The self-proclaimed “Queen of Rap,” Nicki Minaj, is close to laying claim to another impressive title: Queen of Billboard’s Hot 100.
That’s right, Minaj – whose first charted hit came in just 2009 – had already surpassed legendary divas Mariah Carey, Madonna, Janet Jackson, Barbra Streisand, and Whitney Houston in a short time with her number of mentions on the singles chart. Now – thanks to the recent entry of ‘Black Barbies’ – even contemporary female hitmakers Rihanna and Taylor Swift lie in her rearview.
The only person who’s blocking her from the “all-time” title? Another musical monarch: Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin…
…Nicki Minaj notches her 70th Hot 100 entry with a No. 65 debut (the chart’s highest of the week) for “Black Barbies” [her remix to Rae Sremmurd‘s #1 hit ‘Black Beatles’]. With the song’s Hot 100 arrival, Minaj passes Taylor Swift and now trails only Aretha Franklin (73) for the second-most visits to the chart among women. Here is an updated count, dating to the Hot 100’s Aug. 4, 1958, inception:
Women With the Most Hot 100 Hits
73, Aretha Franklin
70, Nicki Minaj
69, Taylor Swift
57, Madonna
57, Rihanna
56, Dionne Warwick
53, Beyonce
53, Connie Francis
48, Brenda Lee
47, Mariah Carey
43, Miley Cyrus
41, Barbra Streisand
40, Mary J. Blige
40, Janet Jackson
40, Diana RossNotably, Minaj has been credited as a lead artist on 27 of her Hot 100 entries, or 39 percent. Franklin has been the lead on all 73 of hers…