5. Megan Thee Stallion
After losing her mother, who was also her manager, and her grandmother in March 2019, some might have doubted that Megan Thee Stallion could have carried on successfully with her career. Nevertheless, the Texas native dropped her highly anticipated mixtape, Fever, in May 2019, which ranked No. 10 on the Billboard 200 chart. Living proof that you can still chase your dreams while pursuing an education, the 23-year-old is still enrolled as a student at Texas Southern University.
6. Nicki Minaj
Rap veteran Nicki Minaj found love in 2019 after announcing that she married her high school sweetheart, Kenneth Petty, in October of last year. She won the Game-Changer Award at the Billboard Women in Music ceremony in December 2019 for delivering consistent, chart-topping records. Her hit single “Megatron” was No. 1 on iTunes last summer and ranked #20 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart.
7. Rihanna
Although we didn’t hear much music from her in 2019, Rihanna’s entrepreneurship caused her to become one of the world’s wealthiest female musicians. Rihanna’s fashion and beauty ventures, specifically her brand, Fenty Beauty, generated more than $600 million in revenue. She also utilized her platform to expand her involvement in social activism, pushing for the release of Cyntoia Brown (now Cyntoia Brown Long), who was freed from prison in August 2109.
