VMA Video Vanguard Honoree: Nicki Minaj
• For the first time since 2019, the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) will present its highest honor – the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award — to Nicki Minaj, at the 2022 VMAs, airing live from Prudential Center on Sunday, August 28. Minaj last performed on the show in 2018.
“Nicki has broken barriers for women in hip-hop with her versatility and creative artistry,” said Bruce Gillmer, President of Music, Music Talent, Programming & Events for Paramount+. “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.'”
As Variety notes, “Last year was the second year in a row that the VMAs did not honor anyone with the Video Vanguard Award. No one received the award from 2004 to 2005 and again between 2007 and 2010. The Vanguard Award was arguably the show’s highest honor between the years of 2013 and 2019 — the recipients in those years were Justin Timberlake, Beyoncé, Kanye West, Rihanna, P!nk, Jennifer Lopez and Missy Elliott.”
Minaj is a 17-time VMA nominee and five-time VMA winner, winning her first award for Best Hip-Hop Video in 2011. This year she’s nominated in the Best Hip-Hop category.
Minaj is latest performer to join the VMA line-up, following first bunch of artists announced last week: Anitta, J Balvin, Marshmello x Khalid and Panic! At The Disco, with more TBA.
