Following the release of her single ‘Super Freaky Girl’, Nicki Minaj has become the first female rapper in over twenty years to debut at number one. The single soared to the top of the Billboard 100 charts; the Billboard charts bases its rankings on a combination of video and audio streaming, radio airplay and sales data. According to Billboard, the song was streamed over 21 million times in its first week. With over 89,000 sales, the song was also at the top of the download charts. This is the most sales of a single in 2022 so far.
The last female rapper to achieve this feat was Lauryn Hill with her single ‘Doo Wop’, released in 1998. Cardi B is the only female rapper since to top the singles chart with ‘Up’ and ‘Bodak Yellow.’ However, unlike Minaj’s unequivocal top spot from the offset, these singles entered the charts lower down.
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Whilst a historic moment for female rap in general, this is also a significant moment in Minaj’s career personally. This is her first unaccompanied track to reach number one. Collaborations with both 6ix9ine and Doja Cat in 2020 reached number one, but, previously, her most successful solo record was ‘Anaconda’, which peaked at number two.
The song is based on Rick James’ funk classic ‘Super Freak.’ This song has been sampled over 30 times by the likes of Jay-Z, Gucci Mane and MC Hammer’s. However all former attemtps have failed to achieve what Minaj has done with ‘Super Freaky Girl.’
In an Instagram post to her fans, Minaj wrote ‘You did it barbz. You did it. I love you so much.’ Indeed, after having released 121 singles, her first unaccompanied debut number one is a certainly a momentous occasion to share with fans.
At the end of the month Nicki Minaj will be hosting the MTV Video Music Awards alongside Jack Harlow. With more cause to celebrate there, Minaj will receive the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award at this year’s awards ceremony.
