New kid on the block Nicki Minaj has finally topped the US Billboard Albums Chart, 11 weeks after her maiden album Pink Friday was released. This is yet another huge accomplishment for the First Lady of Young Money Entertainment and further secure her the throne of the queen of Hip Hop – of our time anywhere.
According to Billboard this is a very rare and unusual sighting, since an artist will only score a #1 spot on the albums chart only after debuting there. This past year only Lil Wayne’s “I Am Not A Human Being” managed to accomplish the same feat out of the 30 albums that scored a #1.
“We finally did it! PINK FRIDAY is the #1 Album in the United States of America”, Minaj tweeted after finding out she was #1.
Before Pink Friday went to #1 on the chart on its 11th week, the last album that took such a long time to climb to the top spot was Ray Charles’ “Genius Loves Company” in 2005 on its 25th week. This was mainly attributed to the album winning a grammy for album of the year.
Much like Charles’ album, Pink Friday’s rise to the top is also being attributed to sustainable promotional impact by Minaj’s “Saturday Night Live” stint on January 30.
Pink Friday, which has spent its entire chart span within the top 10 of the chart, also this week crosses the 1 million total sales mark since it was released.
Pink Friday made a strong debut at #2 on the Billboard 200 charts back in November late last year, selling 375,000 copies, refused a peak on top by Kanye West’s “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy”. This made Minaj the first female MC to boast such a huge opening week, since Lauryn Hill’s 1998 offering “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” sold 423,000 copies.
Minaj is arguably the best female hip hop act we have seen in recent years. Minaj is the quintessence of the evolution of Hip Hop, which has become more glossy over the years.
One might go as far as to say she is the Lauryn Hill of the new decade. Sure Hill was more artsy and modest in appearance, but the comparison is there. The two ladies have managed to hold their own in a male dominated industry.
