Nicki Minaj ‘Super Freaky Girl’ Debuts #1 On Billboard Hot 100

Author: Kara B (Twitter: @KaraBrazey20)

A moment in the making. Nicki Minaj’s “Super Freaky Girl”, a sample of the late great Rick James’classic “Super Freak”, is sitting in the coveted #1 spot atop the Billboard Hot 100. As of August 22, 2022, “Super Freaky Girl” dethrones Beyoncé’s“Break My Soul” 2 weeks run, as the most popular song in America, across all genres. Making Nicki Minaj the first female rapper to debut a solo #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 this century and the first female rapper to debut a solo song at #1 since Lauryn Hill’s “Doo Wop (That Thing)” in 1998. With a now total of three Hot 100 #1 debuts, “Super Freaky Girl” makes Ms. Minaj’s first solo #1 on the chart.

This is unprecedented in female rap and proves the impact, artistry and influence Ms. Minaj has not just in the industry, but her ability to continuously resonate with the listener. Coming out of the pandemic, we needed an organic song that would do what music has done since inception; make us dance, feel good and sing into our imaginary microphones.

“Super Freaky Girl” has broken a lot of records and set a precedence in female rap that will never be undone. It has become customary within the past 4-5 years to build up female rap artist with adjectives ill-suited for them, to manipulate the algorithm and sway the mind of the public. So, when real music SUPERSTARS like Nicki Minaj are being discussed and achievements being acknowledged, the public at times will downplay it. Nicki Minaj is not an “influencer rapper” she is a superstar in every sense of the word. Take a scroll with me as we break down this momentous moment in history. 

The success of “Super Freaky Girl” was 100% fan and listener driven. There was no “For the Culture” moment for this song or any of Ms. Minaj’s previous releases. We didn’t see nationally syndicated radio shows and DJ’s championing for the success of “Super Freaky Girl”, even when it broke records within 24 hours of its release. I saw no massive media campaign to get Nicki Minaj to #1 “For the Culture”. Instead you saw Nicki Minaj fans (barbz) pushing and promoting the song online. Organic success. Let’s make this clear, Nicki Minaj fans don’t need a new release to push her music. “LLC” a song from Ms. Minaj’s 2018 album “Queen” was pushed to #1 on iTunes last year because “barbz” can and they did. Even though they have daily streaming parties, the tenacity with which they were pushing “Super Freaky Girl” was mesmerizing. You can click on the Nicki Minaj Topic on Twitter and see “barbz” posting streaming and buying receipts in real time. There is one thing the Kingdom doesn’t do, and that is play about Nicki Minaj.

And yet without that machine push, Nicki Minaj’s “Super Freaky Girl” still rose to the top with the organic push of her fans and music listeners around the world. Let me expound on that to get the full context of this historic moment. With only 4.6 million in radio play, “Super Freaky Girl” dethroned “Break My Soul” which has 68 million in radio play. How you ask? Simple, the fans pushed the song with streams and sales to compensate for the lack of radio play given to others. We have seen songs garner as much as 30-50 million in radio within its debut week. Checking the other metrics for the songs show low streams and sales but radio compensates for that. That has been the Goliath, Ms. Minaj has been up against and continues to slay.

“Super Freaky Girl” was released on the merit of the artist talent, not fancy visuals compensating for lackluster talent. Mind you, “Super Freaky Girl” can be described as raunchy by some listeners, so for it to break these records without a video, is astounding.Do you all realize how difficult it can be to sell a raunchy, sexual type song without a visual? Don’t ask any of the new girls, they can’t tell you lol. But this brings us back to a critical point, Nicki Minaj’s career isn’t built off visuals and aesthetics. She honed on her talent and cultivated her fanbase with her own persona. And we see the reflection of that today, because she can stand on the very thing that bought us to her in the first place. Talent. This release is reminiscent of older music eras when artist released their music to be enjoyed and singed to. Not for bot farms and couch potatoes to run up YouTube views in a desperate attempt to manipulate the algorithm and fraudulently increase streams. Organic success. 

I would be remised if the power of Ms. Minaj’s fanbase, affectionately dubbed “barbz” were not mentioned in the success of “Super Freaky Girl”. Ms. Minaj is very much aware of the loyalty and admiration her fans have for her. She also understands her fans aren’t hybrid crossover IG fans and expect the best lyrically and vocally from her. With “Super Freaky Girl”, she was able to do something a lot of rap/crossover artist can’t do…feed the different factions of her fanbase off one song. That takes skill and being in tuned with what your audience expects of you, awareness of your own capabilities, vision and the dexterity to intertwine them while staying true to a classic sample of RnB legend Rick James (RIP). Ms. Minaj’s ear for music, willingness to step outside the box and push herself beyond the confines of “female rapper” is why she has been reigning Queen of Rap for 15 years with no signs of letting up.

 Since its release on August 12, 2022, “Super Freaky Girl” has broken records galore. Let’s highlight some of the amazing accolades and stats to understand the gravity of this momentous and historical moment. With a staggering 18,540,895 streams, “Super Freaky Girl” is the biggest weekly debut for any female rap solo song on Global Spotify Weekly Charts (#16) in history. The release of “Super Freaky Girl” extends Ms. Minaj’s record as the rapper with the most #1’s in iTunes history with 29 totals. Within 5 days of release, Super Freaky Girl had sold over 100,000 units in the USA.And is now the biggest debut for a solo female rap song in Spotify history, surpassing Doja Cat’s “Ain’t Sh!t”; debuting at #13 on the Global Spotify chart with an astounding 3.021 million streams. The hit single accumulated a whopping 1.5 million U.S Spotify streams within the first 24 hours of tracking. Absolutely amazing.

Nicki Minaj continues to break records 15 years into her career. Who would have thought when Lil Wayne (GOAT) brought her into the Young Money crew, Ms. Minaj would be more talented, versatile, impactful, influential than the current crop of female rappers 15 years later. With the success of “Super Freaky Girl” Ms. Minaj proves that she is the force to be reckoned with.

Booker T. Washington is quoted as saying “You measure the size of the accomplishment by the obstacles you have to overcome to reach your goals”. He was right. Congratulations Nicki, this is your time, your moment.