List of best-selling female rappers

Nicki Minaj is the best-selling female rapper of all time, with over 100 million records sold.
Iggy Azalea rapper from Australia who sold over 70 million records worldwide

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

Figures for the list include only 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

Artist Country of origin Period active Studio albums Claimed sales
Nicki Minaj Trinidad & Tobago 2004 – Present 5 100 million[1]
Iggy Azalea Australia 2011 – 2024 3 65 million[2][3]
Cardi B United States 2016 – Present 1 54 million[4]
Lauryn Hill United States 1988 – present 1 50 million[5]
Lil' Kim United States 1994 – present 5 45 million[6]
Doja Cat United States 2012 – present 4 42 million[7][better source needed]
Missy Elliott United States 1991 – present 6 30 million[8][9][10]

Best-selling singles from female rappers

Sales based on claimed figures and certifications by RIAA in the United States.

Artist Single Released Sales
(in millions)		 Source
Nicki Minaj "Super Bass" 2011 12 [11]
Cardi B "Bodak Yellow" 2017 11 [12]
Cardi B featuring J Balvin & Bad Bunny "I Like It" 2018 11 [13]
Jessie J featuring Ariana Grande & Nicki Minaj "Bang Bang" 2014 10 [14]
Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B "Girls Like You" 2017 10 [15]
Iggy Azalea featuring Charli XCX "Fancy" 2014 9.1 [16]
Nicki Minaj "Starships" 2012 9 [17]
Ariana Grande featuring Iggy Azalea "Problem" 2014 8 [18]
Cardi B featuring Megan Thee Stallion "WAP" 2020 8 [19]
G-Eazy feat. A$AP Rocky & Cardi B "No Limit" 2017 7 [20]
Lizzo "Truth Hurts" 2017 7 [21]
Doja Cat "Say So" 2020 6 [22]
Migos feat. Nicki Minaj & Cardi B "Motorsport" 2017 6 [23]
Ariana Grande feat. Nicki Minaj "Side to Side" 2016 6 [24]
Iggy Azalea featuring Rita Ora "Black Widow" 2014 5 [25]
Yo Gotti featuring Nicki Minaj "Rake It Up" 2017 5 [26]
Ciara featuring Missy Elliot "1, 2 Step" 2004 5 [27]
Big Sean featuring Nicki Minaj "Dance (A$$)" 2011 5 [28]
Doja Cat "Streets" 2019 5 [29]
Doja Cat featuring SZA "Kiss Me More" 2021 5 [30]
Lizzo "Good As Hell" 2016 5 [31]

Best-selling female rap albums worldwide

Release year Album Artist Claimed sales References
1998 The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill Lauryn Hill 20 million [32][33]
2021 Planet Her Doja Cat 10,2 million [34]
2019 Hot Pink Doja Cat 6,7 million [35]
2010 Pink Friday Nicki Minaj 3,8 million [36]
2023 Scarlet Doja Cat 3,1 million [37]
2018 Invasion of Privacy Cardi B 3 million [38]
2014 The New Classic Iggy Azalea 2 million [39]
2018 Amala Doja Cat 1.9 million [40]
2012 Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded Nicki Minaj 1.4 million [41]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Columbia Concerts: 9 shows to see this October, including Nicki Minaj, Method Man and Redman". The Post and Courier. September 30, 2024. Archived from the original on October 11, 2024. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
  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. ^ "Iggy Azalea's Full Letter". Vibe. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  4. ^ "CARDI B BREAKS NEW GROUND, EARNS 100M RIAA-CERTIFIED UNITS". HipHopDX. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ Skelton, Eric (August 1, 2018). "Premiere: Lil' Kim Lives a Life of Luxury in "Nasty One" Video". Complex. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  7. ^ "Doja Cat Now Has More Gold Records Than ANY Female Rapper Ever, Breaking Tie with Nicki Minaj". ThatGrapeJuice.net. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  8. ^ Sun, Rebecca (2017-08-09). "Missy Elliott Signs With WME: Exclusive". Billboard. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ Platon, Adelle (2016-06-14). "Missy Elliott Named Honoree at VH1 Hip Hop Honors: Exclusive". Billboard. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
  11. ^ "Super Bass". RIAA. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ "Cardi B feat J Balvin & Bad Bunny - I Like it". RIAA. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
  14. ^ "Bang Bang". RIAA. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  15. ^ "Maroon 5 feat. Cardi B - Girls like You". RIAA. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
  16. ^ "Iggy Azalea - Fancy". RIAA. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
  17. ^ "The Global Bestsellers of 2012" (PDF). International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original on April 9, 2013. Retrieved December 23, 2014.
  18. ^ "Ariana Grande feat. Iggy Azalea - Problem". RIAA. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  19. ^ "Cardi B feat. Megan Thee Stalion". RIAA. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  20. ^ "G-Eazy, A$AP Rocky & Cardi B - No Limit". RIAA. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  21. ^ "Lizzo - Truth Hurts". RIAA. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  22. ^ "Doja Cat - Say so". RIAA. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  23. ^ "Migos, Nicki Minaj & Cardi B - Motorsport". RIAA. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  24. ^ "Ariana Grande feat Nicki Minaj - Side to Side". RIAA. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  25. ^ "Iggy Azalea feat. Rita Ora - Black Widow". RIAA. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
  26. ^ "Yo Gotti feat. Nicki Minaj - Rake It Up". RIAA. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  27. ^ "Ciara feat. Missy Elliot - 1,2 step". RIAA. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  28. ^ "Big Sean feat Nicki Minaj - DANCE (A$$)". RIAA. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  29. ^ "Doja Cat - Streets". RIAA. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  30. ^ "Doja Cat feat. SZA - Kiss me more". RIAA. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  31. ^ "Lizzo - Good as Hell". RIAA. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  32. ^ Gee, Andre (October 18, 2023). "Lauryn Hill and the Fugees Gave Their Hometown a Legendary Tour Opener". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  33. ^ "First female rapper to reach RIAA Diamond status". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 2023-04-26.
  34. ^ Vieira, Guillaume (2021-08-27). "Doja Cat albums and songs sales". ChartMasters. Retrieved 2025-01-05.
  35. ^ Vieira, Guillaume (2021-08-27). "Doja Cat albums and songs sales". ChartMasters. Retrieved 2025-01-05.
  36. ^ 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.
  37. ^ Vieira, Guillaume (2021-08-27). "Doja Cat albums and songs sales". ChartMasters. Retrieved 2025-01-05.
  38. ^ Jessica Napoli (September 16, 2020). "What is Cardi B's net worth?". yahoo.com. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
  39. ^ "Iggy Azalea RIAA Certifications". RIAA. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
  40. ^ Vieira, Guillaume (2021-08-27). "Doja Cat albums and songs sales". ChartMasters. Retrieved 2025-01-05.
  41. ^ "The Global Bestsellers of 2012" (PDF). International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 9, 2013.