Beam Me Up Scotty (mixtape)

In 2006, Minaj signed to Fendi's Brooklyn production company Dirty Money Entertainment. She released her first mixtape Playtime Is Over (2007) and filmed a music video for the track "Click Clack", which was featured on the underground rap DVD The Come Up Vol. 11. She sold her mixtapes from her car, booked shows and communicated with her fanbase on social media. Minaj's mixtapes, freestyles, and features on other artists' songs garnered significant industry and public interest. ==Promotion==

A music video for the song "Itty Bitty Piggy" was released for the song due to popular demand. The video is shots of Nicki performing the song live at a club concert and behind the scenes of the Beam Me Up Scotty photo shoot. The video was premiered on Hoodaffairs on Demand who also had a part in shooting the clip. "Go Hard", featuring Lil Wayne, was promoted with a music video shot by director Koach K. Rich. ==Critical reception==

Beam Me Up Scotty was well received by critics and fans alike receiving an average score of 78. MTV's Mixtape Daily chose Beam Me Up Scotty as its weekly pick on May 4, 2009, giving the album positive reviews: "Yeah, you are going to hear a bunch of more-than-just-friendly shout-outs to the ladies – Nicki says she loves the girls and has no problem surrounding herself with "bad bitches." Mixtape Daily favored tracks such as "I Get Crazy", "Kill the DJ" & "Envy". Beam Me Up Scotty is credited with helping distinguish Minaj as a popular female figure in a male-dominated genre. BET.com's SoundOff TV gave Minaj a positive review on her mixtape while commenting on impressions of Minaj herself: "I'm not going to front, when Nicki first hit my 'new rapper radar' I immediately hit the 'I'll pass' button since the parallels between her and Lil' Kim were extremely similar. Light skin cutie with long hair rapping about explicit issues we only talk about behind closed doors – yeah, I'd say she was a carbon copy. But after removing the stubborn sticker from my forehead, I sat down and dissected shorty's material and the parallels didn't exist like I once thought." Writing for MSN Music in 2011, critic Robert Christgau identified Beam Me Up Scotty as the release that convinced "hards" that Minaj "was street enough", noting her "highly unsisterly, rabidly materialistic" persona on the mixtape. The recording is credited with helping to create Minaj's fanbase. Shortly after its release, Minaj, along with other Cash Money/Young Money artists, appeared on MTV.com's Mixtape Daily to discuss the recording. Retrospective analysis In a 2021 review of the mixtape's reissue, The Daily Californian writer Kelly Nguyen noted that back in 2009 when the tape was first released, "Minaj's rise as ruler of rap was sensational" and that her "clear talent was matched with her copious charisma—all wrapped up in the bait-and-switch of her personas". She added that the "nostalgia of Minaj's throwback mixtape is the reason why the album's release reignited Barbz and TikTok youth to stream it". In an analysis of the reissue, PopMatters writer Ana Clara Ribeiro stated that "Minaj might not have been a pioneer of women in rap" but it also does not "make sense anymore to describe her as a 'female rapper' when she is one of the best alive and a serious candidate to best of all time". He went on to say that Minaj's ascent with the mixtape "came as rap made by women seemed to be on the decline. The number of women signed to major labels reportedly went from more than 40 to just three between the late eighties and 2010; after her arrival, Minaj became a singular figure in music for almost a decade". He went on to say that this mixtape "paved the way for that accomplishment". On the mixtape content, he stated Minaj "brought a more down to earth humanity to her persona with revealing spoken interludes". Conteh went on to say that, "Twelve years after Beam Me Up Scotty, there are many more women making popular rap music and there's no doubt that Nicki Minaj's success has inspired the variety and competition that exists now [...] Women across rap explore the contours of their voices, building on a framework established by [Minaj]. They complement their raps with delicate singing. They have tapped into her over-the-top wardrobe and wigs. Many came up remaking [Minaj's] songs and at their most fortunate, they've been able to collaborate with her". ==Commercial performance==

In 2009, "I Get Crazy" charted at number 20 on the US Hot Rap Songs chart and number 37 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The 2021 reissue of the mixtape debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, selling 80,000 copies in its first week. It became the "highest-charting re-released mixtape by a rapper and the highest-debuting female rap mixtape in history". With three new entities on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, Minaj extended her record as the female artist with the most songs charted. She also surpassed Janet Jackson as the woman with the second-most songs to reach the top 10 of the chart, with "Seeing Green" debuting at number 8. ==2021 reissue==

On May 11, 2021 after a three-month hiatus from social media, Minaj shared a series of pictures on Instagram teasing the release of music on Friday, May 14th. She confirmed the release of music on Instagram Live confirming that Beam Me Up Scotty would be released "on major streaming services, and would include a fresh track" called "Seeing Green" featuring rappers Drake and Lil Wayne. Billboard described the new mixtape artwork as Minaj going "full-retro for the revamped Star Trek-themed artwork". According to Billboard and The Sole Supplier, "the look caused a whopping 4,900% spike in sales of pink Crocs and the retailer's website also crashed." The 2009 mixtape was also included but several tracks did not make the final cut due to sampling issues including: "I Feel Free," "Mind on My Money," "Handstand," "Five-O" and "Outro." ==Track listing==

Credits adapted from the back cover of Beam Me Up Scotty. • Debra Antney – executive producer • Onika Maraj – executive producer • Sandra Brummels, Giancarlo Pacheco – art direction/design (reissue) • Mark Gierl – cover art design (reissue) ==Charts==

Weekly charts Year-end charts ==Release history==