Nicki Minaj‘s 5th studio album, “Pink Friday 2,” has officially debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 chart dated Dec. 23, marking her third No. 1 album. This accomplishment establishes her as the female rapper with the most No. 1 albums in the US. Her previous chart-topping albums are “Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded” in 2012 and her debut studio album, “Pink Friday,” in 2011.
The success of “Pink Friday 2” is highlighted by its impressive debut with 228,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. for the week ending Dec. 14, according to Luminate. This marks the largest week for a rap album by a woman in the 2020s decade and the biggest for an R&B/hip-hop album by a woman in 2023.
Pink Friday 2 is the third highest sales debut for a rap album in 2023. Behind Travis’s Scott’s “Utopia” with 469k at No. 1 and Drake’s “For All The Dogs” with 402k at No. 2.
lol Uzi Vert’s “Pink’s Tape” is the 4th highest sales debut for a rap album in 2023.
In addition to its chart performance, “Pink Friday 2” achieved significant sales milestones, with 25,000 copies sold on vinyl—making it the highest sales week for a rap album by a woman since electronic sales tracking began in 1991.
Notably, Nicki Minaj now holds the record for the most No. 1 albums among female rap artists, surpassing Foxy Brown who has 2 No. 1 albums. Foxy’s two chart topping albums are “The Firm — The Album” with released in 1997 and her second solo album “Chyna Doll” released in 1999. Nicki also becomes the first female rapper to achieve No. 1 albums in two different decades, with her first two leaders in the 2010s and the third in the 2020s.
Lauryn Hill, Eve and Cardi B’s debut solo albums “The Miseducation OF Lauryn Hill,”(1998) and “Let There Be Eve…Ruff Ryders’ First Lady”(1999) and “Invasion Of Privacy”(2018) are the only other albums by a women to have peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.
Nicki shouted out Beenie Man during her Twitch streaming interview with new media personality Kai Canet last week. ‘Shout out to Beenie Man, obviously that was the (inspiration) for saying, Memories don’t live like people do,’ the Queen of Hip Hop said. Making reference to Beenie’s 1990’s hit ‘Memories‘ which is featured on his
The album’s success is further underscored by its streaming performance, amassing 169.87 million on-demand official streams, making it Minaj’s largest streaming week ever, the biggest streaming week for a rap album by a woman in the 2020s, and the largest streaming week for any R&B/hip-hop album by a woman in 2023.
Pink Friday 2 features Drake, 50 Cent, J. Cole, Future, Lil Uzi Vert, Lil Wayne, and Monica, who are featured on “Pink Friday 2.”
In addition to Nicki Minaj’s triumph, on this week Billboard 200 chart Tate McRae makes an impressive entry into the top 10 with her album “Think Later,” debuting at No. 4. This achievement follows the success of her hit single “Greedy,” which reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Taylor Swift‘s “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” maintains its position at No. 2 position, making it the first in nine months where the top two albums are by female artists.
