Nicki Minaj HHV Records 15 Items

From MySpace to the Top of the Genre

Popstar in Pink, Queen of Rap, sex symbol – the American rapper Nicki Minaj embodies all that would have been unthinkable in the male-dominated hip-hop cosmos in the past. As one of the world’s most successful musicians, she wrote global hits like Starships and Anaconda, constantly encourages young women to fight for equality, and is considered the most influential rapper on social media. Born in Trinidad and Tobago in 1982, the young artist moved to New York with her mother at the age of five and attended a high school focused on theater and music as a teenager. The initial plan was to become an actress, while Minaj struggled with waitress jobs – she was fired countless times. Yet, her heart was already into rap: with the local crew Full Force, she created a buzz in Brooklyn at the beginning of the 2000s. Additionally, she posted her solo songs where new stars were being discovered at that time: on MySpace. Through the label Dirty Money Entertainment, Nicki Minaj’s first mixtapes, Playtime Is Over, Sucka Free, and Beam Me Up Scotty, were released from 2007, featuring Lil Wayne, Drake, and Gucci Mane. Beam Me Up Scotty reached number two on the Billboard 200, setting a record for a female hip-hop mixtape and propelling Minaj to the top of the genre.

The Hip-Hop Revolution in Pink

With razor-sharp flow and uncensored lyrics, she joined Lil Wayne’s Young Money Entertainment in 2009 and soon landed two tracks in the Billboard Hot 100. Through feature parts with Robin Thicke and Kanye West, she also established herself as a sought-after guest with a guarantee of success. For her part on Ludacris’s My Chick Bad, she even won a Grammy Award in 2010. Her debut album, Pink Friday, was released in the same year, where Minaj approached pop music, creating a successful album with the help of several producers that astonished the entire US. Somewhere between visual Barbie aesthetics, polished autotune, and R&B influences, Minaj comfortably settled on futuristic-sounding tracks, never losing focus: the album reached number one. In 2011, she opened a tour for Britney Spears, and a year later, she landed another international hit with Starships, connecting the rapper and the singer in her once again. The success continued with Minaj’s 2014 album, The Pinkprint, and the music video for Anaconda immediately went viral, setting a new click record on YouTube – the hip-hop revolution wears the color pink.

Rap Idol and Record Holder

Nicki Minaj’s influence is evident in a new generation of female rappers and beyond the boundaries of hip-hop. Against all expectations, she managed over the years to bring feminine rap into the mainstream and overcome gender as a barrier. Her massive success became an inspiration not only for Doja Cat, Megan Thee Stallion, and Billie Eilish, but her self-awareness and attitude set new standards. What continues with her albums Queen and Pink Friday 2 is a feminist empowerment: “I just say the truth about what I feel: I feel like women can do anything that they put their minds to.” For the Barbie movie in 2023, she contributed a track alongside artists like Dua Lipa, Sam Smith, and Tame Impala. In the same year, along with Ice Spice, she landed another hit, making her the new record holder as the woman with the most number-one hits on the Billboard Hot Rap Songs. Nevertheless, the rap idol intentionally remains versatile in style – whether Nicki Minaj returns to pop or celebrates the urban, time will tell: “I like to keep people guessing.”