Nicki Minaj Unleashes Greatest Hits Compilation, 'Queen Radio: Vol. 1'
Music

Nicki Minaj Unleashes Greatest Hits Compilation, 'Queen Radio: Vol. 1'

by Kenna McCafferty

Barbz at attention! It’s time to pull up in the monster, automobile gangsta... wait.

Ok between us real Barbz, the Queen has blessed her fans with surprise. The first volume of Nicki Minaj’s surprise greatest hits compilation was released today in advance of her MTV Video Vanguard Award acceptance.

The compilation tape, titled Queen Radio: Volume 1, dropped this morning and is jam-packed with 28 tracks of Minaj’s biggest bangers. In what must have been the most difficult job of the century, the 28 tracks were perfectly selected, featuring OGs like “Roman Reloaded” and “Superbass,” to newer favorites like “Barbie Dreamz” and the latest chart-topper “Super Freaky Girl,” set to the Rick James “Super Freak” sample. Justice for “BedRock...”

“Super Freaky Girl” made personal history for Minaj as her first solo No. 1 debut on the Billboard Hot 100, but Queen Radio reminds us that she has always been (and will always be) the reigning champion of rap.

If the 28 back-to-back bangers weren’t proof enough, she’ll cement her legacy this weekend as the second female rapper to be honored with MTV’s Video Vanguard Award at the 2022 Video Music Awards, after Missy Elliott became the first in 2019. She’ll also deliver a performance at the ceremony, her first since 2018.

If this release is Volume 1, can we expect a follow-up? If Minaj has anything in mind, she’s kept it tight-lipped. Could it be a best features compilation a la “Monster” or a compilation of her best throw-away quotes? Because it would be amazing to listen to “Big Boobs?!” on loop.

We never know what we’ll get with Minaj, but whether or not she has anything in mind, we have a decade's worth of tongue-twisting chart-toppers to chew on Volume 1, and, if history is any indication, her VMAs appearance will be sure to give us more iconic moments.

Photo courtesy of Kelly Taub/BFA