This is Nicki Minaj's year-after hits like "Super Bass" and "Moment 4 Life," the rap superstar is being honoured as the Rising Star of 2011 by Billboard.

Slated to take place at Dec. 2, the 28 year old will be joined by one of her fans who is also being honoured, Taylor Swift. Though she has only been in the public eye since late 2010 after releasing her debut album, "Pink Friday," Minaj has actually been working on her music since 2007.

The female rapper has released various mix tapes ("Playtime is Over," "Sucka Free" and "Beam Me Up Scotty") with various labels (Dirty Money Records, Be and Trapaholics Records) but only ever achieved critical and commercial success after signing with Young Money Entertainment.

Minaj's creative approach to rapping is shown through her use of her different personas-Roman Zolanski who is her angry twin sister and Martha Zolanski who is Roman's inexplicably British mother. Often paralleled to Eminem's usage of Slim Shady, the utilization of these 2 characters are what makes her so different from the female rappers who have gone before her.

Minaj and Eminem have also collaborated on a single, "Roman's Revenge," which utilize both of their buck wild and crazy alter egos.

Aside from her music, Minaj is also known for her madcap fashion choices-from the ultra colourful dresses and body suits to the over-the-top wigs, she has made her physical image into something as unique and distinct as her music.

On Nov. 22 of this year, Minaj announced that she was working on her second album tentatively titled "Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded" which is set to be released on Valentine's Day 2012.

If the sophomore effort from the rapper is anything like her freshman outing, fans and critics alike won't be surprised to see her honoured for more awards in the coming year.

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