"Anaconda" is a song by rapper

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated flow in her rapping, alter egos and accent ...

from her third studio album, ''

The Pinkprint ''The Pinkprint'' is the third studio album by rapper Nicki Minaj, released on December 15, 2014, by Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records and Republic Records. Minaj co-executive-produced the album alongside Birdman, Lil Wayne and Rona ...

'' (2014). Released on August 4, 2014 by

Young Money Entertainment Young Money Entertainment is an American record label founded by rapper Lil Wayne. Young Money's president is Lil Wayne's lifelong friend and fellow rapper Mack Maine. The label was an imprint of Cash Money Records and is distributed by Republi ...

Cash Money Records Cash Money Records is an American record label founded in 1991 by brothers Ronald "Slim" Williams and Bryan "Birdman" Williams. Distributed by Republic, formerly known as Universal Republic, the label has been home to a roster of mostly hip h ...

, and

Republic Records Republic Records is a New York City–based American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). It was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially an ...

as the second single from the album, the song was produced by

Polow da Don Jamal Fincher Jones (born October 15, 1977, or 1978), professionally known as Polow da Don, is an American record producer and rapper. Jones has produced a variety of singles for a multitude of artists including "Anaconda" by Nicki Minaj (2014) ...

, DJ Spydr, and

Da Internz Da Internz are a production team originating from Chicago, Illinois. The duo is composed of Marcos " Kosine" Palacios and Ernest Tuo Clark. Da Internz describe their sound as "gourmet ratchet", meaning imperfect but excellent. Background Both ...

, and prominently samples "

Baby Got Back "Baby Got Back" is a song written and recorded by American rapper and songwriter Sir Mix-a-Lot, released in May 1992 as the second single from his third album, '' Mack Daddy'' (1992). The song was written and co-produced by him, and samples the ...

" (1992) by

Sir Mix-a-Lot Anthony L. Ray (born August 12, 1963), better known by his stage name Sir Mix-a-Lot, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his 1992 hit song "Baby Got Back", which peaked at number one on the ''Billboard'' ...

. The song peaked at number two on the US ''Billboard''

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

, 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 Czech Republic.

Colin Tilley Colin Tilley (born June 27, 1988) is an American filmmaker, music video director, and television commercial director. Tilley is the CEO and owner of Boy in the Castle Productions. He has directed more than 300 music videos. Tilley directed, pro ...

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 on

Vevo Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, di ...

by accumulating 19.6 million views in its first day of release. In 2021, Anaconda became first music video for a solo female rap song to hit 1 billion views. To further promote the song, Minaj performed it live at the

2014 MTV Video Music Awards The 2014 MTV Video Music Awards were held on August 24, 2014 at The Forum in Inglewood, California. It was the 31st annual MTV Video Music Awards. Beyoncé and Iggy Azalea led the nominees with eight nominations each, while Eminem followed them ...

and also performed it at

Fashion Rocks Fashion Rocks is an annual international charity fundraiser event, which features fashions by the world's top designers presented as live performances by popular music acts. Fashion Rocks Worldwide is the owner of the intellectual property rights ...

and the

iHeartRadio Music Festival The iHeartRadio Music Festival is a two-day music concert festival held every year in September since 2011 by iHeartRadio along the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. From 2011 to 2015, the festival was held at the MGM Grand ...

. "Anaconda" was nominated for

Best Rap Song The Grammy Award for Best Rap Song is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality songs in the rap music genre. Honors in several ...

at the

2015 Grammy Awards The 57th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 8, 2015, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The show was broadcast live by CBS at 5:00 p.m. PST ( UTC−8). Rapper LL Cool J hosted the show for the fourth consecutive tim ...

. The song was also nominated for two categories at the

2015 MTV Video Music Awards The 2015 MTV Video Music Awards were held on August 30, 2015. The 32nd installment of the event was held at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California, and hosted by Miley Cyrus. Taylor Swift led the nominations with a total of ten, followe ...

Best Female Video The MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video is one of the original general awards that has been handed out every year since the first annual MTV Video Music Awards in 1984. In 2007, however, the award was briefly renamed Female Artist of the Y ...

and

Best Hip-Hop Video The MTV Video Music Award for Best Hip Hop Video was first given out at the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards. The award, according to MTV, was originally intended for hip hop-''inspired'' songs, not necessarily actual hip hop music videos (which were ...

, winning the latter.

Background and composition

On August 5, 2014, producer

claimed that the "Anaconda" instrumental was originally intended for rapper and musician

Missy Elliott Melissa Arnette Elliott (born July 1, 1971), better known as Missy Elliott or Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliot, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She embarked on her music career with R&B girl group Sista in the earl ...

, but was scrapped and then re-recorded by Minaj. However, on August 24, 2014, Elliott contradicted Polow's recollections, saying she never received the instrumental. 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 the

Parental Advisory Advisory (abbreviated PAL) is a warning label introduced by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1985 and adopted by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in 2011. It is placed on audio recordings in recognition of profan ...

label over Minaj's

buttocks The buttocks (singular: buttock) are two rounded portions of the exterior anatomy of most mammals, located on the posterior of the pelvic region. In humans, the buttocks are located between the lower back and the perineum. They are composed ...

. The song heavily samples "

" by

, who also has vocals in the chorus of the song. The song has been viewed by some as a

diss track A diss track, diss record or diss song (diss – abbr. from ''disrespect'') is a song whose primary purpose is to verbally attack someone else, usually another artist. Diss tracks are often the result of an existing, escalating feud between the ...

, in

answer Answer commonly refers to response to a question. Answer may also refer to: * Answer (law), any reply to a question, counter-statement or defense in a legal procedure Music * Answer, an element of a fugue Albums * ''Answer'' (Angela Aki alb ...

to "

". 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. According to Minaj's

sound engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, ...

Aubry "Big Juice" Delaine, "Anaconda" had 27 different versions at first. Production team

were then brought in to add drums to the song, whereafter it was sent for mixing and mastering, which made it "perfect". Musically, the song is a hip hop and pop-rap song. The song is written in the key of

C minor C minor is a minor scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature consists of three flats. Its relative major is E major and its parallel major is C major. The C natural minor scale is: : Cha ...

with a tempo of 130 beats per minute.

Critical reception

Carolyn Menyes from ''Music Times'' said it is a bit "raunchy" though this was "expected" and saying "Anaconda" continues Minaj's promise to move away from her poppier singles such as "

Super Bass "Super Bass" is a song by rapper Nicki Minaj from the deluxe version of her debut studio album, ''Pink Friday'' (2010). It was sent to American rhythmic radio stations as the album's fifth single on April 5, 2011. The song was co-written by Min ...

" and " Starships", and go back to her hardcore rap roots. Kory Grow from ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' praised the use of the "

" sample and said the song stayed true to the theme of the original. Kevin Goddard from ''HotNewHipHop'' said "Nicki's raunchy new version may be the next big thing to hit the industry." Dan Reilly from ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

'' said "Minaj takes the good Sir's '92 ode to protruding posteriors and adds a heavy dose of 2014 sex lingo." Amy Davidson from ''

Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...

'' gave the song three stars out of five and said that "Nicki's breaking down barriers."

said he had "a whole new level of respect for Minaj" after hearing the record and that he became a "fan for life". The song made Spin's end of year 'The 101 Best Songs of 2014' list. It ranked #3 on the list of 101 entries and Spin herald it "much more than just a song" but a "cultural movement." She was the only rapper to make the top ten of the list as a lead artist. "Anaconda" was also placed at number two on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

's Best Songs of 2014. However, despite the positive reviews the song received negative reactions.

The London Economic ''The London Economic'' (''TLE'') is a digital newspaper based in the capital of the UK. It rose to prominence during the 2017 United Kingdom general election when it ran the most-shared political story on social media for that election cycle. ...

called it "one of the worst songs ever." Critics from ''

National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by the author William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief i ...

'' referred to the song as "degrading," adding that it promoted prostitution, drug abuse and immorality to young girls. A city in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

banned the song and prohibited it from concerts and sports events. They claimed the record is "violations of women's dignity," encouraged "a culture of rape and humiliation of women," and that its lyrics were "full of racist words, insults, sexism and homophobia."

Commercial performance

In the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, the song debuted at No. 3 on the

Digital Songs The Digital Songs or Digital Song Sales chart (previously named Hot Digital Songs) ranks the best-selling digital songs in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published by '' Billboard'' magazine. Although it originally sta ...

chart selling 141,000 digital downloads in its first week. Additionally, as Minaj shares lead credit on "

Bang Bang Bang Bang or Bang Bang Bang or similar may refer to: Food * Bang bang chicken, a Chinese dish *Bang bang shrimp, a Chinese dish People * Abdul Razzaq (cricketer) (born 1979), nicknamed Bang Bang Razzaq * Bang Bang (Dubliner) (1906–1981), ...

," 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 since

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...

did it on the list dated September 22, 2012. On the ''Billboard''

, the song debuted at No. 19, marking Minaj's 51st Hot 100 entry and subsequently breaking out of a tie with

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

for overall career Hot 100 entries. For the week ending September 6, 2014, "Anaconda" jumped 39-2 on the Hot 100, blocked from the top spot by Swift's "

Shake It Off "Shake It Off" is a song by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, taken from her fifth studio album, ''1989''. Swift wrote the lyrics and composed the melody with producers Max Martin and Shellback. An uptempo dance-pop song featuring a saxop ...

". 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 42-1 on ''Billboard''s

Streaming Songs The Streaming Songs chart is released weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and lists each week's top streamed radio songs, on-demand songs and videos on leading online music services in the United States. The chart represents one of the three component ...

chart. It is the largest one week streaming sum since

Miley Cyrus Miley Ray Cyrus ( ; born Destiny Hope Cyrus on November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her distinctive raspy voice, her music spans across varied styles and genres, including pop, country, rock, hip hop ...

' "

Wrecking Ball A wrecking ball is a heavy steel ball, usually hung from a crane, that is used for demolishing large buildings. It was most commonly in use during the 1950s and 1960s. Several wrecking companies claim to have invented the wrecking ball. An e ...

" 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. Only

Black Eyed Peas Black Eyed Peas (also known as The Black Eyed Peas) is an American musical group consisting of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo (rapper), Taboo. The group's line-up during the height of their popularity in the 2000s featured Fergie (singer ...

made a bigger leap in the region when "

Boom Boom Pow "Boom Boom Pow" is a song recorded by American group the Black Eyed Peas for their fifth studio album '' The E.N.D.'' (2009). It was written by group members will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo and Fergie, being produced by will.i.am. The song feature ...

" blasted 39-1 on April 18, 2009. "Anaconda" was certified double platinum by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA) in November 2014 and has sold 1.3 million copies in the US as of December 2014.

Music video

A music video for the track was shot in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. It was directed by

and was released on August 19, 2014. The video features a cameo appearance by fellow rapper and labelmate

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * ...

. The video broke the 24-hour streaming record on

by accumulating 19.6 million views in its first day of release, beating the 19.3 million 24-hour record previously held by

for the music video of her song, "

", in 2013. On August 30, 2014, eleven days after the release of the music video, "Anaconda" was

certified for receiving over 100 million views. In 2015

surpassed Minaj's record with the video for her single " Bad Blood" which got 20.1 million views in 24 hours. In a review of Minaj's video, Lucas Villa of '' AXS'' wrote, "It's butts abound in her bananas clip for 'Anaconda." NBC host

Al Roker Albert Lincoln Roker Jr. (born August 20, 1954) is an American weather presenter, journalist, television personality, and author. He is the current weather anchor on NBC's ''Today'', and occasionally co-hosts '' 3rd Hour Today''. He has an ina ...

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." Molly Lambert of

Grantland ''Grantland'' was a sports and pop-culture blog owned and operated by ESPN. The blog was started in 2011 by veteran writer and sports journalist Bill Simmons, who remained as editor-in-chief until May 2015. ''Grantland'' was named after famed ...

was complimentary, writing "the video is about Nicki asserting her power, not as a sexual object but a sexual subject." It was named one of the sexiest videos of 2014 by

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Commun ...

. As of April 3, 2021, the video has gained more than 1 billion views, being the first female rap solo song to do so. ''Billboard'' also named "Anaconda" the 13th greatest video of the decade.

Live performances

On 24 August 2014, Minaj first performed the song live at the

. The performance followed

Ariana Grande Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her four-octave vocal range has received critical acclaim, and her personal life has been the subject of widespread media attention. She has received ...

's individual performance of her single " Break Free" and was followed by a performance of

Jessie J Jessica Ellen Cornish (born 27 March 1988), known professionally as Jessie J, is an English singer. Born and raised in London, she began her career on stage, aged 11, with a role in the West End musical '' Whistle Down the Wind''. She studied ...

, Grande, and Minaj's joint single "

." On September 9, 2014, Minaj performed the song live at

. On September 19, 2014, Minaj performed the song at the 2014

. On November 9, 2014, Minaj performed "Anaconda" at the

2014 MTV Europe Music Awards The 2014 MTV EMAs (also known as the MTV Europe Music Awards) were held at The SSE Hydro, Glasgow, Scotland on 9 November 2014. This was the first time since 2003 when the awards were held in Scotland and the fifth time the United Kingdom has h ...

in a three-song medley including her other songs "

" and "

Bed of Lies "Bed of Lies" is a song by Trinidadian-American rapper and singer Nicki Minaj, taken from her third studio album, ''The Pinkprint'' (2014). The song was first premiered at the 2014 MTV EMAs in Glasgow, Scotland and was later released on November ...

" featuring

Skylar Grey Holly Brook Hafermann (born February 23, 1986), known professionally as Skylar Grey, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer from Mazomanie, Wisconsin. In 2004, at the age of 17, Grey signed a publishing deal with Universal Music ...

. Minaj has performed the song on

The Pinkprint Tour The Pinkprint Tour was the third concert tour by Trinidadian recording artist Nicki Minaj in support of her third studio album, ''The Pinkprint'' (2014). The tour was officially announced a week before the album's release, on December 8, 2014. Th ...

and The Nicki Wrld Tour.

Legacy

*The song has been played and referenced several times on ''

The Ellen DeGeneres Show ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' (often shortened to ''Ellen'' or ''The Ellen Show'') is an American daytime television variety comedy talk show that was created and hosted by its namesake Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it was prod ...

'', including

Ellen DeGeneres Ellen Lee DeGeneres ( ; born January 26, 1958) is an American comedian, television host, actress, writer, and producer. She starred in the sitcom ''Ellen'' from 1994 to 1998, which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award for " The Puppy Episode". Sh ...

doing a music video parody of the song which was unveiled during Minaj's appearance on the show in 2014. * The Fine Brothers released two videos on their

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel of teens reacting to "Anaconda", and elders reacting to "Anaconda". They later made a song out of the reactions and released it for purchase on

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

. *The song was briefly sung by a group of bunnies in the 2016 movie, ''

Sing Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

''. 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 the '' Sing: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'' and was entitled "OH. MY. GOSH." *The song was used as the first "lip-sync for your legacy" song on the third season of '' RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars''. As the two challenge winners, contestants Aja and

BenDeLaCreme BenDeLaCreme (born September 24, 1981) is the stage persona of Benjamin H. Putnam, an American drag queen, burlesque performer, and actor based in Seattle, Washington. He is known for being a contestant on the sixth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Rac ...

lip-synced to the song, with BenDeLaCreme winning.

Credits and personnel

;Recording *Recorded at Glenwood Recording Studios,

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, w ...

;Personnel *Songwriting – Onika Tanya Maraj,

Jamal Jones Jamal Aman Jones (born April 24, 1981) is a former American football wide receiver. He was originally signed by the St. Louis Rams as an undrafted free agent in 2004. He played college football at North Carolina A&T. Jones is currently pursui ...

, Jonathan Solone-Myvett,

Ernest Clark Ernest Clark (12 February 1912 – 11 November 1994) was a British actor of stage, television and film. Early life Clark was the son of a master builder in Maida Vale, and was educated nearby at St Marylebone Grammar School. After leaving sch ...

, Marcos Palacios, Anthony Ray *Production –

, Anonymous, *Co-production –

, Eric Bellinger *Recording – Aubry "Big Juice" Delaine *Mixing – Jaycen Joshua *Mixing assistant — Ryan Kaul *Mastering – Chris Athens

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{authority control 2014 songs 2014 singles Cash Money Records singles Dirty rap songs Hip house songs Music videos directed by Colin Tilley Nicki Minaj songs Republic Records singles Song recordings produced by Polow da Don Songs written by Nicki Minaj Songs written by Polow da Don Song recordings produced by Da Internz Obscenity controversies in music 2014 controversies Music video controversies Young Money Entertainment singles Songs written by Sir Mix-a-Lot