Nicki Minaj is no stranger to being the lone female rapper in some of the most noted “best-ever” lists from big publications like Billboard, Rolling Stone, and others.
As such, it should come as little surprise the Rap Queen found herself crowned the “best female rapper of all time” on Billboard’s femcee-forward countdown published on Monday (April 7).
And while the staunchest supporters of femcees like Cardi B, Missy Elliott, Megan Thee Stallion, Doja Cat, Lauryn Hill, and Lil Kim definitely launched all-out campaigns on social media about why their respective favorites deserved higher rankings, the music Bible spelled out in no uncertain terms why Minaj made the top spot.
See what they said inside.
Via their latest list, Billboard staff joined forces to compile a ranking of rapstresses based on their body of work, Billboard stats, Recording Industry Association of America (RIAAA) achievements and certifications, cultural impact, influence, longevity, flow, and lyrics.
And though the expected names like Kim, Brown, Elliott, MC Lyte, Queen Latifah, and Lauryn Hill all made the top 10, it was Nicki who emerged the leader.
“Who else did you expect to see at No. 1 on this list?,” Billboard staff quipped in the associated write-up. “Fifteen years after she left earth with her godly verse on Kanye West’s ‘Monster’ and delivered her seminal ‘Pink Friday’ debut album, the First Lady of Young Money is still running laps around the competition.”
The high praise didn’t stop there.
“Minaj quickly usurped the throne and stylistically rewrote the playbook for female rappers, while becoming an architect of pop music in the process,” they relayed before saying, “the story of rap can’t be told without Minaj – and she’s got plenty of ‘sons’ around the industry running through the doors she busted down.”
The adulation is certainly due for the woman who not only sits in Billboard history books as the most-decorated female rapper, but she’s also the highest-certified femcee at the RIAA and owns the highest-grossing female Rap tour ever launched.
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See Billboard’s full “greatest female rappers of all time” list here.
Who wrote that fictional bs. FOH!!!
Missy Elliott is number one
Nicki still has zero classic hits
She definitely rewrote the playbook and the most-decorated but her music is microwaved, and lacking in quality. Missy Elliott and Lauryn Hill are superior to her in terms of quality and classic HITS and Lil Kim 2 in some way. I wouldn’t want to be stuck alone in an island 🏝️ with a Nicki Minaj album even if I really appreciate her run. I’ll go with Missy 1, Hill 2, Kim 3th. Nicki you can get the 4th place no problem.
Very well said. I agree 👏
Nicki is the highest selling female in history, most awarded RAPPER no one has come close to her records and everyone in the top ten on this list she broke their records the first 2 years of her career you cant actually compare anyone to her because she’s dominating every category
Foxy over lil Kim in terms of music and lyrical ability. Actually she would be top 3 in that category, and sold millions during her run too. Nicki in the top 5 though. Lauren unfortunately wasn’t consistent enough so im ok with her being moved, even though her talent places her in top 3. Eve is placed right though.
Overall Nicki is a pop-star that stole from the books of numerous artist during her run (i.e. Kim, Foxy, Gaga, Katy Perry, Rihanna…) and once she ran out of other artist to duplicate, her reign slowly came to an end and became boring tbh. This doesn’t take away from her talent and gifts because she does deserved to be on the list but not at number 1. Billboard knows what they were doing when they put this out and knows very well that this list is some BS. Trina should easily be on this list at 10 imo. I’m not much a Trina fan but her sound is so relevant and present in today’s rap where many girls sound and look just like her.
Trina sound is not that present but you know nickis influence is in every single new girl to come out the last decade they all wanna be her! Nicki didnt steal anyone’s sound shes a rapper who created the genre of pop-rap thats why yall get confused but she only did like 9 pop/rap records out of like 350 songs so definitely not a pop star. Yall stay mad that no one can beat her records or accolades, most awarded RAPPER period
Nicki killed all the h*** you mention in numbers, accolades, money, talent, records beaten, most awards the list goes on and on sweetie she is the pinkprint
Congratz to her,up to this day she is still putting in work.
This list means nothing. Soon another outlet like rolling stone will announce another list, Just like with the pop stars. Nicks great but she’s unoriginal & has no classic hip hop album. It’s #1 Kim #2 missy #lauryn #nicki
You mad!!! Nicki won in every category and broke all them old b****** records quickly
It really doesn’t matter how many of these silly lists place Nicki Minaj at #1. The fans who haven’t surrendered their brains to these publications will always know the truth: Nicki Minaj is not even close to being the best female rapper of all time. She doesn’t have a musical catalog that compares with the greats of female rap. She has no classic hip hop songs and definitely has no classic albums. Nicki Minaj may be the most commercially successful female rapper of all time (with the help of a streaming era that her predecessors never had the benefit of), but that doesn’t mean she is the best. Flo Rida has sold more singles than many legendary rappers put together, but calling him the best male rapper of all time makes no sense.
By the time Cardi B is done with her career, she will eclipse Nicki Minaj’s career and cultural relevance. Nicki Minaj doesn’t even have anything close to a Bodak Yellow in her discography, and she has never made an album better than Invasion of Privacy. Nicki Minaj is not even better than many of the women out today, much less the legendary women whose swag she jacked to make it in the music industry.