| "Anaconda" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single byNicki Minaj | ||||
| from the albumThe Pinkprint | ||||
| Released | August 4, 2014 (2014-08-04) | |||
| Recorded | April 2014 | |||
| Studio | Glenwood Recording Studios (Burbank, California) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:20 (album version) 3:25 (radio edit) 2:56 (Instrumental) | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriters |
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| Producers |
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| Nicki Minaj singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Anaconda" onYouTube | ||||
"Anaconda" is a song by rapperNicki Minaj. It was released on August 4, 2014, byYoung Money,Cash Money, andRepublic as the second single from her third album,The Pinkprint (2014).[2] The song was produced byPolow da Don, DJ Spydr, andDa Internz, and prominently samples "Baby Got Back" (1992) bySir Mix-a-Lot.[3] The song's title comes from the sampled line "my anaconda don't want none unless you've got buns, hun". It peaked at number two on the USBillboardHot 100, becoming Minaj's highest-charting single at the time. The song also peaked within the top ten in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, top forty in Austria, France and Portugal and top fifty in Czechia.
Colin Tilley directed an accompanying video for the song, which was released on August 19, 2014. Following the video's release, it broke the 24-hour streaming record onVevo by accumulating 19.6 million views in its first day of release. In 2021, "Anaconda" became the first music video for a solo female rap song to hit 1 billion views. To further promote the song, Minaj performed it live at the2014 MTV Video Music Awards and also performed it atFashion Rocks and theiHeartRadio Music Festival. "Anaconda" was nominated forBest Rap Song at the2015 Grammy Awards.[4] The song was also nominated for two categories at the2015 MTV Video Music Awards,Best Female Video andBest Hip-Hop Video, winning the latter.
On August 5, 2014, producerPolow da Don claimed that the "Anaconda" instrumental was originally intended for rapper and musicianMissy Elliott, but was scrapped and then re-recorded by Minaj.[5] However, on August 24, 2014, Elliott contradicted Polow's recollections, saying she never received the instrumental.[6] The cover art for the single went viral on the web after being revealed. On various digital music stores, the cover art is censored with theParental Advisory label over Minaj'sbuttocks. The song heavily samples "Baby Got Back" bySir Mix-a-Lot, who also has vocals in the chorus of the song.[5]
The song has been viewed by some as adiss track, inanswer to "Baby Got Back". Whereas Sir Mix-a-Lot focuses on a woman's body and the pleasure it gives him, Minaj raps from the perspective of the unnamed woman, and shows how she uses her body to profit and empower herself.[7]
According to Minaj'ssound engineer Aubry "Big Juice" Delaine, "Anaconda" had 27 different versions at first. Production teamDa Internz were then brought in to add drums to the song, whereafter it was sent formixing andmastering, which made it "perfect".[8]
Musically, the song is ahip hop and pop-rap song.[9] This song is in a key ofC# Phrygian with 124 beats per minute.[10]
Carolyn Menyes ofMusic Times called the song "raunchy", though added that it was "expected", saying "Anaconda" continues Minaj's promise to move away from her poppier singles such as "Super Bass" and "Starships", and go back to her hardcore rap roots.[11] Kory Grow fromRolling Stone praised the use of the "Baby Got Back" sample and said the song stayed true to the theme of the original.[12] Kevin Goddard fromHotNewHipHop said "Nicki's raunchy new version may be the next big thing to hit the industry."[13] Dan Reilly fromSpin said "Minaj takes the good Sir's '92 ode to protruding posteriors and adds a heavy dose of 2014 sex lingo."[14] Amy Davidson fromDigital Spy gave the song three stars out of five and said that "Nicki's breaking down barriers."[15]
Sir Mix-a-Lot said he had "a whole new level of respect" for Minaj after hearing the record and that he became a "fan for life".[16]
The song madeSpin's end-of-year "The 101 Best Songs of 2014" list. It ranked #3 on the list of 101 entries and was heralded bySpin as "much more than just a song" and a "cultural movement". She was the only rapper to make the top ten of the list as a lead artist.[17] "Anaconda" was also placed at number two onMTV's "Best Songs of 2014" list.[18]
However, despite the positive reviews the song received negative reactions.The London Economic called it "one of the worst songs ever".[19] Critics fromNational Review referred to the song as "degrading", adding that it promoted prostitution, drug abuse and immorality to young girls.[20] The city ofNahariya inIsrael placed the song on ablacklist, prohibiting it from being performed at summer events sponsored by the city.[21] Municipal authorities claimed the record contains "violations of women's dignity", encouraged "a culture of rape and humiliation of women" and that its lyrics are "full of racist words, insults, sexism and homophobia".[22]
In theUnited States, the song debuted at No. 3 on theDigital Songs chart selling 141,000 digital downloads in its first week. Additionally, as Minaj shares lead credit on "Bang Bang", which was No. 2 on that same chart in the same week, Minaj became the first lead act to have two concurrent songs in the top three of the chart sinceTaylor Swift did it on the list dated September 22, 2012.[23] On theBillboardHot 100, the song debuted at No. 19, marking Minaj's 51st Hot 100 entry and subsequently breaking out of a tie withMichael Jackson for overall career Hot 100 entries.[24]
For the week ending September 6, 2014, "Anaconda" jumped to No. 2 on the Hot 100, blocked from the top spot by Swift's "Shake It Off". It became Minaj's highest-charting single on that chart at the time. It marked her eleventh top ten single. Its leap into the runner-up position was brought on primarily by the release of its music video, which garnered 32.1 million domestic streams in its first week. That streaming total caused it to consequentially skyrocket to No. 1 onBillboard'sStreaming Songs chart. It is the largest one week streaming sum sinceMiley Cyrus' "Wrecking Ball" received 36.4 million streams for the week ending September 28, 2013. Additionally, the 39-2 ascent for "Anaconda" marks the second-biggest jump ever within the Hot 100's top 40. OnlyBlack Eyed Peas made a bigger leap in the region when "Boom Boom Pow" blasted to No. 1 on April 18, 2009.[25] "Anaconda" was certified double platinum by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in November 2014 and has sold 1.3 million copies in the US as of December 2014 and over 8 million total units in the US as of February 2025.[26][27]
A music video for the track was shot inLos Angeles.[28] It was directed byColin Tilley[29] and was released on August 19, 2014.[28] The video features a cameo appearance by fellow rapper and labelmateDrake.[30] The video broke the 24-hour streaming record onVevo by accumulating 19.6 million views in its first day of release, beating the 19.3 million 24-hour record previously held byMiley Cyrus for the music video of her song, "Wrecking Ball", in 2013.[31] On August 30, 2014, eleven days after the release of the music video, "Anaconda" wasVevo certified for receiving over 100 million views. In 2015Taylor Swift surpassed Minaj's record with the video for her single "Bad Blood" which got 20.1 million views in 24 hours.[32]
In a review of Minaj's video, Lucas Villa ofAXS wrote, "It's butts abound in her bananas clip for 'Anaconda."[33] NBC hostAl Roker called the music video "vile" and "desperate". Roker said, "It almost seems like Minaj has gotten desperate and needs to do something to get her crown back."[34] Molly Lambert ofGrantland was complimentary, writing "the video is about Nicki asserting her power, not as a sexual object but a sexual subject."[35] It was named one of the sexiest videos of 2014 byVH1.[36]
As of April 3, 2021, the video has gained more than 1 billion views, being the first female rap solo song to do so.[37]Billboard also named "Anaconda" the 13th greatest video of the decade.[38]
On 24 August 2014, Minaj first performed the song live at the2014 MTV Video Music Awards. The performance followedAriana Grande's individual performance of her single "Break Free" and was followed by a performance ofJessie J, Grande, and Minaj's joint single "Bang Bang".[39] On September 9, 2014, Minaj performed the song live atFashion Rocks.[40] On September 19, 2014, Minaj performed the song at the 2014iHeartRadio Music Festival.[41] On November 9, 2014, Minaj performed "Anaconda" at the2014 MTV Europe Music Awards in a three-song medley including her other songs "Super Bass" and "Bed of Lies" featuringSkylar Grey.[42] Minaj has performed the song onThe Pinkprint Tour,The Nicki Wrld Tour andPink Friday 2 World Tour.
The song has been played and referenced several times onThe Ellen DeGeneres Show, includingEllen DeGeneres doing a music video parody of the song which was unveiled during Minaj's appearance on the show in 2014.[43]
The Fine Brothers released two videos on theirYouTube channel of teens reacting to "Anaconda",[44] and elders reacting to "Anaconda".[45] They later made a song out of the reactions and released it for purchase oniTunes.
The song was briefly sung by a group of bunnies in the 2016 movie,Sing. Due to the explicit lyrics of the song, they only sang the lines, "Oh, my, gosh. Look at her butt". A remix of the line was released on the deluxe version of theSing: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and was entitled "OH. MY. GOSH."[46]
The song was used as the first "lip-sync for your legacy" song on thethird season ofRuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars. As the two challenge winners, contestantsAja andBenDeLaCreme lip-synced to the song, with BenDeLaCreme winning.
The song is referenced in the LitRPG novelThe Butcher’s Masquerade by American author Matt Dinniman.
Weekly charts[edit] | Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[87] | 4× Platinum | 280,000‡ |
| Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[88] | Diamond | 250,000‡ |
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[89] | Gold | 45,000‡ |
| Germany (BVMI)[90] | Gold | 200,000‡ |
| Italy (FIMI)[91] | Gold | 25,000‡ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[92] | Gold | 7,500* |
| Norway (IFPI Norway)[93] | Gold | 5,000‡ |
| Sweden (GLF)[94] | Gold | 20,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[95] | Platinum | 600,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[96] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000‡ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
| Country | Date | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| Various[97] | August 4, 2014 | Digital download | |
| United States[98] | August 12, 2014 | Contemporary hit radio | |
| Rhythmic contemporary andUrban contemporary radio | |||
| United Kingdom[99] | October 5, 2014 | Digital download |
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