Top Nicki Minaj Moments of 2010
BET.com looks back at the rap star's amazing year.
1 / 20
The Year of the Nicki - To say it’s been quite a year for Nicki Minaj would be an understatement. In 2010, the Southside Jamaica, Queens, femme fatale single-handedly brought female MCs back to prominence by scoring the first no. 1 record by a femcee in eight years and generating the second-highest first week by a female rapper since Lauryn Hill, among other feats. Jay-Z, Kanye West and Ludacris are just a few of the super-MCs she’s outshined on wax. BET.com looks back at Nicki Minaj’s incredible year.
2 / 20
Rip the Runway - Then still a relative newcomer, Nicki co-hosted BET’s Rip the Runway with The Game actor Pooch Hall back in February. She later performed at BET's Spring Bling.
3 / 20
Massive Flop - Ms. Minaj’s first single, “Massive Attack,” didn’t exactly go according to plan. Featuring and co-produced by Sean Garrett, this dancehall-inspired single failed to match the hype Nick had built up via her scene-stealing guest appearances. The song was panned by critics, but Nick would eventually have the last word.
4 / 20
No.1 - Not only did Minaj’s “Your Love” prove she could hold a song down on her own, the single climbed to the Hip-Hop/R&B chart’s top spot—making it the first no. 1 by a female MC in eight years.
5 / 20
The Home Team - Shortly after Nicki let Deb Antney of Mizay Entertainment go, rumors began circulating that she was being co-managed by Diddy and industry veteran James Cruz through Puff’s Blue Flame agency. While Puff and Nick have both denied the business ties, Cruz is never too far behind Nick. One thing is for sure: Whoever reps Nick knows what he or she’s doing.
ADVERTISEMENT
6 / 20
No Tour, No Beef - Back in April, Nick decided to stay home and work on Pink Friday rather than join Rihanna for her Last Girl on Earth tour. Rumors then surfaced that she dropped off Rih-Rih’s tour for Gaga’s. Talk of tension between the two artists later ceased when they released two songs together, “Raining Men” on Rihanna’s album and “Fly” on Nicki’s.
7 / 20
Too Sexy for My… - Despite shedding her Nicki Lewinsky moniker and straying away from provocative poses like her homage to Lil’ Kim’s King magazine shoot, Nick’s sex appeal and sexuality became a big topic of conversation in 2010. She told Vibe magazine she doesn’t date or have sex with women, but that didn’t stop other media outlets from continuing to obsess over her sexuality.
8 / 20
All She Does Is Win - With her album still five months away, Nick won a major award when she took home Best Female Hip Hop Artist at the BET Awards back in June.
9 / 20
100 Percent Real - Nicki’s curvaceous physique has also been the talk of the industry all year. In an interview with the New York Post, she denied using butt pads to enhance her appearance. "Absolutely not!" she said. "People will pick anything to talk about, and that happens to be the thing at the moment. I love being a conversation piece."
10 / 20
Hat Trick - Ms. Minaj upped the ante by taking home three awards at the Hip Hop Awards in October. She won in the Rookie of the Year, Made You Look and People’s Champ categories.
ADVERTISEMENT
11 / 20
Darling Nicki - As her popularity grew, Nick became every publication’s dream cover subject. She graced the covers of major magazines like Complex, XXL, Billboard and Vibe, just to name a few.
12 / 20
Check It Out - Furious at accusations that she lip-synched her way through her BET Awards performance, Nick put her all into her MTV Award pre-show performance. She premiered “Check It Out,” featuring will.i.am; the single later reached no. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100.
13 / 20
The Scariest Rapper - Nick received possibly her biggest co-sign when Kanye West told Hot 97 radio personality Angie Martinez that the Barb had the potential to become the second biggest rapper of all time, behind Eminem. He then announced that Nick was featured on his album, and that the verse she contributed would validate his statement.
14 / 20
I Do - Aside from a brief Diddy rumor, Nicki’s amazingly managed to avoid the rumor mill when it comes to her love life. Well, until the Barb and her label mate Drake caused an uproar when they decided to play off Drizzy’s “Miss Me” line and announce their marriage via Twitter. They were joking all along. Nicki later revealed that Drake wrote Alicia Keys’ “Un-Thinkable” with her in mind; he confirmed that to BET.com.
15 / 20
Beauty Is a Beast! - Kanye West warned us about Nicki Minaj’s spectacular performance on his album. It turns out he actually undersold her guest appearance. The general consensus is that the Queens femcee owned the track, "Monster," which also features Yeezy, Jay-Z and Rick Ross. The song proved she had more heat in her rhyme book than her haters believed.
ADVERTISEMENT
16 / 20
Record-Breaker - Nicki’s guest appearances paid off. Not only did they fuel her buzz, they earned her a place in music history. The Harajuku Barbie became the first femcee to chart seven songs on the Billboard Hot 100 in the same year. Furthermore, those seven singles combined for a total of 4,298,000 copies sold.
17 / 20
Barb Takes the Gloves Off - After keeping quiet for months, Nick finally responded to Lil’ Kim’s relentless jabs on the Eminem-featured “Roman’s Revenge.” Featuring a more aggressive Nicki, the track turned a one-sided sparring match into an official feud. It’s Barbie, trick!
18 / 20
No Idea’s Original - Though comparisons to Lady Gaga began early in her career, she didn’t address them until Billboard magazine dubbed her "the First Lady [Gaga] of Hip-Hop” in its November 2010 cover story.
19 / 20
Boobographs - Signing boobs has long been part of Nicki’s routine with her legion of Barbies. Only days after the Philbin incident, Nick visited Lopez Tonight and received a barb-wire booty protector as a gift courtesy of funnyman George Lopez. He later became the first man to let Nick sign his man-boob.