E! Entertainment Special: Nicki Minaj

The Sensational Rap Superstar Sits Down Exclusively With E! To Share Her Story In An All-New One-Hour Special Premieres July 13 at 10:00 PM on E!

(Los Angeles, CA, July 6, 2011) -Breakout star Nicki Minaj sits down with E! to share her remarkable transformation - from humble beginnings in Trinidad to becoming one of today's most popular rap artists - in an all-new E! Entertainment Special: Nicki Minaj. The special takes an inside look at the chart topper - her eccentric costumes, outrageous music, multiple alter egos and her take no prisoners attitude. In exclusive interviews, viewers will hear from Minaj, as well as her mother, her father, fellow rappers Lil' Wayne and producer Swizz Beatz her best childhood friends and her elementary school teacher. The singer and her inner circle open up about her childhood in the Caribbean, her rocky transition to the States, her unique high school experience as a drama major, her stint as a waitress at a popular restaurant chain and her tenacious climb to the top of the Billboard charts.

The E! Entertainment Special: Nicki Minaj premieres on July 13 at 10:00 PM only on E!.

Select quotes from the episode include:

"Growing up in Trinidad, I didn't know that we were poor, ten people living in a three-bedroom home and all the dogs and cats my grandmother had, none of the seemed really abnormal." - Nicki Minaj

"She used to steal the car all of the time. And she didn't have her license yet." - Robert Maraj, Nicki's father

"I just had to give this [rap] one try because I had never given anything my all. I was like you know what, I don't care if I end up in a shelter. I am not going back to work." - Nicki Minaj

"I was like, this female here is amazing. She'd be amazing for my label as well, and so that's when I knew I wanted to sign her, as soon as I heard her, as soon as I saw her. Get me in contact with some girl named Nicki!" - Lil Wayne

"I was with her the day the album dropped. And, I was just amazed. I was like my best friend, that I knew since we was seven or eight years old walking around the street has a freaking album out!" - Minaj's childhood friend,Tyesha Kollore

"It's very hard to travel with those wigs!" - Minaj's hairstylist, Terrence Davidson

The E! Entertainment Special: Nicki Minaj premieres on July 13 at 10:00 PM only on E!.

E! is television's top destination for all things entertainment and celebrity. E! is currently available to 97 million cable and satellite subscribers in the U.S. and the E! Everywhere initiative underscores the company's dedication to making E! content available on all new media platforms any time and anywhere from online to broadband video to wireless to radio to VOD. Popular programming includes E! core franchises, "E! News," "The Soup," "Chelsea Lately" and "Fashion Police" as well as the network's hit series "Keeping Up with the Kardashians," "Kourtney and Khloé Take Miami, "Kourtney and Kim Take New York," "Kendra" and "Holly's World." Additionally, E!'s "Live from the Red Carpet" signature events keep fans connected to their favorite stars on Hollywood's biggest nights. E! is a network of NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment, a division of NBCUniversal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience.