Pink Friday 2
Nicki Minaj
2023
With big shoes to fill after naming her highly anticipated fifth studio album after her breakout debut, the superstar rapper gives us chess play from the brains of both Nicki Minaj and Onika Tanya Maraj.
Queendom Rap/trap&B/Bubblegum Pop Rap
BY HARPSICHORD
DECEMBER 10, 2023
It’s a waste of word count to even reiterate that Nicki Minaj wants to be the greatest. And in the present times, she’s brought the days of when MC’s like Jay-Z, Nas, and Biggie competed for, taunted, and flaunted their crown back to the forefront of female rap. While many female rap contemporaries would deny or curtsy around their inner drive to compete, Nicki has never shied away from being super vocal about everyone’s real objective. She’s remained consistent with those sentiments since her start. And even she would agree that the generations of hip hop that raised and coached her on that principle– both men and women— would be disappointed had she not kept that spirit alive, unapologetically. Simply put, a rapper is always supposed to think “I’m The Best” by any means necessary, and you better not get caught reneging!
But sometimes, Nicki Minaj has stumbled in the rat race of “maintaining that crown.” There have been female rappers who have gotten accolades that she hasn’t. There have been times when the public has focused more attention on them rather than her. There have been times when rap critics have rejected her music decisions in front of live festival audiences, through podcast and radio mics, and even *gulps* in editorial discourse. There have been times where she’s irritated the masses with some personal choices– including her own marriage to husband, Kenneth Petty— and public statements about global affairs. But in the lead up to ‘Pink Friday 2,’ it seems like the tightrope walk of what people think about her as “Onika the person” doesn’t matter as much as how they regard the discography, legacy, and stats of “Nicki the rapper.”
Upon release, Nicki, the rapper faced one of the largest tasks for those who call themselves the greatest day in and night out. Nearly twenty years since the start of her rap journey with a small underground posse, it seemed destined for Minaj to release this album. Most regard an album release as a final assessment of some sorts. The promotion of the era may be a part of extra credit, but the album itself marks the true indicator of where one’s artistry has advanced since the previous LP. While Nicki started off her mainstream career red hot releasing ‘Pink Friday’ and its ‘Reloaded’ sequel(s), her stagnation of album releases indicates that she views an album more valuable than the dozens upon dozens of features she releases a year.
‘Queen’– which rolled out as her fourth album during an era where she faced a large “hate train” in the eyes of the pop-conscious public as well as her own hip hop world– dropped four years after her highly acclaimed third, ‘The Pinkprint.’ Since ‘Queen’ it’s been a rebound of five years to those two entities’ approval, although it’s fair to say some music listener bridges have been burned in that specific regard. ‘Pink Friday 2’ does not set out to outright win everyone over at first glance– instead it cohesively offers different sides of Nicki’s artistry, where you’re drawn to listen to what else her other personalities have to say.
The first moment of where we get a battle of the split brains from the rapstress happens during “Fallin 4 U.” Already conveniently not placed as the fourth track– but rather the fifth– “Fallin 4 U’ takes on a dual meaning. At first glance it’s supposed to be an ode to her man (“Thinkin' 'bout you lately, JoJo and K-Ci”), but upon the lines “gyal, them want me face” it’s clear this is more “opp[ossition]s” talk that’s experienced in the previous three tracks. Onika can’t help that she’s falling for Mr. Petty– with singing that recalls her style on “Save Me” from ‘Pink Friday.’ But as she’s dealing with her personal life off camera, she has to deal with her career and the game she’s laid out. Petty gets the love, while her competitors get an "I'm not ‘Fallin’ 4 U’ and your antics”.
‘Pink Friday’ stood out in hip hop history for how it flexed different characters such as Roman, The Harajuku Barbie, and even Dear Old Nicki (who is her mix-tape days as Nicki on the come up rather than Onika). As her debut, that album’s world solely stays in the framework of the rapper’s multiple characters once Onika finalizes her “I’m The Best” opener. ‘Pink Friday 2’ has a different motor– as Onika sometimes interrupts the persona family gathering between Queen “Red Ruby Da Sleeze,” Chun Li, Roman Zolanski, and Harajuku Barbie. While this prompts the album to get scattered at moments, it reflects where the superstar is at in her artistic process.
Another poignant moment where this clash takes place is on “Forward From Trini,” a dancehall number saluting the sex talk of her native Trinidad. Nicki is in work mode as she banters with Skeng and frequent collaborator Skillibeng. Suddenly a calypso synth overlaps their moments. At the end of the song, the synth comes back with the rest of its hyper-energetic production. “Go Papa! Go Papa!” exclaims Nicki… Wait no, excuse me **Onika** who happens to chant with the voice of a mommy. It becomes clear that the moment– in its isolated production on the same track– is dedicated to her son, who she calls Papa Bear to the public.
Throughout ‘Pink Friday 2,’ Nicki Minaj remains in character. The one who would take a “stay in your Tory lane bitch, I’m not Iggy,” shot on the Three Six Mafia meets Waka Flocka club banger, “FTCU.” The one who enjoys revisiting Biggie on “Barbie Dangerous,” a direct flow copper and play on of his “Notorious Thugs.” The one who wants to keep her pop money and brand flowing with a Cyndi Lauper-sampling “Pink Friday Girls.” But in the midst of all that, she continuously interrupts that game play with what’s actually happening in her real life. The “Go Papa!” moment more than likely happened because as Nicki was recording and finishing “Forward From Trini,” Papa Bear was more than likely doing what a Caribbean-blood child does, dance in the background to the music. That’s an assumption… But Papa Bear speaking on “Are You Gone Already” and feeling his baby kicks while recording “Just The Memories” are concrete moments that did take place.
However, ‘Pink Friday 2’ does not operate like a mother’s dedication to their child, as Madonna’s ‘Ray of Light’ primarily does. In fact, this album plays more like Kanye West’s ‘The Life of Pablo,’ where he masterfully blended all his Ye-isms with interruptions of prison phone calls and studio mic notes. ‘The Life of Pablo’ brought about the rap album functioning as a reality TV show. Or better yet, ‘The Truman Show.’
Just as a rapper should, Nicki Minaj loves to flaunt her knowledge of Pop Culture and the conversations dominating her internet fanbase. And just as a Taylor Swift, Nicki loves to plant Easter Eggs to her loyal Barbz, just for them to uncover some truths while being mythed by others. This album go-round represents that Nicki understands how to manipulate and mold her audience to care about her drama.
Is the Gotham City vibes of “Beep Beep” a subtle shot at Missy Elliott, and other legends who she’s had begrudging chasms with? Did she answer Spotify’s question about which four rappers of the 2010’s should appear on Hip Hop’s Mount Rushmore, excluding herself? (That answer seems to be J. Cole, who features as the Petty’s therapist, on “Let Me Calm Down;” Drake who gives us his classic afrobeats-dancehall mixed R&B on “Needle;” Lil Uzi Vert who’s perfecting his Jersey Club hypebeast-bait on “Everybody;” and Future masters synergy on “Future Hendrix.”) Did she troll Stan Twitter by naming her track, “RNB” (their [imaginary] 2010’s Black female pop trinity of Rihanna, Nicki, and Beyoncé) and then featuring two men, one of which is Lil Wayne who lyrically continues the roleplay of “did she actually f*ck Wayne?” And those around during 2018 Queen Radio better have caught that **cleared** Travis Scott sample on “Pink Birthday.”
Although the album is 22 tracks long, ‘Pink Friday 2’ keeps its entertainment value because of that. As Nick Levine puts it in his ‘NME’ review, “Minaj paces [the album] sharply.” Not only is that accomplished by the assortment of genres she continuously switches flows on, there are sections. The beginning pushes the rapper’s pen like a ‘Pinkprint’ with hints of the melodramatization of ‘Queen.’ Then there is the R&B section, where Nicki’s singing has shown tremendous improvement. She goes on to address the ageism comments older female pop stars face, by keeping the “all these b*tches is my sons” antagonization on “Big Difference” and including a rodeo number dedicated to the Kama Sutra position of “Cowgirl.” Her Caribbean heritage gets a salute on “Red Ruby” and “Forward.” Pop Barbie makes way through overt 80’s samples on No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hit, “Super Freaky Girl.”
By the time Nicki the rapper has cycled around all of this, the marketing scheme for how to sell the album becomes more clear. Nicki Minaj developed a global icon status that requires her to provide at least three to five tracks that can appeal to any Barb or casual music fan to digest. Even if you don’t like a particular side of her, you can still have your favorites, and appreciate her commitment to appease every other listener. And while many artists utilize that technique in today’s streaming age to see what will stick, Nicki’s decisions seem artistically intentional. It’s curated as though she never second guessed her instincts, and trusted them all as she did on the original ‘Pink Friday.’
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However, the strongest portion of ‘Pink Friday 2’– through all the smog of the obvious fodder– is the Onika songs that express her vulnerability. Billie Eilish’s vocal sample of “when the party’s over” functions as her inner child crying out for help on the opener “Are You Gone Already.” “Grand Piano” is often cited as the most vulnerable moment of the rapstress’s career, but “Gone Already” sees her struggle with being a newborn mother coinciding with the tragic death of her father. She gets back to that fatal moment with the surf rock breeze of “Last Time That I Saw You.” Her strongest vocal moment comes with “Blessings,” a clean and tasteful urban gospel repentance with Tasha Cobbs Leonard. “There's never been another you,” she calls out on the closer, “Just The Memories,” which mirrors the end credits of a movie. The cover art site of Nicki Minaj floating away from #GagCity on a topless subway hovercraft, as a recharged superheroine who has always had this punctuality in her even when the public (and her own Barbz) started to doubt it.
“Pink Birthday” for being a new sensual birthday anthem that recalls the trap&B of Rihanna’s “Birthday Cake,” the on-point vocal performance from Nicki, and cleverly flipping a small portion of Travis Scott’s “Pornography” into a soundscape that matches the Pretty Ricky styled R&B of the mid-2000s.
“Fallin’ 4 U” for its storytelling that evokes “Save Me” tease as well as that of New York rap when Nicki was on the come up of the Ricky Blaze’s, Ron Browz’s, and Jim Jones’s.
“Nicki Hendrix” for blending Future’s dystopian sound masterfully with Nicki’s, which takes on the light of “No Love” and “Right By My Side.”
“Blessings” for being an uplifting spiritual number when Nicki Minaj is able to let go and flex that she can be taken seriously as a singer, as well as Tasha Cobb Leonard’s show-stealing moment.
Key Tracks
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“Red Ruby Da Sleeze” Is One of the 64 songs that appears in the inaugural issue of harpsichord zine
Upon an initial weekend reviewing– with only three days since the LP dropped– it’s already pretty clear that Nicki Minaj holds a winner. However it’s a little too premature to launch it in the A-stratosphere as more time needs to play out (hence the B+). Nicki has usually struggled with keeping an entire album consistent and cohesive, but ‘Pink Friday 2’ proves that she actually has that capability to keep everything fine lined. The cohesiveness is the celebration of all her eras, while still telling one story about the rapper’s stature.
While it may seem as though her subject matter is limited, Nicki does a great job of implementing other elements such as feature selection, and matching the energy of her various producers, to distract from that fact. This is both a risky record, as well as one suitable for what sells on today’s market. When it’s time for her to prove why she’s a legend going twenty years strong– and fifteen plus since the public met her at large– she ultimately delivers, meaning everyone else will have to step their games up for the future.
And who knows? Maybe the score may eventually be upgraded.