Nicki Minaj will receive the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards. The event will air live from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on August 28 at 8 PM ET/PT. She is also set to perform at the show for the first time since 2018.
Minaj will be the first Video Vanguard recipient since another female rapper, Missy Elliott, was honored in 2019. The award wasn’t presented in the last two years, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Nicki has broken barriers for women in hip-hop with her versatility and creative artistry,” Bruce Gillmer, president of music, music talent, programming & events, Paramount and chief content officer, music, Paramount+, said in a statement. “She has shifted the music industry and cemented her status as a global superstar with her crossover appeal, genre-defying style and continuing to be unapologetically ‘Nicki’.”
Minaj is a VMA nominee this year for best hip-hop for “Do We Have a Problem” featuring Lil Baby. The news comes at an exciting time for Nicki, who recently began teasing a six-part documentary series about her life and come-up in the rap game on Instagram.
In the Instagram post, Minaj mentions that the project hasn’t found a home yet. She writes, “Coming out SOONER THANK YOU THINK…I took some time to perfect this very intimate, delicate, electrifying, inspiring body of work. As I decide on a home for this project, I can’t help but reflect on what I’m including in this doc. Some things are so personal, it’s scary. It’s like NOTHING you’ve seen before & I need it to be handled with care. Love you so much. Thank you for the continued support.”
Minaj released an official music video for her latest single, “We Go Up,” a collaboration with Fivio Foreign, back in March. Directed by Drevinci (whose credits include projects with DMX and Sean Paul) and filmed in New York, the sleek and colorful visual finds the duo riding in luxury cars (including Ferraris and Lamborghinis), while Minaj tries on designer outfits.
Listen to the best of Nicki Minaj on Apple Music and Spotify.
