The following is a list of the best-selling female rappers of all time, based on sales of albums and singles. As of 2016, traditional sales have been combined with streaming and digital downloads, making up album-equivalent units.
Artist | Country of origin | Year of first recording certification | Singles | Studio albums | Total certified units (from available markets) | Reported sales |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nicki Minaj | Trinidad & Tobago | 2009 [1] | 136 | 5 | 179.5 million
| 100 million [19] |
Lil' Kim | United States | 1996 [20] | 36 | 5 | 8.35 million | 45 million [23] |
Doja Cat | United States | 2020 [24] | 45 | 4 | 109.14 million
| 34 million [29] |
Missy Elliott | United States | 1997 [30] | 74 | 6 | 30 million [29] | |
Lauryn Hill | United States | 1998 [32] | 20 | 1 | 26.34 million
| 20 million [33] [34] |
Cardi B | United States | 2017 | 45 | 2 | 132.26 million
| 16.925 million [35] |
Release year | Album | Artist | Reported sales | References |
---|---|---|---|---|
1998 | The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill | Lauryn Hill | 20 million | [36] |
2018 | Invasion of Privacy | Cardi B | 7.1 million | [37] |
1993 | Very Necessary | Salt-N-Pepa | 7 million | [38] |
1999 | Da Real World | Missy Elliott | 6 million | [39] |
1996 | Ill Na Na | Foxy Brown | 6 million | [40] |
2000 | The Notorious K.I.M. | Lil' Kim | 5.1 million | [41] |
1996 | Hard Core | Lil' Kim | 5 million | [42] |
2021 | Planet Her | Doja Cat | 4.6 million | [43] |
2012 | Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded | Nicki Minaj | 4 million | [44] |
2010 | Pink Friday | Nicki Minaj | 3.8 million | [45] |
2014 | The New Classic | Iggy Azalea | 3 million | [46] |
Sales based on claimed certifications by the RIAA in the United States.
With over 34 million records sold since 2018, Doja Cat turned a novelty moment into a stratospheric career in music while never letting her superstardom supersede her passion for hip hop culture." "If someone said Missy Elliott is the greatest rapper of all time, even if you disagreed, it's impossible not to understand. She's sold over 30 million records. All six of her albums have reached platinum status.