Countdown to Nicki Minaj’s ‘Pink Friday': ‘Beam Me Up Scotty’

As we continue our journey to the release of Nicki Minaj's debut 'Pink Friday,' we remember the mixtape that started it all. Minaj's 'Beam Me Up Scotty' mixtape dropped on April 18, 2009. Presented by DJ Holiday and The Trap-A-Holics, her third mixtape clicked with the hip-hop world, becoming one of the most downloaded mixtapes in 2009. In addition, two of Nicki's breakthrough songs came from 'Beam Me Up Scotty.' Check out which songs after the jump.

It took a little song called 'I Get Crazy' with a cameo from a rapper named Lil Wayne to officially build the Nicki Minaj buzz. The track was a combination of abstract rap with boom bap, revealing a gradual change in Nicki's style. While Wayne's verse came at a time when he was experimenting with his rock side, it was Nicki who sounded like the weirdo ... in a good way. Nicki opens the song with, "When I feel really crazy, I just get on my broom and fly away." With hints of extraterrestrial behavior coupled with unapologetic pansexuality, Nicki was already beginning to separate herself from the female rap bunch, despite constant comparisons to Lil Kim over early press photos. However, Nicki also proved on 'Beam Me Up Scotty' that she didn't need Wayne by her side to make a hit. In fact, she didn't need anybody, as her second buzzworthy track 'Itty Bitty Piggy' had Nicki as a one-woman show.

'Itty Bitty Piggy' is cocky, strange and grimy all at the same time. Nicki's entrance begins with a nod to the Cosby spinoff 'A Different World': "I was on the plane with Dwayne/ You could call me Whitley, I go to Hillman/ Listen I'm the baddest in the school, baddest in the game." Nicki is braggadiocious and confident as she claims her status as the next chick to hit it big. The video for 'Itty Bitty Piggy' dropped on YouTube that September of 2009, and to date has close to 13.5 million viewers. Not bad for something that looks like it was filmed on a FlipCam. Big movements start small, and Nicki Minaj is proof of that. Check out the video for 'Itty Bitty Piggy' below. Toward the end of the video, Nicki declares, "It's me! I win!" She isn't kidding.