Minaj’s new song, which samples Rick James’ 1981 hit Super Freak, has broken multiple records following its release on August 11 – solidifying her status as ‘Queen of Rap’.
It serves as the first lead single from her upcoming fifth album, the name and release date of which is yet to be announced.
Minaj became the first female rapper to debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 this century, an accolade last achieved by Lauryn Hill in 1998 with her hit debut single Doo Wop (That Thing).
She also broke further records on the Hot 100, including, the first lead female artist to debut at number one in 2022; the first female rapper in history to have multiple songs debut at number one with Super Freaky Girl (2022), TROLLZ (2020), and Say So Remix (2020); the first female song to debut at number one without a music video since Ariana Grande in 2018; and the female rapper with the most top 10 debuts on the chart.
Super Freaky Girl also debuted number one on the Billboard Digital Song Sales chart with 89,000 pure sales and 100,000 units sold in the first week, the largest US sales week for any track this year. Her sales success for this single is outstanding, as she managed to outsell fellow female rapper Megan Thee Stallion’s sophomore album, Traumazine, which garnered 8,000 pure sales and 63,000 units sold that same week.
But Minaj’s record breaking doesn’t stop there, as Super Freaky Girl earned the biggest debut day on the Global Spotify chart (3 million) and Spotify US (1.5 million), and subsequently earned the biggest debut week for a solo female rap song in Spotify history. Super Freaky Girl also broke the record for most consecutive days in the top two of Spotify US for a solo song by a female rapper, staying in the spot for seven days and beating out previous record holder Cardi B’s single Bodak Yellow which amassed six days in the position.
Simultaneously, Minaj was smashing records on US iTunes charts as the single extended her record as the rapper with the most number one songs in US iTunes history to 29. She also holds the position with the first female rap song to become number on the Worldwide and European iTunes songs charts ever.
Her fan base, known as the Barbz, took to Twitter to voice their love and pride for their favourite rapper.
August is shaping up to be the month of Minaj, as she is set to host the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards on August 29 alongside LL Cool J and Jack Harlow. She is set to receive the MTV Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award to honour her “outstanding contributions and influence on music video and popular culture” throughout her successful 15 year career, and will perform a medley of her greatest hits to commend the achievement.
She is also nominated for the Best Hip Hop award for her single Do We Have A Problem? featuring Lil Baby, and Song of the Summer for Super Freaky Girl – both of which she appears to be the front runner in the votes for these awards. Song of the Summer voting is still live, and you can vote for Nicki here.
To celebrate the Vanguard honour, Minaj released Queen Radio: Volume 1, a compilation album of all her best hits on 26 August. Via her Twitter she said, “hope you guys enjoy this album. I chose each song & I might have a surprise to add real soon. Love you.” It includes hits such as Super Bass, Itty Bitty Piggy, and Moment 4 Life which saw Minaj shoot to the forefront of female rap in the early 2010s.
The album is named after her successful show Queen Radio, which is broadcast on Amazon’s live radio app Amp. Upon release, it became Spotify’s second most streamed album by a female rapper of all time with 3.9 billion streams. You can listen to the album here.
2022 has been a successful year so far for Nicki Minaj, and it’ll be exciting to see what the rest of the year holds for her.
Featured Image: Nicki Minaj on Twitter
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