Nicki Minaj, the oft-disputed current queen of rap, recently talked about her place in music history during an XXL interview, saying that she helped resurrect the idea of a female rapper and bring it back to the mainstream. Based on the receipts she has to back up that kind of claim, it's hard to argue. With the most Billboard Top 100 Hits (80 in total) among women from all genres as well as the most top 10 tracks of any female rapper (14), Minaj is no stranger to tucking titles under her Gucci belt. Also hailed as the first female solo artist to have seven singles simultaneously on the Billboard 100 chart, the rapper who seamlessly transcends genre lines from hip hop, to R&B to bubblegum pop and back, Minaj has made incredible strides since the release of her 2010 debut studio album.
While the "Roman Holiday" rapper was born in Saint James, Trinidad and Tobago, Minaj cites growing up in Queens, NY as supremely influential in the development of her signature fast-flow and swagger. She credits her early struggles with poverty, living with a violent, drug-father, and lack of discipline as the bedrock that motivated her relentless pursuit of success. I've always had this female-empowerment thing in the back of my mind," she revealed to the now-defunct Details magazine,"because I wanted my mother to be stronger, and she couldn't be. I thought, 'If I'm successful, I can change her life.'"
It was this need to escape from the suffocating realities of her day-to-day life that led Minaj to create alter egos outfitted with outlandish costumes as a way to dichotomize her pain from her ability to create. With technicolor wigs and statement-making fashion draped over her diminutive five foot two frame, Onika Tanya Maraj gave birth to "Cookie" and "Harajuku Barbie" before finally settling on Nicki Minaj. Chasing her love of performance art, Minaj successfully auditioned for entrance into the LaGuardia High School of Music and Art, an institution that inspired the Fame movie. Met with a failed acting career following her graduation, Minaj turned to a variety of low-paying jobs like working as a Red Lobster waitress and administrative assistant before being fired for her "discourtesy to customers." Reflecting on her bad attitude, Minaj dished to Billboard that she'd "been fired like 15 times" for the same reasons.
Minaj's passion for performance wasn't diminished in full however, and the Queens MC turned to rap as her next outlet. Minaj originally signed with Brooklyn rap group Full Force, rapping in a quartet called "The Hood$stars" which boasted members like Lou$star, Safaree, and 7even up. In 2004, the group recorded the track "Don't Mess With" which served as the entrance song for WWE Diva Victoria. After leaving Full Force, Minaj branched out in pursuit of solo discovery, uploading tracks to her Myspace profile and sending out industry feelers while managed by Debra Antney. It was Minaj's Myspace page that led to her discovery by the CEO of Brooklyn label Dirty Money Entertainment, Fendi, in 2007. After signing, the rapper changed her stage name from "Nicki Maraj" to "Nicki Minaj," revealing to Ear To That Streetz, "My real name is Maraj. Fendi flipped it when he met me because I had such a nasty flow! I eat bitches!"
It was this added exposure that led Minaj to Little Wayne, who collaborated with her on three mixtapes, Playtime is Over (2007), Sucka Free (2008), and Beam Me Up Scotty (2009), before signing her to his Young Money label in 2009. Minaj's debut studio album Pink Friday featured singles like "Right Thru Me" and "Check It Out" and showcased Minaj's range from lyrically vulnerable R&B to commercialized gloss-pop. "Super Bass," Pink Friday's fifth single was Minaj's first break into the coveted top 10 chart ranking, hitting number three and now octuple-platinum in the U.S. Minaj followed up this massive feat with the release of Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded in 2012 and The Pinkprint in 2014.
The Queen Barbz has been teasing her followup album for most of 2017, telling Shade 45's Whoolywood Shuffle “I’m not telling [the Barbz] when my album is coming out but I just know that it’s going to be amazing because I want to thank the people who rocked with me all these years. Like my fans are a different level of diehard! I always feel like I gotta make them proud. I gotta go hard, I gotta impress them, because they’re always waiting for me. That’s a blessing in itself.”
With Minaj's penchant for lyrical acrobatics, inflection, and chart-topping hits, there's no question her next album will be "a classic album that people will never forget," just as she promised.
25. Va Va Voom
"Va Va Voom" is a sexy, booming, electro-pop club banger regarded as the "sleeper" bonus single hit off of Minaj's sophomore studio album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded. A bonus track off of the deluxe edition of the album, and packed with radio/club potential due to its fast rap verses and catchy chorus, the song debuted at No. 79 on the Billboard Hot 100. While popular in the U.S., the song had even greater success in the European market, with its crisp production and dance-pop influence credited for its success.
24. Starships
"Starships" served as the lead single off of Minaj's second studio album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, a stark departure from the ferocity and lyrical wordplay popularized in its predecessor, Pink Friday. The track, rife with Euro-pop influence and shimmering pop beats was certified six-times platinum in the U.S, Minaj's second-highest certified single as a solo artist. The track also debuted in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 and remained on the chart for a staggering 21 weeks. The psychedelic music video, featuring Minaj dancing on a beachfront in a tiny hot pink bikini won the Best Female Video award at the 2012 MTV Music Video Awards. The club-friendly chorus "Starships were meant to fly/Hands up and touch the sky/Can't stop 'cause we're so high/Let's do this one more time" while simplistic, is incredibly catchy and party ready.
23. The Crying Game
Bleak guitar loops and the haunting vocals of UK singer-songwriter Jessie Ware provide the perfect foundation for Minaj to rap about the painful memories that remain after the end of an abusive relationship. "Blood drippin' out your arm on my Asian rugs," Minaj raps before hinting at a failed engagement: "We was just planning a wedding, caught cagin' doves / You was just tellin' your mans, that you hate the clubs / Now we in the crying game, heart laced with slugs.
22. All Things Go
"All Things Go" is the opening track off of Minaj's 2014 album The Pinkprint. Arguably the most emotional and personal track Minaj has ever released, the haunting vocals and stripped-down beat provide a powerful backdrop for lyrics that dissect the rapper's personal life. Minaj herself confirmed to fans that "All Things Go" is the most emotional track on the album in a Twitter Q&A.
All things go, Grand Piano > RT @PatriTMSpain: @NICKIMINAJ what's the most emotional song on the album? #ThePinkprint”
A stark departure from Minaj's usual avoidance of divulging intimate details in her bars, the track's three verses explore everything from the rapper's abortion/miscarriage to the murder of her cousin, Nicholas Telemaque in 2011. In the first verse, Minaj focuses on her desire to eventually be a mother and how quickly life slips by in, "Cherish these nights, cherish these people / Life is a movie, but there will never be a sequel / And I'm good with that, as long as I'm peaceful /As long as 7 years from now, I'm taking my daughter to preschool."
Separated by only a hook, Minaj delves into the sudden death of her cousin: "I lost my little cousin to a senseless act of violence / His sister said, he wanted to stay with me, but I didn't invite him / Why didn't he ask, or am I just buggin'? / 'Cause since I got fame, they don't act the same." In the third and final verse, Minaj references a likely abortion, "My child with Aaron, would've have been sixteen, any minute" which was first addressed in her 2008 track "Autobiography" in "Please baby forgive me, mommy was young.”
21. Pound The Alarm
"Pound The Alarm" is another party song off of Minaj's Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded album. The track is the Euro-pop cousin of "Starships," without the shimmering beach pop vibes and with more of Minaj's trademark lyrical grit as seen in: "Pumps on and them little mini skirts is out / I see some good girls, I'mma turn 'em out / OK bottle, sip, bottle, guzzle / I'm a bad bitch, no muzzle." With a catchy chorus, thumping bass line and Minaj's frenetic vocals, it's no surprise that this song peaked at No. 1 on the Us Hot Dance Club Songs chart.
20. Grand Piano
In this album-closing record Minaj, with the help of Kane Beatz and will.i.am, delivers an emotional ballad without even so much as a bass hook or rap feature to offset the melodic violin/piano collab. While the rapper plays it safe with her vocal range, and relies on autotune to mask any pitchy dips, the track was a gamble-- a massive departure from synthesized zithers, vulgarity, and double-time flow that characterized her previous albums. However, vulnerability in lyrics like "Cold hearted shame you'll remain just afraid in the dark / The people are talking / The people are saying that you have been playing my heart / Like a grand piano" marks this track as a standout selection from The Pinkprint.
19. Want Some More
This Zaytoven beat, with the help of Yung "Hitmaka" Berg and Metro Boomin, lays the perfect foundation for Minaj to exercise her penchant for throwing voices in between verses dominated by her trademark double time flow. A far cry from the vulnerability seen elsewhere on The Pinkprint, Minaj brags heavy and without apology in "Want Some More": "Who had Eminem on the first album?/Who had Kanye saying "She a problem"?/Who the fuck came in the game made her own cologne?/Who made Lil Wayne give 'em five million?" Minaj's guttural and syllable-stretched "I popped a Perc and I said thank you" line will stay with you long after the fade of the last compressed beat.
18. Come On A Cone
"Come On A Cone," is one of the most distinctive, aggressive, and critically divisive tracks off of Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded. The bass heavy, electro-hop, Chauncey Hollis beat provides a fitting backdrop for Minaj's top-speed rapping ability. Minaj weaves disses like "bitches ain't serious, man these bitches delirious/All these bitches inferiors, I just pimp my interiors" in between a flurry of pop culture references: "When you see me on Ellen, just admit that I'm winning/Do a show for Versace, they request me by name/And if they don't get Nicki, it just won't be the same/When I'm sitting with Anna, I'm really sitting with Anna/Ain't a metaphor punchline, I'm really sitting with Anna!" While the chorus can be grating on a first listen, there's no doubt that Minaj's wordplay and fast flow more than make up for its repetition.
17. Did It On'em
The sixth single from Minaj's Pink Friday debut was a commercial success, climbing to No. 49 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart and No. 3 on the US R&B/Hip Hop Songs Chart. With a driving, hard hi-hat beat and bursts of jarring synth Minaj doesn't hesitate to lyrically (and literally) piss on her competition: "If I had a dick, I would pull it out and piss on 'em/Let me shake it off/I just signed a couple deals I might break you off/And we ain't making up I don't need a mediator/Just let them bums blow steam, radiator."
"A Milli" producer Bangladesh slipped on this Young Money record to supplement the beat for Minaj's voice distortion, punctuating the end of each verse with a new persona summoned to further dismiss her detractors.
16. Four Door Aventador
Nicki Minaj finally steps up to the Lil' Kim comparisons that have stuck to the rapper for her entire career in this track off of The Pinkprint. With a Biggie-tinged flow that takes the listener back to the 90s NYC hip hop scene and a low-bump beat seemingly borrowed from Kim's 2003 "Tha Beehive," Minaj makes the track her own with spit-fire lyrics like: "Hell yeah, them girls bad, but I'm fucking heavy/I'mma fuck around and have them looking like spaghetti/I say some shit, he be like, "Yo, you so legendary/But he can tell just by my face he ain't getting any."
15. Itty Bitty Piggy
"Itty Bitty Piggy" showcases Minaj in full rap beast/battle-ready femcee mode, off of the rapper's third mixtape Beam Me Up Scotty. The bravado behind every stretched syllable in "Piggy" made this track a quick fan-favorite, the unapologetic flow absent in many of the singing/rap tracks from Minaj's studio debut. An explicit take on a popular nursery rhyme, lines like "And if you see a itty-bitty piggy in the market/Give that bitch a quarter and a car, tell her ‘Park it!’I don’t fuck with pigs, like As-salamu alaykum/I put ‘em in a field, I let Oscar Mayer bake 'em" showcase the rapper's ability to quickly and continually silence those who would dare to dispute her come-up.
14. Truffle Butter (feat. Drake and Lil Wayne)
The lyrical complexity of "Truffle Butter" wrapped around a sample of Maya Jane Coles’ energetic 2010 deep house anthem "What They Say" made this Young Money collab a surefire hit. Minaj, Drake, and Lil Wayne hop on and off the mic with ease-- flows reminiscent of laid-back freestyles separated by a mellow, echoed chorus. While "Truffle Butter" was originally released as an iTunes bonus track, the song soon proved its weight as more than a bonus feature after its success as the album's fifth single. Never one to miss an opportunity to remind listeners just why she's on top, Minaj spits: "I'm still the highest sellin' female rapper, for the record/Man, this a 65 million single sold/I ain't gotta compete with a single soul/I'm good with the ballpoint game, finger roll."
13. Anaconda
The second single off of The Pinkprint, "Anaconda" served as Minaj's highest charting track to date, peaking at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. The track heavily samples Sir Mix-a-Lot's 1992 hit song "Baby Got Back," most notably in the opening lyrics taken straight from the original hit: "My anaconda don't, my anaconda don't/ My anaconda don't want none unless you got buns, hun."
While the track's haphazard structure and playful lyrics are far removed from the emotional vulnerability on "The Crying Game," the club-banger's tongue-in-cheek vulgarity skyrocketed the single to (controversial) international fame. The risqué music video for "Anaconda" broke the 24-hour streaming record on Vevo by racking up 19.6 million views in its first day of release, and won the Best Hip Hop Video Award at the 2015 VMAs.
12. Lookin' Ass
"Lookin' Ass," recorded for the 2014 Young Money Entertainment compilation album Young Money: Rise Of An Empire is a controversial track in both its lyrical content and album art. With the backdrop of a minimalist Choppa Boi beat, Minaj spits venom at the men not worthy of both her status and time: "Talkin’ ’bout ki’s, say it’s ki’s in the van/But he really move grams and he split it with his mans."
Nicki addressed the song's detractors in a call-in spot at Hot 97's Angie Martinez Show, further explaining her motivation behind the track. ""Oh my god, when am I not pissin' people off? I don't even try at this point," said the rapper. "I don't think the majority of the people are actually pissed off, I think it's just a great conversation to have 'cause it's so many records that come out daily and they're nothin' but bashing females. I think that I am in a position to put a record out that women can feel empowered by in our own way, you know? Not in a suit and tie way, in our way. We never get a chance to talk crazy and we don't always wanna tell you how much we love you."
11. No Frauds feat. Drake and Lil Wayne
Minaj summoned the Young Money trifecta for her response to Remy Ma's scathing diss track, “shETHER." Clearing her throat for her thoughtfully-delayed response to the attack, Minaj touches everything from Ma's fledgling follow-up of "Another One" and her incomparable album sales. "Tried to drop 'Another One', you was itchin’ to scrap/You exposed your ghostwriter, now you wish it was scrapped/They say numbers don’t matter but when they discussin’ the kings/They turn around and say Lebron ain’t got six rings." While Drake and Lil Wayne's verses are milquetoast comparisons to Minaj's assault on Ma, they beef up the rapper's clout and back up her spot at the top, boosting the track with radio play the latter can only dream of.
10. Pills N Potions
Forever blurring the line between a Top 100 pop star and a mixtape-dropping rap icon, Minaj released "Pills N Potions," a piano ballad layered on top of a chilled-out minimalist beat. While previous tracks have Minaj poised and ready to strike down her rivals, the rapper approached her detractors from The Pinkprint's stark maturity, stating: "People swearin' on the Bible that they love you but they're no different from all your rivals/ but I don't wish death on 'em, I just reflect on 'em." Minaj ditches the wig and costume makeup for the track's visual, rapping straight to the camera without strobed lights and background dancers.
9. Trini Dem Girls feat. LunchMoney Lewis
A quick pivot from the soft piano of "Pills N Potions," Minaj boasts this dancehall homage to island girls on The Pinkprint's "Trini Dem Girls" featuring LunchMoney Lewis. It's impossible to resist throwing your hands up and dancing to this club banger that commands in beat what it lacks in lyrics. Minaj makes sure she appeals to all of her hyped-up listeners in: ""American girls run the planet/South African, European, Asian, Australian and my Canadian girls."
8. Moment 4 Life feat. Drake
The fourth single from Pink Friday, "Moment 4 Life" is a standout Drake collab, with its smooth mid-tempo R&B beat dropped over a sample of Sly, Slick and Wicked's 1972 "Confessin' A Feeling." Emboldened by her ascent to superstardom after the release of her debut studio album, Minaj reflects on how the fleeting gratification of finally making it to the top- the wealth associated with her new spot in the industry- can never eclipse her pre-fame priorities. "I fly with the stars in the skies,/I am no longer trying to survive,/I believe that life is a prize,/But to live doesn't mean you're alive," Minaj raps, with a slowed-down, straight pull-no-punches flow. The track's six minute visual gifts us with another playful glimpse of Minaj's multiple rap personas- this time, with her British-accented fairy godmother, Martha Zolanski.
7. Only feat. Drake, Lil Wayne, and Chris Brown
Minaj uses the dark and drippy Dr. Luke, Cirkut, JMIKE cut to finally set the (sexual) record straight regarding Young Money's Big Three. The third single from her third studio album, "Only" parades a stripped-down Minaj's lyrical density wrapped around metaphors that demand a second listen. Finally addressing the haters that maintain Minaj f--ed her way to the top Minaj responds with: "Yo, I never fucked Wayne, I never fucked Drake/All my life, man, fuck's sake/If I did I did a menage with 'em/And let 'em eat my ass like a cupcake." Drake and Lil Wayne echo the rapper's sentiment in their own distinctive verses, "I never fucked Nicki cause she got a man/But when that's over then I'm the first in line : "I never fucked Nicki and that's fucked up/If I did fuck she'd be fucked up/Whoever is hittin' ain't hittin' it right/Cause she actin' like she need dick in her life" showcasing how the trio can maintain each of their own styles while still playing off of their studio chemistry. With the "raise your hand" chorus by Chris Brown, it's no surprise that the track secured heavy radio play upon its debut and was RIAA certified 3x Platinum in the United States.
6. Stupid Hoe
Minaj brings out her evil (male) alter ego Roman Zolanski to throw not-so-subtle digs at Lil' Kim in the second single off of Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded. While the chorus in the Young Money rapstress' dark anthem to her female haters can be a bit grating in its repetition, Minaj more than makes up for it with her lyrical venom. "I get it cracking like a bad back/Bitch talkin she the queen when she looking like a lab rat/I’m Angelina, you Jennifer come on bitch you see where Brad at?" An obvious slash at Queen B Lil' Kim, the Junior M.A.F.I.A responded in kind, stating: "I'm pretty sure I feel the same way everybody else feels right about now," Kim said. "If you have to make a song called 'Stupid Hoe,' you must be a stupid hoe." The backlash didn't seem to bother Minaj, as she closed the track with the bold statement: "I am the female Weezy."
5. Super Bass
Where would Minaj be if it weren't for the worldwide success of "Super Bass," the hit single off of Pink Friday's deluxe release? The euphoric, pulsing synth and whine of electric guitars surround the radio pop-ready chorus, giving Minaj the space to exercise her double time flow in the verses. The upbeat hook and catchy chorus "Boy, you got my heart beat running away/Beating like a drum and its coming your way/Can't you hear that boom-ba-doom-boom-boom-ba-doom-boom-bass" punctuates Minaj's description of her type of man: "And he ill, he real, he might got a deal/He pop bottles, and he got the right kind of build/He cold, he dope, he might sell coke/He always in the air, but he never fly coach." Unsurprisingly, the certified hit peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, staying in the top 50 for an impressive 38 weeks.
4. Feeling Myself feat. Beyoncé
The hottest collab of 2014, Queen Bey hopped on "Feeling Myself" to lend some Lemonade vibes to The Pinkprint. Beyoncé's sultry R&B hook punctuates Minaj's distinctive verses, shifting effortlessly from brash and arrogant "Got a black card that let Saks have it/These Chanel bags is a bad habit" to sexually explicit "He say 'Damn, bae, you so little, but you be really takin' that pipe'/I say "Yes daddy I do, gimme brain like NYU" to the final flow, where the rapper asserts her spot in the industry: "I am a rap legend, just go ask the kings of rap/Who is the queen and things of that nature, look at my finger, that is a glacier, hits like a laser." The ego-stroking isn't left to Minaj, however- as Bey interjects with her own lines cataloguing her seat at the throne: "Changed the game with that digital drop/Know where you was when that digital popped/I stopped the world." Both artists bend the driving bass rough edges of the track to their whim, switching up tempo with ease without ever losing the West Coast Synth beat.
3. Champion feat. Drake, Nas, and Young Jeezy
With its gloom-pop, drum-march beat, "Champion" is the downtempo hip hop ballad needed on Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded to offset the euro pop dancehall bangers. The track shows Minaj emerging from the shadow of florescent wigs and hollow-chorused money grabs, pivoting instead to heartfelt shout-outs to the 'hood and the rapper's late cousin Nicholas. "This is that Run-and-Get-a-Dollar-for-The-Ice-Cream-Cone/Cause they killed my little cousin Nicholas/But my memories only happy images/This is for the hood, this is for the kids." Nas' closing verse matches Minaj's as the highlight of the track, detailing his come-up in: "Loud laughter while writin' my next chapter/Fast cash life, happily ever after." Jeezy's gritty vocals clearly cut through the beat and bring the listener even closer to early, mixtape Minaj.
2. Roman's Revenge feat. Eminem
"Roman's Revenge" is arguably the biggest standout on Pink Friday, with Minaj and Eminem hurling battle rap verses back and forth while slipping in and out of guttural, split-personality crescendos. The Swizz Beatz production gives the track a constantly-churning, train-off-the-tracks feel that have the two rappers knocking the mic back and forth while feeding off each other's energy. While both rappers are comfortable with the song's lyrical density, Minaj's manic flow and Em's aggressive delivery have enough bite to bridge the gap between the two fanbases. Notable lyrics from Minaj are delivered to her haters in, "You need a job, this ain't cutting it/Nicki Minaj is who you ain't fucking with/You lil' Fraggle Rock, I beat you with a pad-a-lock/I am a movie, camera block" and Em drops this line to a woman who seriously needs to stay out of his lane: "And caught her stealin' my music, so I tied her arms and legs to the bed/Set up the camera, pissed twice on her/Look, two pees and a tripod!"
1. Beez In The Trap feat. 2 Chainz
The third single off of Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, "Beez in The Trap" features a mega-catchy beat reminiscent of 1980s gangsta rap, infused with electro-hop and enough echo to make the hook embed in your brain long after the sound of the last drip drip synth. Minaj drops the usual aggression/Roman Zolanski persona usually adopted on tracks aimed at her haters, and instead opts for a saccharine, gloating takedown of ain't-shit bitches. The sour-bubble pop beat provides a brilliant contrast to lyrics like "Let me bust that U-ie, bitch bust that open/Might spend a couple thou' just to bust that open/Rip it off no joking, like your name Hulk Hogan." Lines like "Got a private home, started from them public houses/Hair weave killer, causing her arousal" prove 2 Chainz' contribution to be just as inventive, his mellow flow a necessary contrast to Minaj's carefully-constructed whine. During an appearance on the Graham Norton show, Minaj revealed the inspiration behind the track. "It just means, 'I am always...' you know, that's our slang way of saying, 'I beez doing such-and-such-and-such,'" she said. "So it's really like, 'I am always in the trap.' Now, the trap, ladies and gentlemen, relates to anywhere where you get your money."