Ahead of the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards later this month, the award show has announced that Nicki Minaj will receive the Video Vanguard award.
The rapper is set to perform during the awards ceremony on August 28, 2022, with a medley of some of her greatest hits. She’s also nominated in the “Best Hip Hop” category for the Lil Baby collaboration “Do We Have a Problem?,” a strongly contested category that also includes Future and Drake’s “Wait For U,” and Kendrick Lamar’s “N95.”
Previous recipients of the Video Vanguard award include Missy Elliott, Rihanna, Kanye West, Beyoncé, Britney Spears, Madonna, David Bowie, Michael Jackson, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. “Nicki has broken barriers for women in hip-hop with her versatility and creative artistry,” said Paramount+ president of Music Bruce Gillmer. “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.’”
Also set to perform at the VMAs this year, which is set to take place at Newark, New Jersey’s Prudential Center, include J Balvin, Anitta, Panic! at the Disco, and Marshmello and Khalid together. The nominees for the award show were announced last month, with Kendrick Lamar, Jack Harlow, and Lil Nas X picking up the most nominations with seven each. Doja Cat and Harry Styles, however, also picked up an impressive six nominations, and Billie Eilish, Drake, Dua Lipa, Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift, and The Weeknd got five each.
In other news, Nicki recently joined Drake at his Young Money reunion show alongside Lil Wayne.