Nicki Minaj Is Still the Highest-Selling Female Rapper Ever

Nicki Minaj performs onstage at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards

(Image credit: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)

published 18 December 2023

The numbers are in on Nicki Minaj's fifth studio album, Pink Friday 2, which means the female rap legend is collecting a new set of accolades. The "Anaconda" rapper released her latest project on December 8, 2023—a full five years after her last album, Queen. Billboard announced Monday that Pink Friday 2 officially debuted at no. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, marking Minaj's third no. 1 album. This means the songstress now has bragging rights for two new record-breaking moments: the most No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 by any female rapper ever and the biggest female rap album of the decade so far. Also, in case anyone was doubting her years-long chart domination (or the power of the Barbz), she's also the first female rapper to score a No. 1 album in two different decades.

All in all, Minaj's sequel to her 2010 debut album, Pink Friday, landed in the top-10 overall album debuts of the year, and has also received favorable praise from critics, including a score of 71 out of 100 from Metacritic—though its length (a full 22 tracks) is a point of contention. The album's release caps of a big year for Minaj, who contributed to the blockbuster Barbie soundtrack, collaborating with Ice Spice on the track "Barbie World." She also hosted the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards, where she unveiled one of the lead single from the new album, her ballad "Last Time I Saw You."

Next up, Minaj will begin her Pink Friday 2 World Tour in March 2024, with dates in the U.S., U.K., and Europe. She also teased that her long-delayed tell-all documentary could arrive soon. During a recent appearance on Watch What Happens Live, she told Andy Cohen, "I’ll of course add some new stuff going on in it to reflect the aftermath of Pink Friday 2 and stuff like that, but it’s done," adding that she hopes the documentary is released before the start of the tour.

Quinci is a Culture Writer who covers all aspects of pop culture, including TV, movies, music, books, and theater. She contributes interviews with talent, as well as SEO content, features, and trend stories. She fell in love with storytelling at a young age, and eventually discovered her love for cultural criticism and amplifying awareness for underrepresented storytellers across the arts. She previously served as a weekend editor for Harper’s Bazaar, where she covered breaking news and live events for the brand’s website, and helped run the brand’s social media platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Her freelance writing has also appeared in outlets including HuffPost, The A.V. Club, Elle, Vulture, Salon, Teen Vogue, and others. Quinci earned her degree in English and Psychology from The University of New Mexico. She was a 2021 Eugene O’Neill Critics Institute fellow, and she is a member of the Television Critics Association. She is currently based in her hometown of Los Angeles. When she isn't writing or checking Twitter way too often, you can find her studying Korean while watching the latest K-drama, recommending her favorite shows and films to family and friends, or giving a concert performance while sitting in L.A. traffic.

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