Beam Me Up Scotty, despite being originally released more than a decade ago, is currently putting some highly commendable numbers on the board.
The third mixtape from Nicki Minaj, which originally dropped back in April 2009, was re-released earlier this month by Republic Records with an amended tracklist boasting new songs, the Drake and Weezy collab “Seeing Green” among them. The re-release ultimately debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 albums chart off the strength of 80,000 equivalent album units, 63,000 of which came from streaming. The 2021-ified mixtape marks Minaj’s fifth release to hit the top two on the chart.
Fans and industry watchers alike have pointed to the unique circumstances surrounding this No. 2 debut, commending Minaj for bagging such a strong opening week with a project that’s effectively (new cuts aside) a little over 12 years old. For comparison’s sake, Drake’s 2019 re-release of his So Far Gone tape resulted in a No. 5 debut on the Billboard 200 for the 6 God.
Minaj herself has also joined the discussion, thanking fans in a lengthy Instagram note on Wednesday. As Minaj explained when sharing a screenshot of an article referring to Beam Me Up Scotty as the highest-charting mixtape re-release in hip-hop history, the project’s latest success means more to her because the rollout didn’t feature the usual add-ons that help an artist secure a bigger first week.
“I love you guys so much,” she said. “Thank you. Can’t wait to share my album with you real soon.
Minaj noted that there was very little playlisting, no videos, no TikTok challenges, and no radio support.
“SO THIS MAKES IT MEAN MORE TO ME cuz it rlly just boils down to having the best FANS ON EARTH that rode with me 12 YEARS LATER,” Minaj added. “Thank u Republic, Full Stop, Holiday, Deb, Fendi, [and] all the artists and producers for CLEARING the songs so my babies could FINALLY enjoy this on STREAMING SERVICES.”
Beam Me Up Scotty is out now. In Minaj’s own words, Drake and Weezy “washed” her on the aforementioned bonus cut “Seeing Green,” which recently received got the clean version treatment following a fan’s request.
