Album Artist: Nicki Minaj
Album Title: Pink Friday
Genre: Hip-Hop/R&B/Pop
Release Date: November 19, 2010
Album Length: 50:55
Record Label: Young Money/Cash Money/Universal Motown
Production Credits: Bangladesh, Swizz Beats, Drew Money, Papa Justifi, J.R. Rotem, T-Minus, will-i-am, and Blackout Movement
Advanced Singles: “Massive Attack” featuring Sean Garrett, “Your Love,” and “Right Thru Me”
Arguably one of the most anticipated albums of the year, Nicki Minaj’s debut album Pink Friday is a hit or miss record depending on the listener’s musical taste and when they became her fan. If you were a fan of Ms. Minaj before the release of Young Money’s “Bedrock,” and haven’t become attuned to the poppy-tune of rap these days, you probably shouldn’t waste your time copping the album. This album is flooded with instrumentals that were produced with the mainstream audience in mind. If anything, the most daring song on the record is the Eminem featuring track, “Roman’s Revenge” and lyrically, it’s definitely somethingwe’ve heard from Nicki before. In fact, it’s a message that is repeated throughout the entire album.
Truth be told, I’m not exactly familiar with the way hip-hop lyrics are designed---but practically every song featured on this album has a verse or line talking about “haters”. The word becomes so repetitive that the conscious listener might actually question has this artist experienced anything else in life??? But repetitive themes aside, there are other themes to be found in Pink Friday.
With that being said, I still thoroughly enjoyed this album. Style-wise, Nicki doesn’t stray too far from the sound of “Your Love,” the first number one single by afemale rap artist in nearly ten years (the last time any female rapper managed to top the charts independently was Missy Elliot). Laced with violins, “I’m the Best” mildly addresses the mystique of Minaj’s past and gives her fans the reassurance she never received as a youth. The advanced single, “Right Thru Me”is truly the standout track on the record. Minaj takes the raw-emotions experienced by a woman in love and essentially calls men out on their “shit” by asking the simple question, “how?” The album’s greatest disappointment is “Fly.” The track, which features guest vocals from pop-singing sensation Rihanna,is quite dull on the songstress’ part. Nicki’s rapping skills are sick, but Rihanna sounds as if she was just recovering from bronchitis or something. Apparently, her heart just wasn’t in it. Interestingly enough, Nicki also sounded the same way on Rihanna’s fifth studio album LOUD on the track,“Raining Men.” Perhaps it has something to do with the rumored feud between thetwo of them last Summer?
“Save Me,” is the American album’s signature experimental track. Seriously, every American album as of late, has one of these weird sounding songs that sounds like someone’s having a difficult time using acomputer. Lyrically, “Save Me” reveals Nicki’s vulnerable side. It will be interesting to see how the rap community embraces this track, given all the hell it put the Game through for his self-exposure.
Slated for release as the album’s next single, “Moment 4 Life” features Nicki’s most fiercest rhymes and fellow Young Money rapper, Drake. It also helps clear up the twitter-controversy started by the two over the Summer. Sampling “Video Killed the Radio Star” by the Buggles, the joint collaborative effort between Nicki Minaj and Will-i-Am entitled, “Check it Out” is one of those songs that you just can’t hate for loving it.
As you’ll soon come to know in the reviews to come, I HATE deluxe editions primarily because most of the tracks featured on the deluxe edition should be on the standard edition. That said, the deluxe editions of Minaj’s debut album include six exclusive tracks. The best of those said six are the sexually-charged, oral-sex encouraging “Blow Ya Mind” and the oddly-good-for-a-song-about-a-chick-picking-up-other-chicks track, “Girls Fall Like Dominoes.”
Overall, I give Nicki Minaj’s album a 4 out of 5.
Review by: SparklingYume
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