As the music community looks forward to the release of several “decade’s-end” lists in the coming weeks, one name is set to stand above and beyond the rest.
Nicki Minaj.
Full report below…
Powered by live shows, MySpace and YouTube (then in its infancy) Minaj and Safaree Samuels launched a grassroots campaign designed to cultivate a fan base which has now become one the most influential forces in Pop music.
So impactful, that a number of these fans have risen to become stars in their own right.
At the end of the year, when Billboard and the Recording Industry Association of America unveil their list of highest-selling musicians, Minaj will be named the highest-selling female rapper of the decade thanks to the numbers she and her fans amassed during the period.
A feat she would have achieved even if streaming data wasn’t factored into her commercial mix , because the lion’s share of her sales were generated by solo releases (singles and albums) released before Billboard announced plans to update its chart system in 2014.
Here’s an example of just how sizeable Minaj’s numbers are.
If the overall pure sales figures of every album launched by a female rapper within the last ten years were totalled, the final number would still find itself eclipsed by the opening month number earned by the rapper’s debut set ‘Pink Friday’.
Her lowest selling set, 2018’s ‘Queen’, was certified Platinum in 2019 and is the only Minaj record to see the majority of its units sprout on Spotify and Apple Music.