Nicki Minaj has landed a number of records in her decade-plus-long career and while it’s been almost three years since she released an album, her last one being 2018’s Queen, the rapper is still finding ways to label herself as a one of a kind rapper.
More than six years after the music video’s release, Minaj’s The Pinkprint highlight, “Anaconda,” has reached a billion views on YouTube. The impressive feat makes her the first female rapper to reach the ten-digit number with a solo song on the platform.
“Anaconda” by @NickiMinaj has reached 1 BILLION views on YouTube.
It becomes the first solo female rap song in HISTORY to achieve this. pic.twitter.com/EDSKAPZn8T
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) April 3, 2021
With “Anaconda” surpassing a billion views, Minaj also ties Katy Perry and Rihanna for the most overall music videos with more than a billion views on YouTube, that being six. The other videos from the Pink Friday rapper’s catalog to accomplish this include “Bang. Bang” with Jessie J and Ariana Grande, “Hey Mama” with David Guetta, Bebe Rexha, and Afrojack, and “Swalla,” with Jason Derulo and Ty Dolla Sign.
While the news may be a reason to celebrate for the rapper, it comes a little over a year after she listed “Anaconda” as one of three songs she wished she never recorded. She said this during a Q&A session with entertainment executive Irving Azoff at Beverly Hills’ Pollstar Live Conference and added “Starships” and “Your Love” to the list. “I was like, ‘Why did I do this?’” she joked during the conversation.
