Nicki Minaj Just Achieved a Feat No Female Rapper Has Done Since Lauryn Hill in 1998
Hit-making rapper Nicki Minaj has been regarded as a hip-hop pioneer since she burst onto the scene at the turn of the last decade. While her musical stylings often differentiate from that of other iconic women in hip-hop like Lauryn Hill, Minaj has shown that she can carry on artists like Hill’s legacy. Now, both Minaj and Hill share an achievement that no other women in music can lay claim to.
Nicki Minaj’s song “Super Freaky Girl” went No. 1
Minaj released her single “Super Freaky Girl” in August 2022 as the third single from her upcoming fifth studio album. The song samples Rick James’ 1981 hit “Super Freak,” which has become ubiquitous in music thanks to MC Hammer’s 1990 smash “U Can’t Touch This.”
“Super Freaky Girl” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming the rapper’s first solo No. 1 song and her highest debut. She’d previously earned No. 1s for “Say So” and “Trollz,” her collaborations with Doja Cat and 6ix9ine, respectively.
Lauryn Hill was a record-setting rapper in the 1990s
In 1998, Lauryn Hill released her seminal album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. The album is considered to be one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time, becoming the first hip-hop album to win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. (To date, only one other album — OutKast’s 2003 double album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below — has earned the same honor.)
In the week’s leading up to The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill‘s release, she released her song “Doo Wop (That Thing)” as the lead single from the album and her first-ever solo single. The song debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the first song by a female rapper to do so.
For over two decades, Hill remained the only femcee to have a song debut at No. 1 on the Hot 100. But in 2022, Minaj joined Hill as the only other woman rapper in Hot 100 history to have a song debut at No. 1 thanks to “Super Freaky Girl.”
In the years since Hill’s debut, only a few female rappers have been able to reach the top of the Hot 100. Megan Thee Stallion, Iggy Azalea, Cardi B, and Lizzo have all notched top spots on the chart over the years.
Nicki Minaj has respect for Lauryn Hill
While Minaj has often emphasized her dominance over other women in hip-hop, she also has given respect where it’s due. In 2016, she met Hill for the first time and fell to the floor to bow down at her feet. She recounted the experience in an interview on The Breakfast Club.
“Such a surreal moment. I couldn’t control myself. I was at a loss for words, and she was super sweet and gracious and I was not expecting that,” Minaj said.
“She was in the room right next to me the whole time, and I was kinda nervous to even run into her in the hallway, and then all of a sudden, I literally said the words, ‘Do y’all realize my idol is right there?’ and within 30 seconds of me saying that, she walked into my room.”
