Nicki Minaj's "Anaconda" Surpasses a Billion YouTube Views
Minaj is the first-ever solo female rap act to reach the billion-view milestone.
Nicki Minaj‘s “Anaconda” music video has surpassed 1 billion views on YouTube. Though Minaj has already played a part in five other YouTube videos that passed the million-view threshold, “Anaconda” is special: it makes her the first-ever solo female rap act to reach the milestone.
First appearing on 2014’s double platinum-selling The Pinkprint, “Anaconda” — which samples Sir Mix-a-Lot’s 1992 classic “Baby Got Back” — set the Vevo 24-hour streaming record upon its release by garnering 19.6 million streams on its very first day, a record that has since been broken by Taylor Swift‘s “Bad Blood.” The raunchy video, which featured a cameo by then-Young Money labelmate Drake, garnered a great deal of attention both positive and negative, with many media outlets lauding Minaj’s assertive sexual stance while others like CBS‘s Al Roker derided it as “vile” and “desperate.” Since then, “Anaconda” has gone on to be certified 6X platinum by the RIAA, and was ranked as the 13th greatest music video of the decade by Billboard.
Watch the “Anaconda” music video above. If you’re on the hunt for more music content check out Playboi Carti’s new “Sky” video and head over to the latest installment of HYPEBEAST’s weekly Best New Tracks roundup — featuring Freddie Gibbs, BROCKHAMPTON and more.
