There aren’t many artists who could re-release a mixtape from 2009 and find it moving more units than most new major-label studio albums. Such is the power of Nicki Minaj, who has long enjoyed her reign as hip-hop’s queen. Last Friday, Minaj surprised her many loyal fans with the welcome news that Beam Me Up Scotty — the breakout tape that initially solidified her as one of hip-hop’s most exciting new lyricists — was making the long-awaited transition to streaming services.
In the week that followed, listeners dove back into the tape in droves, to the point where Beam Me Up Scotty ended up moving eighty-thousand album-equivalent units. The staggering number, especially given that we’re talking about a twelve-year-old project, was enough to touch Nicki, who took to Twitter to show her appreciation for her fans.
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“80K wow,” she writes. “My 12 year ago self would be so proud. No videos, lyric videos, no tik tok challenges, no radio & no heavy playlisting due to it coming as a surprise. Didn’t even drop w|clean versions to the songs. Long live #BeamMeUpScotty I love you guys so much. Thank you so much.”
One has to wonder how of a role “Seeing Green,” an epic reunion between Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, and Drake, played in driving eyes to the project. At this moment, the track’s official YouTube drop has over seven million streams, enough to solidify it on the top twenty trending videos in music one week after its release. It also sparked another walk down memory lane for Minaj, who used the opportunity to reflect on a troubled time in her life.
Check out her latest post on “Beam Me Up Scotty” now, and let us know if you’ve been keeping the project on rotation following its re-release.