Nicki Minaj has accomplished more in hip hop in the last couple of years than most female MCs have done their entire careers. Since the release of her platinum-selling debut, Pink Friday, the first lady of Young Money has already been acknowledged as the first female to top the hip hop charts unaccompanied since 2002 and the first artist overall to have seven songs on the Billboard 100 charts simultaneously.
Now it's been revealed that Nicki is one of the many artists who are actually contributing to the revival of music sales overall. According to The Hollywood Reporter, after years of a decline, the music industry has experienced its first surge in sales since 2004.
Released this past November, Pink Friday was reportedly the ninth biggest seller so far in 2011 and was a major contributor to the rise, alongside Adele's 21, Katy Perry's E.T. and Lady Gaga's Born This Way.
The last time the industry saw a female hip hop artist sell this many units was in 1999 with Lauryn Hill and her classic The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.

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