List of best-selling female rappers

This is a following list of the best-selling female rappers of all time, including albums and singles.

Nicki Minaj is the best-selling female rapper of all time, with over 100 million records sold.

Figures for the list only includes pure sales figures and available figures after the 1990s: as of 2016 certifications have been combined with streaming or digital audio sales; in this list only digital sales are counted since most of today artists' pure sales are sold digitally.

Best-selling female rappers worldwide

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Artist Country of origin Period active Studio albums Claimed sales
Nicki Minaj Trinidad & Tobago 2004- Present 5 100 million[1]
Iggy Azalea Australia 2011- Present 3 72 million [2]
Lauryn Hill United States 1988–present 1 50 million[3]
Lil' Kim United States 1994–present 5 45 million[4]
Missy Elliott United States 1991–present 6 29 million[5][6][7]

Best-selling female rappers singles worldwide

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Sales based on claimed figures and certifications.

Artist Release year Song Claimed sales
Cardi B 2017 "Bodak Yellow" 10 million[8]
Iggy Azalea 2014 "Fancy" 9.1 million[9]
Nicki Minaj 2012 "Starships" 7.2 million[9]

Best-selling female rap albums worldwide

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Release year Album Artist Claimed sales
1998 The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill Lauryn Hill 20 million[10][11]
2010 Pink Friday Nicki Minaj 3.8 million[12]
2018 Invasion of Privacy Cardi B 3 million[13]
2012 Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded Nicki Minaj 1.4 million[14]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Rapper Nicki Minaj's father killed in hit-and-run". The New Zealand Herald. February 15, 2021. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  2. ^ "Iggy Azalea Doesn't Have a ~Problem~ When It Comes to Money: Find Out Her Impressive Net Worth". Yahoo Entertainment. 2022-07-12. Retrieved 2024-07-09.
  3. ^ Brandle, Lars (April 24, 2013). "Lauryn Hill Sets the Record Straight on her Finances, Admits New Music is in the Pipeline". Billboard. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  4. ^ Skelton, Eric (August 1, 2018). "Premiere: Lil' Kim Lives a Life of Luxury in "Nasty One" Video". Complex. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  5. ^ Sun, Rebecca (2017-08-09). "Missy Elliott Signs With WME: Exclusive". Billboard. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
  6. ^ Khari (February 2, 2015). "Missy Elliott Crushed The Superbowl & Now Everyone Is Ready for Her Comeback". The Source. The Northstar Group. Archived from the original on February 15, 2015. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
  7. ^ Platon, Adelle (2016-06-14). "Missy Elliott Named Honoree at VH1 Hip Hop Honors: Exclusive". Billboard. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
  8. ^ Daniels, Karu F. (March 10, 2021). "Cardi B has made history again, as breakthrough 'Bodak Yellow' sells more than 10 million copies". New York Daily News. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  9. ^ a b "The Global Bestsellers of 2012" (PDF). International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original on April 9, 2013. Retrieved December 23, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  10. ^ Gee, Andre (October 18, 2023). "Lauryn Hill and the Fugees Gave Their Hometown a Legendary Tour Opener". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  11. ^ "First female rapper to reach RIAA Diamond status". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 2023-04-26.
  12. ^ Trentz Fitzgerald (April 4, 2012). "Nicki Minaj Performs 'Roman Reloaded' Concert on BET's 106 & Park". Pop Crush. Archived from the original on July 22, 2017. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
  13. ^ Jessica Napoli (September 16, 2020). "What is Cardi B's net worth?". yahoo.com. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
  14. ^ "The Global Bestsellers of 2012" (PDF). International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 9, 2013.