Nicki Minaj Reveals Album Cover for ‘Queen’

By Ellis Clopton

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Hip-hop artist Nicki Minaj shared the album cover for her highly anticipated upcoming album, “Queen,” on social media Thursday.

The portrait was taken by fashion photographers Mert Alaş and Marcus Piggott, and features a scantily clad Minaj adorned in Egyptian head beads while crouching seductive on a tree branch in front of a setting sun seemingly setting the sky above her ablaze. In her social media posts, Minaj promised fans “Queen” is “My greatest work to date.” The album is set to drop on August 8.

“Queen” will be Minaj’s fourth studio album, and her first album release since “The Pinkprint” in 2014, which received praise from fans and critics as like as well as certified platinum status twice by the Recording Industry Association of America. Minaj has already released two singles from the album, “Barbie Tingz” and “Chun-Li,” the latter of which peaked at number 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Minaj will also be headlining the 2018 Made in America music festival along with Post Malone, and the two-day festival will feature performances by Meek Mill, Diplo, Miguel, Janelle Monáe, Alessia Cara at the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia on Sept. 1 and Sept. 2, only a few weeks after the release of “Queen.”