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Cx1DJs We Do Things Different Podcast "Untold Stories of Nore" hosted by DJButterrock
Victor James Santiago Jr. (born September 6, 1977), better known by his stage names N.O.R.E. (an acronym for Nigga On the Run Eating) and Noreaga,[a] is an American rapper and podcaster. Santiago first rose to prominence as one half of the East Coast hip-hop duo Capone-N-Noreaga, which he formed in 1995 with fellow Queens-based rapper Capone. The duo released five studio albums, briefly disbanding after their second to pursue solo careers.

Santiago signed with Penalty Recordings as a solo artist to release his self-titled debut studio album in 1998.[b] The album peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 and spawned the Billboard Hot 100-top 40 single "Superthug". He followed up with his second album, Melvin Flynt – Da Hustler (1999) before signing with Def Jam Recordings to release his third album, God's Favorite (2002). Matching his debut in chart position, it spawned his highest charting-single "Nothin'" (featuring Pharrell), which peaked at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100. He signed with Jay-Z's Roc-La-Familia to release his fourth album N.O.R.E. y la Familia...Ya Tú Sabe (2006), which saw his departure from hip hop in favor of reggaeton. It spawned the single "Oye Mi Canto" (featuring Nina Sky and Daddy Yankee), which peaked at number 12 on the chart.[2]

His independently-released fifth and sixth albums, Noreality (2007) and Student of the Game (2013) marked his return to East Coast hip hop. The latter narrowly entered the Billboard 200 and was issued through fellow New York rapper Busta Rhymes' Conglomerate label, although Santiago has since launched his own label imprint, Militainment Business. He signed with Nas' Mass Appeal Records to release his seventh album, 5E (2018).

Outside of music, Santiago is the co-host (with DJ EFN) of the talk show and podcast Drink Champs, which centers around celebrity interviews. The show has been described as "The Premier Hip Hop Interview Show" and won "Best Hip Hop Platform" at the 2022 BET Hip Hop Awards.[3]

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Cx1DJs We Do Things Different Podcast "Untold Stories of Fabolous" hosted by DJButterrock
John David Jackson (born November 18, 1977), known professionally as Fabolous (/ˈfæbələs/, FAB-ə-ləs),[1] is an American rapper. Raised in Brooklyn, he first gained recognition for his ability upon performing live on DJ Clue's Hot 97 radio show. Jackson then signed to Clue's record label Desert Storm Records, in a joint venture with Elektra Records. He rose to further prominence with his debut studio album Ghetto Fabolous (2001), which spawned the hit singles "Can't Deny It" (featuring Nate Dogg) and "Young'n (Holla Back)." Adopting a further commercially-oriented approach, his second album, Street Dreams (2003), was supported by the singles "Can't Let You Go" (featuring Lil' Mo) and "Into You" (featuring Tamia or Ashanti)—both of which peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100.

In 2004, Jackson signed with Atlantic Records—another subsidiary of Warner Music Group—to release his third album Real Talk (2004), which saw continued success as his only project with the label. In 2006, he signed with Def Jam Recordings—owned by Warner competitor Universal Music Group—and founded his own label imprint, Street Family Records. His fourth and fifth albums, From Nothin' to Somethin' (2007) and Loso's Way (2009), both yielded his furthest commercial success, peaking at numbers two and one on the Billboard 200, respectively. Between his studio albums, he amassed a number of self-released mixtapes, including several installments in his There Is No Competition, The S.O.U.L. Tape, and Summertime Shootout series. He released his sixth and seventh albums, The Young OG Project (2014) and Summertime Shootout 3: Coldest Summer Ever (2019), to continued positive reception.

Jackson's series of hits in the 2000s includes "Trade It All, Pt. 2" (featuring Diddy and Jagged Edge), "Breathe," "Make Me Better" (featuring Ne-Yo), "Baby Don't Go" (featuring T-Pain), "Throw It in the Bag" (featuring The-Dream) and "You Be Killin' Em". He is also known for his appearances on R&B singles such as "Superwoman Pt. II" by Lil' Mo, "Dip It Low" by Christina Milian, "Shawty Is a 10" by The-Dream, "Addiction" by Ryan Leslie, "She Got Her Own" by Jamie Foxx, and "Say Aah" by Trey Songz. Jackson has been nominated for two Grammy Awards.

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Cx1DJs We Do Things Different Podcast "Untold Stories of Young MA" hosted by DJButterrock Katorah Kasanova Marrero (born April 3, 1992),[1] better known by her stage name Young M.A (acronym for Young Me. Always), is an American rapper. She is best known for her 2016 single "Ooouuu", which peaked at number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 and received quadruple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Its accompanying music video also became a viral hit, receiving over 400 million views on YouTube by 2019.[2] Marrero's debut studio album, Herstory in the Making (2019), peaked at number 16 on the Billboard 200 and was met with positive critical reception.

Following the song's success, Marrero was nominated for BET's Artist of the Year and MTV's Female Hip-Hop Artist of the Year awards.[3][4] She has been featured in advertising for Google Pixel 2, Beats By Dre and Pandora. In 2018, she was featured on the annual Forbes 30 Under 30[5] and launched the non-profit KWEENZ Foundation with her mother.

Early life and education
Katorah Marrero was born on 3 April 1992 in Brooklyn, New York.[6] Her mother is Jamaican, and her father is Puerto Rican.[7] Her father was incarcerated when she was a year old and was not released until she was 11, spending approximately 10 years behind bars. With the absence of her father, Marrero grew close to her brother, Kenneth Ramos, and her mother. When Marrero was 7, her mother decided to relocate to Chesterfield, as it provided better school facilities and her children would remain away from the violence of East New York. In Virginia, she started to play tackle football.[8] When she was 10, Marrero started to write rhymes in her schoolbooks. Her mother encouraged her and purchased a karaoke machine, which she would set up as a makeshift studio in her closet.[9] In 2010, she graduated from Sheepshead Bay High School.[10]

When she was a child, Young M.A exhibited a passion for music. When she began seriously focusing on music as an adult, she self-funded a recording studio with local record producers while working at the Shake Shack and T.J. Maxx.[11] In 2014, she gained notoriety when a Facebook post criticized her song "Brooklyn Chiraq", a freestyle to Nicki Minaj and G Herbo "ChiRaq"; the song then went viral.[12] The post's author, pundit Boyce Watkins, said the song promoted "violent, negative, and genocidal energy", but the controversy expanded Young M.A's name recognition and brought new listeners to her work.[13] In 2015, Young M.A released a new song, "Body Bag", which became a "YouTube hit", said Rolling Stone,[12] along with the release of her mixtape called Sleep Walkin', which MTV described as a "thoughtful debut project".[14]

In 2016, Young M.A released her official debut single, "Ooouuu,"[11] which peaked at number 19 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.[15] In September 2016, the song had nearly 7 million plays on Spotify[16] and was widely remixed by other rappers and hip-hop artists such as Remy Ma, French Montana, Nicki Minaj, Jadakiss, Uncle Murda, ASAP Ferg, Bryan Mathers and Tink, all of whom released their versions of the song.[13] Stereogum's Tom Breihan said "Ooouuu" was "a brash, intense, hard-as-fuck piece of rider music... the song feels like it marks the arrival of a major rap talent."[17] The Fader said Young M.A has "[established] herself as a quintessential New York MC",[18] and MTV's Doreen St. Félix said, "This summer, the atmosphere belongs to Young M.A and her single 'OOOUUU.'"[14] The song's popularity drew attention from labels, though M.A remains an independent artist.[19]

At the 2016 BET Hip Hop Awards, she performed a freestyle on a cypher and performed "Ooouuu", giving what XXL Magazine described as "show-stopping freestyle... one of the best freestyles of the night". Despite the enthusiasm for her performance, Young M.A expressed disappointment, saying BET cut out a portion of her performance.[20] Remy Ma featured M.A at Hot 97's Summer Jam 2017, where she performed alongside other female rap greats. M.A was quoted as saying "There's been a lot of opportunities, and of course a lot of money, but then there's the downside: you lose a lot of people that were once around you once their true colors start to show".

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Cx1DJs We Do Things Different Podcast "Untold Stories of Dr Dre" hosted by DJButterrock
Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper, record producer, record executive, and actor. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and co-founder of Death Row Records. He has made albums with many rappers through their careers, including Snoop Dogg, Eminem, 50 Cent and The Game. As of 2022, Dr. Dre is ranked as the fifth richest rapper by Forbes and is worth $400 million.[1][2] Dre began his career in music as a member of the World Class Wreckin' Cru and he later found fame with the gangsta rap group N.W.A. with Eazy-E, Ice Cube, MC Ren, and DJ Yella which made the use of swear words in rap songs in rap to tell about the violence of street life popular. During the 2000s, he produced music for other artists, while sometimes rapping with other artists' on their songs. Dr. Dre signed Eminem to his Aftermath record label in 1998 and 50 Cent in 2003 helping to make their albums with them. Rolling Stone magazine said Dr. Dre was one of the richest performers in 2001 and 2004. Dr. Dre was also in movies such as Set It Off, and the 2001 movies The Wash and Training Day.

Early career
Because he liked Grandmaster Flash, he often went to a club called The Eve After Dark to see a lot of DJs and rappers performing live. He then became a DJ in the club, at first under the name "Dr. J", his favourite basketball player. At the club, he met DJ Yella for the first time. Soon afterwards he started using the name Dr. Dre, half his old nickname, and half his first name, also calling himself as the Master of Mixology. He later joined the musical group World Class Wreckin' Cru in 1984. The group would become stars of the electro-hop scene that was really popular in early 1980s West Coast hip hop, and their first hit Surgery would feature Dr. Dre on the turntables and sell 50,000 tapes within Compton.[3] Dr. Dre and DJ Yella also did mixes for local radio stations, making the ratings for it's show Afternoon Traffic Jam go higher.[4] Dr. Dre's earliest songs were released in 1994 on a CD called Concrete Roots. He was a diver in high school, but because he skipped school a lot, he was kicked off the team. After high school, he went to Chester Adult School in Compton because his mother told him to get a job or go back to school. After going to a broadcasting school for a little bit, he moved to his father's house, and then his grandparents house before going back to his mother's house.[5] He later dropped out of Chester to focus on performing at the Eve's After Dark nightclub.

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Cx1DJs We Do Things Different Podcast "Untold Stories of Clive Davis" hosted by DJButterrock live Jay Davis (April 4, 1932 – June 22, 2026) was an American record executive, A&R executive, record producer and lawyer. He won four Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as a non-performer, in 2000.[1]

From 1967 to 1973, Davis was the president of Columbia Records. He was the founder and president of Arista Records from 1974 through 2000 until founding J Records. From 2002 until April 2008, he was chair and CEO of the RCA Music Group (which included RCA Records, J Records, and Arista Records), chair and CEO of J Records, and chair and CEO of BMG North America.

Davis is credited with having hired a young recording artist, Tony Orlando, as a music executive for Columbia in 1967 who provided Barry Manilow with his first recording contract a few years later.[2] He signed many artists who achieved significant success, including Pink Floyd; Sly and the Family Stone; Janis Joplin; Laura Nyro; Santana; Bruce Springsteen; Chicago; Earth, Wind & Fire; Aerosmith; Billy Joel; Donovan; the Bay City Rollers; Blood, Sweat & Tears; Luther Vandross; Loggins and Messina; Ace of Base; Olivia Longott; Westlife; and Gavin DeGraw. He is also credited with having brought Whitney Houston and Barry Manilow to prominence.[3]

He served as the chief creative officer of Sony Music Entertainment from 2008 until his death in 2026.[4]

Early life and education
Clive Jay Davis was born on April 4, 1932, in Brooklyn, New York City, to Jewish parents,[5] Herman and Florence Davis. His father worked as an electrician and salesman.[6] Davis was raised in Crown Heights, Brooklyn,[6] and attended Erasmus Hall High School.[7]

His mother died at age 47, and his father died the following year while Davis was still a teenager. He then moved in with his married sister, who lived in Bayside, Queens.[6]

Davis attended New York University College of Arts & Science, graduating[6] magna cum laude with a degree in political science[8] and Phi Beta Kappa in 1953. He received a full scholarship to Harvard Law School and graduated in 1956.[9] Davis practiced law in a small firm in New York,[10] then moved on to the firm of Rosenman, Colin, Kaye, Petschek, and Freund two years later, where partner Ralph Colin had CBS as a client.[11] Davis was subsequently hired by a former colleague at the firm, Harvey Schein, to become assistant counsel of CBS subsidiary Columbia Records at age 28, and then general counsel the following year.[12]

As part of a reorganization of Columbia Records Group, group president Goddard Lieberson appointed Davis as administrative vice president and general manager in 1965.[13] In 1966, CBS formed the Columbia-CBS Group which reorganized CBS's recorded music operations into CBS Records with Davis heading the new unit.[14]

The next year, Davis was appointed president and became interested in the newest generation of folk rock and rock and roll. One of his earliest pop signings was the British folk-rock musician Donovan, who enjoyed a string of successful hit singles and albums released in the U.S. on the Epic Records label. That same year, Davis hired 23-year-old recording artist Tony Orlando as general manager of Columbia publishing subsidiary April-Blackwood Music; Orlando went on to become vice-president of Columbia/CBS Music and signed Barry Manilow in 1969.[15]

In June 1967, Davis attended the Monterey Pop Festival after his friends and business associate, Lou Adler, convinced him.[16] He immediately signed Janis Joplin with Big Brother and the Holding Company, and Columbia went on to sign Laura Nyro; The Electric Flag; Santana; The Chambers Brothers; Bruce Springsteen; Chicago; Billy Joel; Blood, Sweat & Tears; Loggins and Messina; Aerosmith; and Pink Floyd (for rights to release their material outside of Europe).[17][18][19][20]

One of the most commercially successful recordings released during Davis's tenure at Columbia was Lynn Anderson's Rose Garden, in late 1970. It was Davis who insisted that "Rose Garden" be the country singer's next single release. The song crossed over and was a No. 1 hit in 16 countries worldwide. "Rose Garden" remained the biggest-selling album by a female country artist for 27 years.[21][22]

In 1972, Davis signed both Earth, Wind & Fire and Aerosmith to Columbia Records. In 1979 Aerosmith mentioned Davis in the song "No Surprize", in which Steven Tyler sings, "Old Clive Davis said he's surely gonna make us a star, I'm gonna make you a star, just the way you are."[23] Starting on December 30, 1978,[24] Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead occasionally changed the lyrics of the Dead standard "Jack Straw" in concert from "we used to play for silver, now we play for life", to "we used to play for acid, now we play for Clive."[25]

One of the last bands Davis tried to sign to Columbia Records was the Detroit band Death.[26]

Music

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 Cx1DJs We Do Things Different Podcast "Untold Stories of Mack 10 " hosted by DJButterrock
Mack 10 made his first appearance on Ice Cube's Bootlegs & B-Sides compilation on the track "What Can I Do? (Remix)".

His debut album Mack 10 was released in 1995 by Priority Records[2] and was certified Gold by the RIAA. The album included the hit single, "Foe Life," which peaked at number 33 on the Billboard 200.[2] His next release Based On A True Story (1997) also reached Gold certification.

On October 6, 1998, Mack 10 released his third studio album, The Recipe. The album debuted at number 15 on the Billboard 200 and went on to be certified Gold.

Rolison appeared with WC and Ice Cube in the 1996 all-star side project Westside Connection, and formed his own production company, Mack One-O,[2] which signed the acts Allfrumtha I and The Comrads. He also signed Glasses Malone to his Hoo-Bangin Records imprint through Cash Money Records.

His most recent album, 2009's Soft White was released by Hoo-Bangin' Records and Fontana Distribution. The first single was "Big Balla" featuring Birdman and Glasses Malone.

Feuds
Mack 10 was involved in several feuds. His critically acclaimed self-titled album included the song "Westside Slaughterhouse" featuring the rapper Ice Cube, which was a diss in response to the song "I Used to Love H.E.R." by Common. In 1996, as a member of the rap supergroup Westside Connection, he was featured in the song "King of the Hill" - a diss song directed at the rap group Cypress Hill.

Personal life
Rolison married Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, from R&B trio TLC during August 2000. In October 2000, their daughter, Chase Anela Rolison, was born.[3] They separated in 2004.[4]

Discography
Main article: Mack 10 discography
Studio albums

Mack 10 (1995)
Based on a True Story (1997)
The Recipe (1998)
The Paper Route (2000)
Bang or Ball (2001)
Ghetto, Gutter & Gangsta (2003)
Hustla's Handbook (2005)
Soft White (2009)
Collaborative albums

Bow Down (with Westside Connection) (1996)
Da Hood (with Da Hood) (2002)
Terrorist Threats (with Westside Connection) (2003)
Money Music (with Glasses Malone) (2010)

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 Cx1DJs We Do Things Different Podcast "Untold Stories of E-40" hosted by DJButterrock
Earl Tywone Stevens (born November 15, 1967), better known by his stage name E-40, is an American rapper. Stevens is a founding member of the rap group the Click and the founder of Sick Wid It Records. He has released 27 studio albums to date, appeared on numerous movie soundtracks, and has also done guest appearances on a host of other rap albums. Initially an underground artist, his 1995 solo album In a Major Way opened him up to a wider audience. Beginning in 1998, he began collaborating with mainstream rappers outside the San Francisco Bay Area. He rose to higher mainstream popularity in 2006 with his single "Tell Me When to Go", which was produced by Lil Jon.

Early life
Stevens was born in Vallejo, California.[2][1] He grew up with his siblings raised by a divorced mother who worked three jobs, and he became interested in hip hop after hearing "Rapper's Delight" by the Sugarhill Gang.[3][4] Beginning in fourth grade, Stevens played the snare and bass drum.[3] He graduated from Hogan High School in Vallejo in 1985.[5][6] Stevens played baseball in high school, recorded music with his siblings, and sold their recordings from the back of a car.[7] After high school, Stevens enrolled at Grambling State University in 1986 with his cousin Brandt Jones and attended the school for one year.[8][9][10][3]

Music career
1986–1999
Stevens made his rap debut as E-40 in 1986 with his cousin B-Legit, sister Suga-T, and brother D-Shot in the group Most Valuable Players. After impressing fellow students with a rap remix of the school song and a Grambling State talent show, Most Valuable Players released a single, "The King's Men".[11][3] The group later became the Click and released the EP Let's Side in 1990.[2] The EP was co-produced by Mike Mosley and Al Eaton and was released on Sick Wid It Records, an independent label founded by E-40. In 1992 they released a second album, Down and Dirty, and in 1992 E-40 made his solo album debut. Federal, a nine-track LP/14-track CD produced by Studio Ton and released by Sick Wid It Records in association with SMG (Solar Music Group), a regional distributor.

In 1993, the Click had mainstream hit, "Captain Save a Hoe" (radio edit "Captain Save Them Thoe"). They moved back to Vallejo and teamed up with D-Shot, E-40's brother, to form the group MVP or Most Valuable Players. E-40's gospel singing uncle (Saint Charles) helped them put out the record.[12] Suga-T was then added to the group to form the Click.[13]

Although having a large following on the West Coast, E-40 did not have a large mainstream audience, so only two of his songs released under Jive Records, "1-Luv" featuring Levitti and "Things'll Never Change" featuring Bo-Roc, charted on the Billboard Hot 100.[2] He had been working nearly exclusively with rappers from the Bay Area until 1997, when he released the double disc compilation Southwest Riders featuring exclusively rap acts from the Bay Area and the south. His collaboration with southern rappers continued in 1998, when he was given guest appearances on albums by Southern rappers, including Lost by Eightball, and MP da Last Don by Master P.[2]

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 Todd Anthony Shaw (born April 28, 1966),[4][1][2] known professionally as Too Short (stylized as Too $hort), is an American rapper. A pioneer of West Coast hip-hop, Shaw was among the first acts to receive recognition in the genre during the late 1980s. His lyrics were often based on pimping and promiscuity, but also drug culture and street survival;[5] exemplified respectively in his most popular singles "Blow the Whistle" and "The Ghetto". He is one of few acts to have worked with both Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G. at the heights of their respective careers.[1][2][6]

Shaw began recording in 1983, and cultivated a regional following with three independent projects tailored for his native Oakland. His fourth album, Born to Mack (1987) sold an estimated 50,000 units from Shaw's car trunk,[7] leading to a commercial re-issue by Jive Records the following year. His fifth album, Life Is... Too Short (1989), received double platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and became his first entry on the Billboard 200. His sixth album, Short Dog's In The House (1990), peaked at number 20 on the chart and spawned the single "The Ghetto", which became his first and highest-charting entry on the Billboard Hot 100 as a lead artist. His next four albums—Shorty the Pimp (1992), Get in Where You Fit In (1993), Cocktails (1995), and Gettin' It (Album Number Ten) (1996)—each peaked within the top ten of the Billboard 200 and received platinum certifications by the RIAA.

In 1988, he formed The Dangerous Crew, a collective of fellow Oakland-based rappers and producers, and in 2020, he formed the West Coast hip hop group Mount Westmore with frequent collaborators Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg and E-40. In 2006, he founded the record label Up All Nite Records, through which he signed the hyphy group the Pack (which included then-unknown rapper Lil B).

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 Cx1DJs We Do Things Different Podcast "Untold Stories of Ice Cube" hosted by DJButterrock

O'Shea Jackson (born June 15, 1969), known professionally as Ice Cube, is an American rapper, songwriter, actor, and filmmaker. His efforts on N.W.A's 1989 album Straight Outta Compton contributed to gangsta rap's popularity,[3][4][5] and his political rap solo albums AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted (1990), Death Certificate (1991), and The Predator (1992) were all critically and commercially successful.[5][6][7][8] He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of N.W.A in 2016.[9]

A native of Los Angeles, Ice Cube formed his first rap group called C.I.A. in 1986.[10] In 1987, with Eazy-E and Dr. Dre, he formed the gangsta rap group N.W.A.[10] As its lead rapper, Ice Cube also wrote most of the lyrics on Straight Outta Compton,[3][5] a landmark album that shaped West Coast hip-hop's early violent and controversial identity and helped differentiate it from East Coast rap.[4][3][10] After a monetary dispute over the group's management by Eazy-E and Jerry Heller, Ice Cube left N.W.A in late 1989 and embarked on a solo career, releasing eleven albums, with seven charting within the top-10 on the U.S. Billboard 200. His singles "Straight Outta Compton", "It Was a Good Day", "Check Yo Self", "You Know How We Do It", "Bop Gun (One Nation)", "Pushin' Weight", and "You Can Do It" all charted in the top-40 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.[10]

Ice Cube has also had an active film career since the early 1990s.[11][12] His first acting role was in the hood film Boyz n the Hood (1991), named after a 1987 N.W.A. song he wrote.[4][11] He also co-wrote and starred in the 1995 comedy film Friday,[13] which spawned a franchise and reshaped his public image into an actor.[12] He made his directorial debut with the 1998 film The Players Club, and also produced and curated the film's accompanying soundtrack.[14] His film credits including the comedies Three Kings (1999), the Barbershop and Are We There Yet? franchises, 21 Jump Street (2012), 22 Jump Street, Ride Along (both 2014) and Ride Along 2 (2016). He has also appeared in the XXX franchise (2005–2017), the crime drama Rampart (2012), the animated fantasy The Book of Life (2014), and the thriller War of the Worlds (2025).[13] Ice Cube has also acted as executive producer, including for the 2015 biopic Straight Outta Compton.

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 Cx1DJs We Do Things Different Podcast "Untold Stories of Nicki Minaj" hosted by DJButterrock Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj (/ˈnɪki mɪˈnɑːʒ/ ⓘ NIK-ee min-AHZH), is a Trinidadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. Dubbed the "Queen of Rap" and one of the most influential rappers of all time, she is noted for her dynamic rap flow, witty lyrics, musical versatility, and alter egos, and is credited as a driving force in the mainstream resurgence of female rap since the 2010s.

Raised in New York City, Minaj began rapping professionally in the early 2000s and gained recognition with her three mixtapes between 2007 and 2009. Minaj's debut studio album, Pink Friday (2010), opened with the largest female rap album sales week of the 21st century, topped the US Billboard 200, and spawned the single "Super Bass". She explored dance-pop on her second US number-one album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded (2012), which produced the top-five single, "Starships". She returned to her hip-hop roots with The Pinkprint (2014) and Queen (2018), which yielded the singles "Anaconda" and "Chun-Li". Minaj achieved her first Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles with the 2020 duets "Say So" and "Trollz"; the former was the first female rap collaboration to top the chart. Her fifth studio album, Pink Friday 2 (2023), made her the female rapper with the most US number-one albums (three) and spawned her first solo US number-one single, "Super Freaky Girl". Its concert tour became the highest-grossing by a female rapper and one of the top five highest-grossing tours by a rapper in history.

Minaj is one of the world's best-selling music artists and the best-selling female rapper, with over 100 million records sold.[1] She has over 54 million certified singles sold in the US and three diamond-certified singles, and in 2024 became the first female rapper with multiple diamond-certified solo songs (two) by the RIAA. In 2023, Billboard and Vibe ranked Minaj as the greatest female rapper of all time. Her various accolades include a Brit Award, five Billboard Music Awards, nine American Music Awards, eight MTV Video Music Awards (including the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award), eleven BET Awards, a Soul Train Music Award, and three Guinness World Records. Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2016, and she was honored with the Billboard Women in Music Game Changer Award in 2019.

Minaj founded the record label imprint Heavy On It in 2023. Outside of music, her other endeavors include a fragrance line, a press on nails line, a Loci sneakers collection, and the radio show Queen Radio (2018–2023). She has also voice acted in the animated films Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012) and The Angry Birds Movie 2 (2019), and acted in the comedy films The Other Woman (2014) and Barbershop: The Next Cut (2016). On television, she served as a judge on the twelfth season of American Idol (2013). Her outspoken views have received significant media attention.

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