Nicki Minaj

2010–2011: Breakthrough with Pink Friday

In early February 2010, Minaj made her first two appearances on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart with her features on "Knockout" and "Up Out My Face" by Lil Wayne and Mariah Carey respectively. Minaj also appeared on "BedRock" and "Roger That" from the compilation album We Are Young Money (2009). Robin Thicke featured Minaj on his single "Shakin' It 4 Daddy".

On March 29, 2010, Minaj released "Massive Attack" featuring Sean Garrett. The song was thought to be Minaj's first single from her upcoming debut album, which she was still working on. However, it was not included on her album. Her next single, "Your Love", became the album's lead single. Released in June, it peaked at number 14 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Rap Songs chart.

The rapper was then featured on Christina Aguilera's song "Woohoo", which reached number 79 on Billboard Hot 100. In September, Minaj released "Check It Out" with will.i.am and "Right Thru Me" as follow-up singles.

In October 2010, Minaj featured on Kanye West's "Monster", a posse cut with Jay-Z and Rick Ross featuring vocals from Justin Vernon of Bon Iver. Her verse received widespread acclaim with many critics regarding it as the best verse on that song. Complex rated Minaj's "Monster" verse as the number-one best rap verse in the past five years, while Sean Fennessey of The Village Voice stated that "Monster" was "the track that announced Minaj's "brilliance" to most people." Shortly after, she performed "Monster" with West and Jay-Z at Yankee Stadium, becoming the first ever female rapper to perform there. That month, Minaj became the first female solo artist to have seven singles simultaneously charting in the U.S. In November, Minaj received her first Grammy Award nomination for her guest verse on Ludacris' song "My Chick Bad".

Pink Friday was released on November 19, 2010, debuting at number two and later reaching number one on the Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 375,000 copies. It had the largest sales week for a female rap album in the 21st century and second-highest sales week overall after Lauryn Hill's The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998). The album also became the female rap album with the most weeks in the top ten on the Billboard 200 chart at the time, with fourteen consecutive weeks in the region. Upon release, the album received generally positive reviews from critics. The song "Roman's Revenge", featuring Eminem, was interpreted as a response to rapper Lil' Kim's comments against Minaj, including her accusing Minaj of copying her image and that she had recorded a song called "Everywhere We Go" with Minaj but it was pulled from iTunes by Cash Money because it did not perform well. At the time, Minaj said that "Roman's Revenge" was not about a specific person, but about "everyone who has been in interviews talking", adding, "I've been quiet for such a long time and I've been the nice guy. I've been the person that gave everyone their props... you can't be a rapper and not speak on things being said about you". In a 2018 interview, she explained that she wrote the song after "a veteran got at me, and I hit them with 'Roman's Revenge' and then I kept on going."

Pink Friday was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in December 2010, for accumulating a million units in the United States. It became the first album by a solo female rapper to go platinum in seven years. As of March 2016, it has been certified triple-platinum. "Moment 4 Life" featuring Drake was released as the fourth single from Pink Friday, on December 7, 2010. It reached number 13 on the Hot 100. Minaj performed "Right Thru Me" and "Moment 4 Life" as the musical guest on the January 29, 2011, episode of Saturday Night Live. In February 2011, Lil' Kim released the mixtape Black Friday referencing Minaj, including artwork that showed Lil' Kim decapitating Minaj with a sword and the lyrics "sweetie, you goin' on your 14th minute of fame" and "you a Lil' Kim wannabe". Lil' Kim sold the mixtape on PayPal. Minaj's track "Tragedy" was released online, featuring the lyrics "Pink Friday, Eminem, 8 Mile/ It must hurt to sell your album on PayPal."

"Super Bass" was released as Pink Friday's fifth single in April 2011. It became a sleeper hit and commercially successful, ultimately peaking at number three on the Hot 100. It was eventually certified 12-times platinum in the US, for selling 12 million units; in 2024, it became the highest-certified song by a female rapper in RIAA history. "Super Bass" was the highest-charting solo single by a female rapper, at the time, since Missy Elliott's "Work It" in 2002. In 2017, Billboard ranked it as the second-biggest US Hot 100 hit by a female rapper of all time (behind Iggy Azalea's "Fancy"); and in 2024, ranked it as the biggest Hot 100 hit of Minaj's career. Its music video has over 1 billion views on YouTube, as of October 2023.

Minaj was one of the opening acts on Britney Spears' 2011 Femme Fatale Tour. She and Kesha appeared on the remix of Spears' "Till the World Ends", which peaked at number three in the U.S. On August 7, 2011, Minaj experienced a wardrobe malfunction during a live performance on Good Morning America when she revealed her left nipple. Both ABC and Minaj apologized for the incident, with Minaj denying it was a publicity stunt. Minaj continued to perform at high-profile events throughout 2011 with Donatella Versace inviting her to perform with Prince for the introduction of a Versace collection for H&M. She also performed "Super Bass" at the 2011 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. In December 2011, Minaj was nominated for three Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist and Best Rap Album for Pink Friday. Also that year, she won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Hip-Hop Video for "Super Bass", marking her first VMA win. In 2022, the album was included in Rolling Stone's list of "200 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time" at number 31; the magazine stated that Pink Friday "proved you could own the charts without dialing back your confrontational individuality, and it set the table for a generation of artists." In 2024, Vibe named it as one of the "50 Greatest Black Albums of the Modern Era".

2012–2013: Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded and American Idol

"Starships" was released in February 2012 as the lead single from Minaj's forthcoming second album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded. The song reached number five on the US Billboard Hot 100, was the fifth best-selling single of 2012, and was certified diamond by the RIAA in November 2024, for moving over ten million units in the US. Her crossover into pop music was criticized by some, despite her commercial success. Follow-up singles "Beez in the Trap" featuring 2 Chainz and "Right by My Side" featuring Chris Brown were released shortly after.

Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded was eventually released on April 2, 2012, two months later than initially planned. It was preceded by the promotional singles "Roman in Moscow" and "Stupid Hoe". The latter song was viewed by critics as a diss aimed at Lil' Kim, following her previous attacks on Minaj. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 253,000 copies, and was certified four-times platinum by the RIAA in November 2024, becoming Minaj's highest-certified album yet. However, the mix of hip-hop songs and mainstream pop material received mixed reviews. "Pound the Alarm" and "Va Va Voom" were later released as the final singles from the album. Minaj along with fellow rapper M.I.A. joined Madonna to perform the single, "Give Me All Your Luvin" during the Super Bowl XLVI halftime show on February 6, 2012. Minaj was the first solo female rapper to perform at the Grammy Awards, performing "Roman Holiday" during the 2012 ceremony on February 12. Her exorcism-themed performance was controversial, with the American Catholic League and its president criticizing her performance.

Minaj began her headlining Pink Friday Tour on May 16, 2012, which was followed by the Pink Friday: Reloaded Tour beginning October 14, 2012. Although she was scheduled to headline the June 3 Hot 97 Summer Jam at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, at the request of Lil Wayne she canceled her appearance the day of the show after Peter Rosenberg of the station dismissed her single "Starships" as "not real hip-hop". The following month, she voiced Steffie in the animated film Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012). Minaj won awards for Best Female Video (for "Starships") at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards and Best Hip-Hop at the 2012 MTV Europe Music Awards.

An expanded version of Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, subtitled The Re-Up, was released on November 19, 2012, with seven new songs. That month, she was the subject of a three-part E! documentary titled Nicki Minaj: My Truth. In September, Minaj joined the judges' panel for the twelfth season of American Idol with Mariah Carey, Keith Urban, and Randy Jackson. Throughout the show there were disagreements between Carey and Minaj, with both of them leaving the series at the end of the season. Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded was the best-selling rap album released in 2012 in the US. It was also the 25th-best-selling album globally in 2012, with over 1.4 million copies sold worldwide, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). In 2013, Minaj became the most-charted female rapper on the Billboard Hot 100 at the time, with 44 entries, and tied Carey as seventh among female artists.

2014–2017: The Pinkprint and acting ventures

Minaj's first live-action theatrical film The Other Woman was filmed in spring 2013 and premiered on April 25, 2014. As she was working on her third studio album The Pinkprint, she described the album as "a continuation of The Re-Up with a lot more" and said it would focus on her "hip hop roots". During an MTV interview, she said that she has "much to talk about" in the album.

"Pills n Potions" was released as the lead single from The Pinkprint in May 2014. In July, she appeared on the song "Bang Bang" with singers Jessie J and Ariana Grande, which peaked at number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 and marked Minaj's first number-one on the UK singles chart. "Bang Bang" was certified diamond by the RIAA in May 2024, for recognized sales of 10 million units; it became the first all-female collaboration to achieve the certification. Its music video garnered over two billion views on YouTube. "Anaconda" was released in August as the second single from the album, peaking at number two, which became her highest-charting single in the US at the time. Its ascent from number 39 to number two in its third week marked the second-biggest jump within the chart's top 40 region, at the time. The music video for "Anaconda" went viral upon release online; it set a 24-hour Vevo record, accumulating 19.6 million views on its first day of release, breaking the record previously held by Miley Cyrus's "Wrecking Ball". It surpassed one billion views on YouTube. On November 9, 2014, Minaj hosted the 2014 MTV Europe Music Awards in Glasgow, Scotland. She also won the Best Hip-Hop Award for a second time.

The Pinkprint was officially released on December 15, 2014, and debuted at number two in the U.S., with first week sales of 244,000 equivalent units (198,000 in pure album sales and 46,000 combined album-equivalent units and streams). Upon release, critics praised the production and personal lyrics. At the 58th Grammy Awards, Minaj received three more Grammy Award nominations, including a second Best Rap Album nomination for The Pinkprint, a Best Rap Song nomination for "Anaconda" and a Best Pop Duo/Group Performance nomination for "Bang Bang". In March 2015, Minaj embarked on her third world tour entitled The Pinkprint Tour and also became the first female artist to chart four songs simultaneously in the top 10 of Billboard's Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop airplay chart. At the 2015 BET Awards, Minaj won her sixth consecutive award for Best Female Hip-Hop Artist, becoming the female rapper with most wins in that category. In August 2015, Madame Tussauds unveiled a wax figure of Minaj, which depicted a pose from the "Anaconda" music video. Minaj voiced her approval of the wax figure on social media. The wax figure received criticism from some, including Angharad Welsh of The Independent, who called it "a sexist, racist mistake".

In May 2015, it was announced that Minaj would feature in the third installment of the Barbershop film series, alongside Ice Cube, Cedric the Entertainer, Eve, and other original cast members. Titled Barbershop: The Next Cut, the film was released on April 15, 2016. For Minaj's performance as a "sassy" hairdresser named Draya, she was nominated for a Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actress: Comedy. In September 2015, it was announced that Minaj would executive produce and appear in a scripted single-camera comedy series for ABC Family (now Freeform) based on her life growing up in Queens, New York City. The show was titled Nicki and the pilot episode was filmed in Minaj's hometown in January 2016. In October 2016, Minaj stated the filming was postponed for undisclosed reasons.

In February 2017, Minaj featured on Gucci Mane's song "Make Love" and Jason Derulo's single "Swalla" alongside Ty Dolla Sign, the latter of which reached the top ten in several countries, including a peak of number six in the UK. Rapper Remy Ma released the diss track "Shether", which, among other claims and insults, alleged that Minaj used a ghostwriter and was in a 360-record deal. The track's release followed interviews where Remy Ma had praised Minaj, rapped over a couple of Minaj's songs, and released tracks that media interpreted as digs at Minaj. Remy Ma also released a second diss track aimed at Minaj, "Another One". Minaj responded in her single "No Frauds", featuring Drake and Lil Wayne, in which, among other digs, she took shots at Remy Ma's prison stint for assault, called her a "fraud committin' perjury", and accused her of using a ghostwriter, referring to her husband, rapper Papoose; Minaj also rapped "I never signed a 360, bitch you wild dumb". On her Instagram post promoting the song, Minaj wrote: "Great diss records can't be lies. Great diss records are FACTS... Been writing my own raps since I was 11." "No Frauds" was one of three songs Minaj released simultaneously, along with "Changed It" and "Regret in Your Tears". On March 20, 2017, with the three songs she released, Minaj broke the record for the most Billboard Hot 100 entries for a female artist, which at the time was previously held by Aretha Franklin. That month, Minaj also signed with the major modeling agency, Wilhelmina Models. Minaj had previously modelled for and been the face of several high-profile designer brands before signing with Wilhelmina Models.

In May 2017, Minaj opened the 2017 Billboard Music Awards with a medley performance that was described by Elias Leight of Rolling Stone as "flamboyantly produced" and "dexterous". Throughout the remainder of 2017, Minaj performed guest verses on several singles, including Migos' "MotorSport" and Yo Gotti's "Rake It Up", both of which peaked in the top ten in the U.S., at numbers six and eight, respectively. She also featured on Katy Perry's "Swish Swish", which was certified platinum in the U.S. and Canada. Minaj's recording contract with Young Money expired in 2017.

2018–2019: Queen

After a social media hiatus, Minaj released two singles from her fourth studio album Queen. She released "Chun-Li" and "Barbie Tingz" simultaneously on April 12, 2018, with both reaching number ten and number twenty-five in the US respectively. She performed "Chun-Li" on Saturday Night Live and the 2018 BET Awards. While "Chun Li" appears on the tracklist of the album, "Barbie Tingz" is only included on the Target version of the album. On the red carpet of the 2018 Met Gala, she announced the title of the album and the original release date. "Rich Sex" featuring Lil Wayne was released on June 11, 2018, as the first promotional single from Queen. The second single, "Bed", featuring Ariana Grande was released on June 14, 2018, alongside the album pre-order, reaching number 42 on the Hot 100. Additionally, Minaj appeared as a featured artist on the song "Fefe" along with Murda Beatz and Tekashi 6ix9ine. It debuted at number four in the US, marking Minaj's highest debut on the chart at the time, besting the sixth place start of "Bang Bang" in 2014. It later peaked at number three and was added to Queen in the middle of its first tracking week. The day before the album's release, Minaj launched her own Beats 1 (now branded as Apple Music 1) radio show, Queen Radio. It became the most-listened radio show on Apple Music in 2019, and ran for 17 episodes till February 2020. Guests on the show included Ariana Grande, 50 Cent, and Chance the Rapper, among others.Queen received multiple delays before finally being released on August 10, 2018. It debuted at number two on the U.S. Billboard 200 with 185,000 album-equivalent units, of which 78,000 came from pure album sales. It also debuted at number five in the UK and at number four in Australia, marking Minaj's highest debut in the latter country. Minaj later expressed frustration and criticized several people including Travis Scott, whose album Astroworld claimed the top spot for a second week in a row, blocking Queen from the top spot. Minaj alleged that Travis Scott sold shirts, merchandise, and ticket passes for an unnannounced tour to boost his album sales. This controversy and Queen's roll-out was documented by several news outlets and commentators. Queen received generally positive reviews, with some critics deriding the album's length and direction. The album was certified Platinum by the RIAA in January 2019, for moving over 1 million equivalent units.

Minaj performed at the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards where she also won her fourth MTV Video Music Award for the "Chun-Li" music video. The same month, she featured on the remix of "Idol" by South Korean boy band BTS. It debuted and peaked at number eleven in the U.S. which was the group's second highest-charting song at the time. She also featured on the song "Woman Like Me" by British girl group Little Mix, which was released on October 12, 2018. A music video was shortly released after, with Minaj and Little Mix later performing the song together at the 2018 MTV Europe Music Awards. She was also featured on "Dip" by American rapper Tyga which reached number sixty-three in the U.S. making her the first female artist to have 100 entries on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. She later attended the year-end Billboard Women in Music event, receiving the Game Changer Award for the accomplishment.

In September, Minaj co-headlined the annual Made in America Festival and suffered another wardrobe malfunction when the front of her outfit fell open. In November, she was invited to the DWP music festival in China but did not perform due to problems with the company hosting the event. The next year in April 2019, Minaj made a surprise guest appearance at the 2019 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival during Ariana Grande's set where they performed their collaborations "Side to Side" and "Bang Bang". However, she experienced technical difficulties with her earpiece. Later that month, Minaj parted ways with her longtime management team after a mutual agreement, with American entertainment executive Irving Azoff serving as her new manager.

In June 2019, Minaj released a standalone single titled "Megatron" along with an accompanying music video. In the U.S., the song debuted at number twenty. A month later, she provided information on her upcoming fifth studio album, appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, stating that "there's definitely a new album, of course." She featured on the song "Hot Girl Summer" alongside fellow female rapper Megan Thee Stallion in August 2019, which reached number eleven in the U.S. Minaj had a voice role as Pinky in The Angry Birds Movie 2, which was released in August 2019. In November, Minaj appeared on the Charlie's Angels: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack on the song "Bad To You", along with Ariana Grande and Normani, marking her sixth collaboration with Grande. Minaj also collaborated with Colombian singer Karol G on the song "Tusa", which was released to streaming platforms on November 7. The song reached forty-two in the U.S. and reached the top of many other charts including the "Hot Latin Songs" chart, which made it the first song with two lead female artists to debut in such position. "Tusa" later became the longest-running number one single in Argentina, spending five months on the top of the chart.

2020–2021: Beam Me Up Scotty re-release

In January 2020, Minaj was featured on "Nice to Meet Ya" by American singer-songwriter Meghan Trainor. In February, she released a standalone song called "Yikes" as a promotional single. By the end of that month, Minaj appeared as a guest judge on the twelfth season's premiere of the reality television show RuPaul's Drag Race. In May, fellow rapper Doja Cat announced a collaboration with Minaj on two remixes of her song "Say So". The remix later debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, becoming both Minaj and Doja Cat's first single to reach number one in the U.S. It became the first collaboration between two female rappers to reach number one in the U.S., and the first female artist collaboration to top the chart since "Fancy" by Australian rapper Iggy Azalea featuring English singer Charli XCX did it in 2014. A month later, she released a collaboration with 6ix9ine called "Trollz", which debuted at number one in the U.S. becoming her second number one single. This made her the first female rapper to debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 since Lauryn Hill did so in 1998 with "Doo Wop (That Thing)".

Minaj featured on singer Ty Dolla Sign's track "Expensive" in August 2020. She continued to appear as a featured artist on several songs in late 2020 and released "What That Speed Bout!?" with producer Mike Will Made It and rapper YoungBoy Never Broke Again on November 6. She was the most-streamed female rapper of the year on Spotify. On the 10th anniversary of her debut album Pink Friday (2010), Minaj announced a six-part docuseries about her, produced by Bron Studios and was originally said to premiere on HBO Max. In 2022, the streaming platform confirmed it dropped the still-unreleased project.

Minaj has advocated for religious freedom and against political persecution. In 2015, she commented on the Charleston church shooting, in which multiple people were murdered in a church. In 2018, Minaj spoke out against the separation of families at the border in the U.S., posting: "I can't imagine the horror of being in a strange place & having my parents stripped away from me at the age of 5.... Please stop this. Can you try to imagine the terror & panic these kids feel right now? Not knowing if their parents are dead or alive". In 2020, she supported End SARS, a series of protests against police brutality in Nigeria, stating: "Standing with & praying for the brave young people of Nigeria who are on the front lines of this senseless violence. Your voice is being heard."

In a 2023 interview, Minaj said, "I'm one of those people who doesn't go with a crowd. I like to make my own assessment of everything without help from everyone." She rejected being told who she should campaign for, stating: "there's a lot we don't know that's going on in the government, and I don't think it changes whether you lean to the left or right."

In November 2025, Minaj denounced violence against Christians in Nigeria in a social media post: "No group should ever be persecuted for practicing their religion... We don't have to share the same beliefs in order for us to respect each other." She later delivered a speech at the United Nations advocating for an end to the religious violence, stating: "Sadly, this problem is not only a growing problem in Nigeria, but also in so many other countries around the world... religious freedom means we all sing our faith regardless of who we are, where we live and what we believe." Her remarks gained media attention, particularly for her support of sitting U.S. President Donald Trump's stance on the issue.

In December 2025, Minaj criticized California governor Gavin Newsom's statement that he wants "to see trans kids", commenting: "Imagine being the guy running on wanting to see trans kids.... Not even a trans ADULT would run on that. Normal adults wake up & think they want to see healthy, safe, happy kids."

She was later interviewed by Erika Kirk at a Turning Point USA conference, where she commented on various topics, including her journey as a Christian and the reasons she chose to speak out on these issues. Minaj said that those who are intolerant of people worshiping God should not be in power. On why her decision was seen as controversial, she stated: We're not allowed to have a different opinion, we're not allowed to think out loud... And especially for the young people, I don't want them growing up in a world where they feel like that. They deserve for their voices to be heard, they have valid feelings, and they're thinking about things, and it deserves attention.

On why she spoke up, Minaj stated that she "got tired of being pushed around... then you realize 'I have something inside of me that's stronger than what's out there'", adding, "In a world that doesn't want us to think, we will think. By ourselves, on our own." Subsequent to these events, media outlets characterized Minaj's views as having become more conservative, contrasting them with her previous criticism of the anti-immigration policies enacted during the first presidency of Donald Trump.

Minaj endorsed Republican candidates in the 2026 United States midterm elections.