Nicki Minaj has a new top-charting hit in the US after releasing 121 singles in the previous 12 years.
Super Freaky Girl, the star’s most recent single, landed at top one on the Billboard Hot 100, giving her the very first solo female rapper to do so in in 25 years.
The last time this occurred was still in 1998, when Doo Wop (That Thing), a song by Laruyn Hill, debuted at the top of the charts.
Super Freaky Girl was watched 21 million times last week, according to Billboard, With 89,000 downloads sold, it also had the best sales week of any song so far in 2022, It also led the download list.
The star’s third number one overall and first as an unsupported artist comes with Super Freaky Girl. She previously achieved chart-topping success in 2020 with the singles Trollz, a joint effort with 6ix9ine, and Say So, a featured appearance on Doja Cat’s TiKTok smash.
Up until this point, Minaj’s 2014 single Anaconda, which reached number two, was her biggest solo hit.
Since 1998, Cardi B has been the only solo female rap artist to have reached the top of the singles chart. Up and Bodak Yellow, both of her top songs, began lower in the charts before moving up to the top spot. The star’s third number one overall and first as an unattached artist comes with Super Freaky Girl.
In Super Weird Chick, which is centered on Rick James’s funk anthem Super Freak, Minaj brags about her sexual skills in a manner reminiscent of the “extremely freaky girl” James described in his 1981 song.
Super Freak, a classic hip-hop track, has just been copied over 30 times by musicians like MC Young, Gucci Mane, and Jay-Z.
And this is the first time it has topped the charts. The original peaked at number 16, but the instrumental-based MC Hammer song U Can’t Touch This peaked at number eight in 1990. Dr Luke, the hitmaker who has been accused of sexual harassment and emotional manipulation by his former protege Kesha in a publicly reported lawsuit, produced Minaj’s rendition.
The musician has vehemently refuted the accusations and filed a defamation lawsuit against Kesha, and his attorneys have prevailed in various rounds of the continuing legal struggle. However, after the charges surfaced, several bands have declined to collaborate with him.
Separately, Minaj will perform and co-host the MTV Awards this weekend where she will also receive the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award.
She had to postpone a London appearance earlier this year due to a fan swarm.
