There’s no talking about influence in hip-hop music without including Nicki Minaj. Back in December of 2023, Minaj released her fifth studio album “Pink Friday 2” (PF2) and later in 2024 she began her tour. This tour broke records by becoming the highest-grossing female rap tour of all time. With all of the success from the PF2 era, why does her influence not get the attention it deserves?
The “Pink Friday 2” Album sold over 228 thousand units within its first week of sales and debuted at first on Billboard’s Hot 200 chart. This success solidifies the fact that she is the greatest female rapper of all time, also known as the “Queen of Rap.”
Award shows are around the corner, specifically, the Grammys on Feb. 1. Minaj received no nominations for Best Rap Album or Best Rap Performance. Nicki Minaj once said, “No grammy still the goat though… Awards aren’t the epitome of success, success is within streams, sales and promo.”
The rollout from album to tour couldn’t have been any better. Minaj made appearances, performed at Jingle Ball and appeared on podcasts to promote the album and soon-to-be tour. Minaj’s tour was extremely successful; the first leg of concerts were all sold out shows, prompting the offer to do a second leg of the tour. She ended up doing roughly 80 shows in total.
I attended three of her concerts last year and can say everything about it felt right and perfect. Minaj involved many special guests like Drake, Tyga and Sexyy Red, which is always a fun addition when attending any concert. Her set was outstanding and each transition of the show captured moments throughout her career. As groundbreaking as the “Pink Friday 2” tour was, I feel like her light was dimmed because of her “competition.”
There’s a common trend in music where artists take shots at each other, and when they dish it, they have to take it, but those rules don’t apply to Minaj. She does what she wants, and award shows and platforms snub her.
Overall it’s disappointing to see that people can’t recognize when something is pure greatness. Seeing someone who worked so hard and broke records not get an opportunity to get rewarded is annoying and upsetting, but with or without the awards or nominations, you can’t take away her actual talent and success.
