Nicki Minaj’s new TV show is beginning to take form. The 33-year-old’s scripted comedy, which is about her childhood before she became a household name, began filming on Monday in Jamaica, Queens.
Ariana Neal, who plays the rapper as a child, was spotted filming the pilot episode of ‘Nicki’ while cleaning graffiti off the wall in the New York City neighborhood.
The 10-year-old actress wore a bright pink jacket with animal print patterned lining, which she paired with grey jeans, black boots and a white hair tie.
Nicki revealed last fall that model Selita Ebanks will play her mother, Wesley Jonathan as her dad, McCarrie McCausland as her brother, and Whoopi Goldberg as their neighbor, Miss Martha. The sitcom, written by Kate Angelo and directed by Tim Story, does not have a set premiere date yet.
In December, the Grammy nominated singer shared footage of Ariana singing, revealing on Instagram that she ‘literally cried watching her taped audition.’
She added: ‘I demanded to meet her! Sat in a room with her teaching her how to rap by doing a beat on the table & forcing her to stay on beat! Lol. Then pulled out all the attitude she had in her lil body. Haha! She’s tough! And so sweet & cute. #ArianaNeal #LilNicki Welcome to the family lil lady bug.’
Nicki announced the project, which she will executive produce and appear in, on her Instagram in September 2015.
The half-hour show, which will appear on ABC Family (soon to be renamed Freeform) is based on the musician’s journey from her home country, Trinidad, to New York City in the early 1990’s.
See a photo of Ariana as Nicki below:
