Nicki Minaj is about to change her identity -- adding her beau's last name to her own -- and officially making her Petty.
Nicki and Kenneth Petty marched into a Beverly Hills courthouse earlier this week and got a marriage license. Sources close to the couple tell us Nicki -- whose real name is Onika Tanya Maraj -- will be known as Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty.
As for the wedding, it's a mystery ... but there are clues. Several of her close friends flew into L.A. Tuesday, the day after she and Kenneth got their marriage license. The friends stayed in town for less than a day and flew out again. They were all staying at 2 swanky WeHo hotels.
It's possible the wedding went down that day, but we're not sure. It's also possible they could get hitched this weekend. Her mentor, Lil Wayne, has a couple days off from his Blink-182 tour and our sources say he plans to be in L.A. Saturday and Sunday.
The reason there's so much smoke ... Nicki announced back in June on Queen Radio that she had taken out a marriage license -- presumably in New York where she lives. So, when we found out she was at the Bev Hills Courthouse Monday to get a California marriage license, it stands to reason she was planning something, and probably very soon.