Upon hearing “Pink Friday,” most people’s minds immediately jump to the Queen of Rap herself , Nicki Minaj. The Trinidadian femcee released her debut album on Nov. 22, 2010, via Cash Money Records, Universal Motown Records and Young Money Entertainment. Even as a newcomer, she nabbed impressive collaborations from names like Eminem, Drake, Rihanna and Kanye West, ultimately selling 375K copies in her first week out. This placed Minaj behind Lauryn Hill with the second-highest sales debut ever for a female rapper, and the mother of one has only continued to prove her power since. Over a decade later, she returned with “Pink Friday 2,” this time recruiting J. Cole, Lil Wayne, Future, Monica, 50 Cent and other icons to join her on the tracklist. Minaj’s 2023 LP debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, making her the first female rapper with three albums to top the chart; she moved 228K album-equivalent albums at the time, 92,000 of which were pure sales. These statistics are all...

It’s no secret Issa Rae is rooting for everybody Black and things are no different this holiday season. Joining forces with American Express, Issa Rae will be curating the ByBlack Bazaar marketplace on Saturday, Dec. 11 in Downtown Los Angeles. “As a curator at the marketplace, in its simplest form it will be a great place to stop by and get a gift especially if you do not know what to get people because there will be a range of options,” Issa Rae shared exclusively with AfroTech. “It will also be a great way to establish community amongst business owners and allow owners to establish and forge relationships. You will see the family behind the business and you will see directly or hear about the history of these businesses. With online businesses, you don’t get the neighborhood store feel often. So, the Bazaar marketplace really excites me for that.”