Nicki Minaj just made history.
The rapper’s latest effort, Pink Friday 2, released last week, has made its debut on the number one spot on the Billboard 200 albums chart for the week ending Dec. 23. The album, which features previously released cuts including "Super Freaky Girl," "Red Ruby Da Sleeze," reached the top spot with 228,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending Dec. 14, according to Billboard.
However, with Pink Friday 2’s success, Minaj is now officially the female rapper with the most number one albums on Billboard. Minaj’s original 2010 Pink Friday album and its 2012 “Roman Reloaded” follow-up both reached the top spot on the chart. Before Pink Friday 2, Minaj was tied with Foxy Brown, who sent both her 1997 collaborative album with The Firm and her 1999 solo album Chyna Doll to the top of the charts.
Another recent opportunity to send more music to the charts came with the artist formerly known as Kanye West’s upcoming joint album Vultures with Ty Dolla Sign.
“New Body,” a track featuring Minaj that was originally meant to be part of Ye’s scrapped 2018 album Yandhi, leaked online several years ago and instantly became a fan favorite. Last year, in an interview with Hot 106, Minaj dubbed the track as “the hit that got away.”
To the surprise of many, “New Body” was featured on the tracklist for Vultures with Ye making a public plea for Minaj to clear her verse before the album’s rumored street date.
Minaj eventually addressed the matter on her Instagram Live and revealed that she will not legally clear her verse, saying, “That train has left the station.”
"No disrespect in any way. I just put out a brand-new album,” she told her fans. “Now why would I put out a song that has been out for three years? C'mon guys."
Whether “New Body” will be released, with or without Minaj, remains to be seen. The same may be true for Ye’s ‘Everybody,” featuring a Backstreet Boys sample that the artist also reportedly did not clear.
