Greatest Pop Stars of the 21st Century Podcast: Nicki Minaj (No. 13) & Eminem (No. 12)

On this week’s (Sept. 6) episode of the Greatest Pop Stars of the 21st Century podcast, we take a look at a pair of rap savants: mixtape phenom turned Queen of Rap Nicki Minaj, and polarizing superstar turned reliable veteran hitmaker Eminem.

First, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard Hip-Hop writer Michael Saponara and Branded Producer and Social Manger (and No. 1 Barb on staff) Meghan Mahar to talk about how Nicki Minaj paved her own lane in hip-hop and pop music over the last 15+ years. We set the scene of how inhospitable the mainstream was to female rappers in the late ’00s, and detail how Nicki was still able to become ubiquitous in the era’s top 40 — both as the leading lady on her own records and a scene-stealing guest on countless other artists’ — and how her legacy was confirmed in the early 2020s with a couple chart milestones and a rising tide of younger rappers and pop stars citing her as a formative influence.

Then, hot off their latest episode of Billboard Unfiltered, we have Deputy Editorial Director Damien Scott and Deputy Director of R&B/Hip-Hop Carl Lamarre dropping by (at 49:30) to recap the unforgettable career of Nicki’s “Roman’s Revenge” collaborator Eminem. We remember just how immediately earth-shifting Em’s impact felt upon his debut at the turn of the century, and how his impossibly packed 2002 remains one of the peak years any artist of any genre has had in our lifetime — and one it proved quickly impossible for him to really follow up. We then cover the somewhat rockier rest of the decade to come for Eminem, and how he was able to reaffirm his standing in rap and pop at the turn of the 2010s and successfully transition into veteran hitmaker status, which he holds to this day.

Listen to our latest below, catch up on our past episodes here, and be sure to subscribe to Billboard‘s Greatest Pop Stars of the 21st Century series wherever you get your podcasts! (New episodes will be revealed every Friday, following the publishing of our new Greatest Pop Star rankings for that week.)