Nicki Minaj has set the tone in music, fashion, and beauty for more than a decade – making history and building her superstar personal brand along the way.
Minaj became “the first Woman to score 100 Billboard Hot 100 Hits” with an astounding 133 total entries to date (the most among female hip-hop acts). These include three #1’s, over 70 Top 40 hits (also a record among female hip- hop acts), and 23 Top 10’s (another record among female hip-hop acts). As a songwriter, she also holds the record for the “Most Billboard Hot 100 Entries Among Women in the 2010s.”
Her seminal “Super Bass” surpassed 1 billion YouTube views, entering rarefied air alongside the likes of “Anaconda.” As such, she has emerged as “the first female rapper to cross the 1 billion-mark with multiple solo tracks.” With nine videos north of 1 billion views thus far, she has earned “the most videos with over 1 billion views for any female artist.”
Her ascendancy can be traced back to her landmark debut Pink Friday in 2010. It notably sold over 375,000 copies in its first week, according to MRC Data. Right out of the gate, it made history by achieving “the largest sales week for a female hip-hop artist since Lauryn Hill in 1998.”
In addition to music, Minaj has made numerous TV and film appearances, including as a judge on “American Idol” along with film roles in 2014’s "The Other Woman" alongside Kate Upton, Cameron Diaz, and Leslie Mann and 2016’s “Barbershop: The Next Cut.” She has landed high-profile deals with Fendi, Adidas, H&M, Diesel, Mercedes-Benz, Sprint and Pepsi, released a nail polish collection with OPI and was the face of MAC’s Viva Glam campaign. Her branded lipstick, according to Racked, was the brand's highest-selling Viva Glam lipstick of all-time. Not to mention, she is a co-owner of TIDAL, and her BEATS 1 QUEEN radio show stands out as “the highest-rated show in Apple Music history.”
Minaj has only accelerated her unprecedented history-making momentum in the 2020’s. Among other firsts, she took flight as “the female rapper with the most solo Top 10 albums in Billboard 200 history,” “the most-awarded rapper at the American Music Awards,” and “the first female rapper with over 30 billion Spotify streams across her catalogue.”
