Fact: Nicki Minaj is coasting.
A pill that many of her die-hard fans are unwilling to swallow, Minaj’s habit of neglecting international markets in recent years has seen her brand jog in the same enviable spot.
Fortunately, that’s done little to stop her from continuing to outperform her predecessors Missy Elliott and Lil Kim globally with pure sales.
Why Minaj will be forced to spend more time outside of the U.S. if she doesn’t want her next album to fail?
Good news below…
Though without a Grammy or #1 single of her own, Minaj has indeed outsold the likes of Kim and Missy with a discography powered by a diverse assortment of Pop, R&B and Hip-Hop hits.
One of her biggest markets outside of the U.S.A?
The U.K, where she has extended her lead as the longest-charting female rapper.
How?
Facts and figures via the ‘Official Charts‘ below…
Missy Elliott:
Lil’ Kim:
Nicki Minaj:
The lion’s share of Minaj’s stats were acquired before streaming was factored into the charts.
Put simply, her success in the United Kingdom can be attributed to a fan base accustomed to purchasing her music the old fashioned way.
Another interesting point to note? Numbers in which she stands as the lead act generally outperform singles in which features over time.
A good example of this? Madonna‘s ‘Give Me All Your Luvin’ and ‘Va Va Voom’.
The former, despite being supported by its appearance at the Super Bowl, is still yet to secure a British certification even with Madonna’s undying popularity in Britain.
Elsewhere, ‘Voom’ finds itself gliding towards Platinum status in the market after selling 200,000 units within its first quarter on the charts.
With this, and the unstoppable rise of newcomer Cardi B in mind, one wonders how much of Minaj’s next era will see her take full advantage of her status as a global superstar?
For, if she doesn’t, it may not be long before she- like Kim and Missy before her- finds herself outperformed by a younger and arguably more exciting newcomer.