday, she still had some work to do on the clip, so it seems anything could make the final cut.

Stupid Hoe will be the second video off of Minajs February 14 release. Earlier this month, she teased theclip for Roman Reloaded,the albums lead single.

Well, [Roman] was there [in Moscow] secretly because [alter ego] Martha wanted him to go there, so they put him in this thing with monks and nuns; they were trying to rehabilitate him, Minaj explained. But I cant tell exactly what happened, youll just see it in the video format, but lets just say he got out of there. Minaj added that the video for Roman in Moscow will be shot real soon.

Those arent the only Minaj videos that ns are excited for. Her clip for Madonnas lead single,Gimme All Your Luvin,had everyone buzzing when she tweeted about akiss she sharedwith the Queen of Pop. While little is known about that video, a behind-the-scenes photo of Nicki donning red sunglasses and hanging out with M.I.A. on sethit the Weblate Tuesday night.

Here&8217;s an excerpt from an interesting story about Nicki Minaj we saw today.

You can read the full story here:Todays Best Tweets: Nicki Minaj Shooting New Video &8211; Popcrush

Larry Busaca, Getty Images

Nicki Minajis being mighty sneaky! She tweeted today that she is shooting a new video, we&8217;re guessing for something off her new album, but would onlyrevealthe song&8217;s intialsS.H. Got any guesses anyone?Kevin Jonaswas celebrating his second wedding anniversary with his wife Danielle! Here&8217;s to many more, you crazy kids!Mac Millerwas house shopping andWalewas buying Christmas gifts, at Jacob the Jeweler nonetheless!Estelle,Jennifer HudsonandQueen Latihwere celebrating girl power at the VH1 Divas Celebrates Soul event.Coldplaysent out a friendly hello to their 5 million followers andMaroon 5was congratulating their keyboardist, PJ Morton, who just signed a record contract with Young Money. Don&8217;t fret Maroon 5 ns! Mortonconfirmedhe will not be leaving the band. See what your vorite stars were chirping about today!

New day, New video. Let&8217;s go.

I can&8217;t believe 2 years already it goes st when you are with the right person! I love you so much @daniellejonas happy anniversary baby!!

shopping for a house don&8217;t know how big i should go.

I had SO much fun @Vh1 Divas Celebrates Soul! YAS HUNTY! Make sure you tune in tonight!

VH1 Divas airs tonight! Here&8217;s me and @jessiejofficial getting ready for the big night. pic.twitter.com/flbXxEuK

I felt amazing at VH1Divas last night in this gorgeous gown by @Georges_Chakra! fb.me/159bmdd9E

Our own @PJMORTON just signed a new deal with Young Money Records! Congratulations PJ!

Christmas Shoppin w/ jacob the jeweler. I know a few ppl that&8217;s gonna have an amazing xmas

Hello you lovely 5 million people PH

I&8217;ve been smelling gas in my house since last night. Just realized one of the eyes on my stove was on &038; spewing gas. Will I die soon?

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The San Francisco Fall Antiques Show celebrated its 30th annual event with a most appropriate theme Hidden Treasures inspired by the traditional 30th anniversary gift, the pearl.

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The Exploratorium&8217;s Science of Cocktails, in January 2012Readers of San Francisco Luxury Living will be glad to know that tickets for the popular 2012 Science of Cocktails event, which supports the San Francisco Exploratorium&8217;s numerous educational programs, are currently available.

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