Pink Friday

Description

About the Artist Any encounter with Nicki Minaj will arouse a heightened sense that there is more to her than meets the eye and inspire the desire to experience this modern day "Wonder Woman" Nicki Minaj - the name alone appeals to the decadence within us all. Whoever thinks that you can't "have your cake and eat it too" has obviously not met Nicki. The surname Minaj is the metaphor which underscores Nicki's empowerment to have it all and do it all! This 25 year old native of Jamaica, New York (Queens, Southside) is also a trained and accomplished writer, singer, actress and hip hop artist. Her "Wonder Woman" characteristics are embodied in the three facets of Nicki Minaj. The three elements that comprise this modern day "Wonder Woman" are Nicki the Ninja, Nicki the Harajuku Barbie and Nicki the Boss. Nicki the Ninja is a hip hop lyrical assassin, which is sometimes naughty. Nicki the Harajuku Barbie accentuates the qualities of an imaginative, fun, coquettish girly girl- fashionista...that loves all things pink. This is also the muse who ignites the transformation of Nicki's performances as an R&B/Pop singer and future Rock Star Icon. Nicki the Boss- the ingenious austere business woman that always thinks outside of the box. Most importantly, this boss lady is never afraid to assert herself. Career Nicki honed her innate ability and star potential at the renowned school of performing arts which was denoted in the movie and television series FAME. It was not long before she began to attract the attention of local producers and hip hop artist in the rap genre. Reluctant at first to cast herself, as a rapper her apprehension was predicated on the thought that the industry would attempt to limit her to one thing; when she knew that she was so much more. Decidedly, Nicki accepted the challenge and embarked on the journey of a female emcee in a hip hop world dominated by males. It was not long before her lyrical skills were sought after by the likes of Lil' Wayne. Nicki was determined not to befall the ill-fate of so many other talented female rappers. Instead she opted to qualify her lyrical skills through the ranks of the underground mix tape circuit. Success was inevitably achieved with her critically acclaimed performance credit on the DVD entitled "The Come Up" and mixtapes like Playtime is Over, the infamous Sucka Free, and Beam Me Up Scotty. Now in demand Nicki's role expands as a featured artist and female persona of Lil Wayne's record label Young Money Entertainment. In addition, she has a worked with celebrated recording artists Mariah Carey, Gucci Mane, Drake, Usher, Bobby Valentino, Ludacris, Robin Thicke, Jadakiss and Sean Garrett. The evolution of Nicki Minaj continues as she exploits her talents as a singer and explores her passion as a writer. Nicki is currently, in the studio recording her first album (due out in Fall 2010) which will feature some R&B and Pop songs. Of equal importance, she is also engaged in writing new materials for herself and other artists. Nicki is also considering several acting roles. Nicki is the previous winner of the Underground Music Awards (UMA) female artist of the year and past Southern Entertainment Awards (SEA) female mix tape artist of the year nominee. Review: Nicki's debut is fire! - I've waited so long for "Pink Friday" to come out. I decided to review it now although I did get the album around the time of the release. Anyway, ever since I first heard Nicki in early 2010 in the song "BedRock", I really liked her just from that one verse because of her rapping voice and all that. After that, heard about "Massive Attack" and loved it on my first listen (it should've gotten more mainstream attention). I was officially a definite Nicki fan and I couldn't wait for the non-mixtape version of "Your Love" to come out. For every single she released, I only loved her more and more. Now she's one of my favorite artists! The beats on this album are good, and while some have that synthesized drum beat used in a lot of rap songs today (I'm not a big fan of it), like in songs such as "I'm the Best", "Right Thru Me", "Fly", "Check it Out" and a few more, Nicki can still pull it off. The beats may not be as unique as in "Massive Attack" (like that amazing Caribbean drum beat!), but at least Nicki made this album as true to herself as possible, and I absolutely love it! The album starts off very victoriously in "I'm the Best", which has the greatest opening line for the album; "It was back in '07, did a couple of tapes, did a couple DVD's, made a couple mistakes". "I'm the Best", which has a great chorus and amazing lyrics on how she succeeded in her career, which really sets the tone for the rest of the album and deserves to be the first song on "Pink Friday". "Roman's Revenge" is absolute fire! It has that synth drum playing over and over and it actually sounds great that way! The lyrics are crazy and I love the ending with Martha (Roman Zolanski's mother), and those insane synths make the song so cool. Although I hate eminem. Anyway, it's still my favorite song on the album. I wish the version of the song with Lil Wayne was better (he should've been in the original) because the original had those crazy additional synths that aren't present in the version with Wayne and Nicki doesn't have as much energy in the other version, but once you get through all that, this song is really a colossal standout on the album. "Did it On Em" is one of my favorites. It has an amazing siren-synth sounding beat and Nicki totally pulls it off with the lyrics. It's definitely a great song. "Right Thru Me" isn't my favorite, but it's still a good song. Nicki called it the "standout on the album", and I like that on this single she kept it personal, without the alter-egos or anything. It sounds really good. "Fly" is one of the empowerment songs on the album. It has an amazing chorus, and while I'm not a fan of Rihanna, the chorus that she sings is really good. "Save Me" is absolutely amazing! It's singing throughout and I really like how this song sounds personal too. The lyrics are phenomenal and that beat with that repetitive synthesizer just makes the song what it is. It's truly one of my favorites. I personally think "Moment 4 Life" with Drake definitely deserved to be a single from "Pink Friday". I love the story behind and everything about that song is great. The video is also really awesome. "Check it Out" may have the typical will.i.am beat, but Nicki and that "Video Killed the Radio Star" sample keep the song extremely cool. It's upbeat, catchy and deserved to be on the album. I'm glad Nicki kept a feature with Kanye West in the song "Blazin", because this album definitely deserved a song in which Ye features in. "Blazin" has an awesome extended verse from Nicki and another extended verse from Kanye (both of the verses are great) with a nice bridge and a great chorus alongside a sample. It's a great 5 minutes of a song. "Here I Am" is a very simple song and once I heard it's one of her favorite songs on the album because it shows how the media portrays her and how she feels with her need for acceptance and all that, it made me appreciate the song and its lyrics even more. It's a great song. "Dear Old Nicki" has some of my favorite lyrics on the whole album. The beat is good, but I love the lyrics even more. It talks about how she wants to reconnect with the "Old Nicki" (the one from '07 with the mixtapes and all). It's an amazing song. "Your Love" is still a great song because it remind sme of summer '10 and how I've waited for this song to bring Nicki chart success and mainstream attention. From then to the album release date, it was only 5-6 months, but it felt like a long time and it's kind of funny to hear the song on the album for some strange reason. It seems like a different Nicki. The album opened in the best way possible and the standard edition ends in the best way possible, with "Last Chance", with Natasha Bedingfield. It has an amazing beat (I love that electric guitar) and the whole song has this melody that makes it sound like an empowerment song. At first it sounded like a song about suicide over a happy beat "...one bullet in the gun. This is my life and I only got one... I'm ready to shoot", but the song is about living your dreams and fulfilling them, and basically she's talking about "making a shot into the sky", so it might sound confusing at first, but once you get around the lyrics a lot, it makes sense. Now for the reviews on the three bonus tracks on the deluxe edition- "Super Bass" is an absolute amazing song, with great bass (like the title suggests), amazing lyrics, melody, and her different voices during the verses are sooo Nicki. Only she can pull that off. "Blow Ya Mind" is another track that's on fire! The beat, lyrics, and complete sound of the song is so awesome! Another gret hip-hop track from Nicki. "Muny" may be about material girls and may have a somewhat stuck-up feel to it, but Nicki's just having fun on this track. I love the handclaps and synths and the all-around vibe of the song is fun. I love that line from the song, "B-----s want my old s----, buy my old mixtape". It's great! The other two tracks you can only buy physically from Best Buy, and for anybody who doesn't have Pink Friday, definitely get the 18-track Best Buy edition. "Wave Ya Hand" is such an awesome song with a great beat and I love the lyrics. The bridge is also hilarious and is definitely a Nicki thing. "Catch Me" is also one of my favorites. It has an amazing marching-sounding beat. The lyrics and chorus are great and it's a very emotional sounding song. The beat sounds a little confusing during the beginning of the chorus before the drum beat, since it really doesn't have a set beat, with the handclaps and bass all over the place, but I stillthink it's great. It's an odd way to end the extra deluxe, but who cares. "Girls Fall Like Dominoes" (an iTunes Only track) should've been on this album. It could definitely end the album very well and it's a really good song with a great sample, lyrics, and beat. It's going to be on a UK version of "Pink Friday" along with the Lil Wayne version of "Roman's Revenge" and I just might get it. Anyway, this album is amazing and I can't wait for everything else Nicki's going to have in store in the future. Another thing I wanted to say was, I really hate the Lil Kim/Nicki Minaj feud. They should totally break it up and I'm not Team Kim nor Team Nicki. I love them both, but the cover of Lil Kim's new mixtape "Black Friday" is kind of going overboard. It copies the cover of "Pink Friday" and it shows Kim in a similar position to Nicki, showing blood splatters and what's supposed to be Nicki's decapitated head on the cover (it shows a pink lump, which is her hair). When I saw that and found out more about the mixtape, like her diss song to Nicki over the beat of a Nicki song (Did it On Em, and plenty of other things, I really lost a lot of respect for Lil Kim. That was pretty lame and it's also going overboard. I hope she gets over it and makes another actual album. All that's left to say now is, I can't wait for Nicki's next album!!!! Review: Rap Godess Freshman Album Has a Little Bit For Everyone - This CD is one of my favorites. Now keep in mind that I am a fan old "old nicki" back in her mixtape days. I am, and always have been a Nicki Minaj fan as a rapper, NOT a singer, or pop idol. But, with that said, I feel that this CD showed more to this Queen's girl then ever anticipated. Half of this album seems to be deovted to her old core base: rap. With song's like "Roman's Revenge" and "Did it on 'Em", it proves satisfying for Nicki's rap fans. But the other half, shows a softer side. With the ballad, "Right Thru Me" and emotionally-charged "Save Me" she shows us not only her talent for singing, but a more radio-friendly side. 1) I'm the Best- This song is a nice introduction to the album. Not the strongest track on the album in my opinion, but it eases you into some of the rap of the album, but also some pop feel with it. 4/5 2)Roman's Revenge ft. Eminem- Well, here it is. One of my favorites from the album. We see the introduction to her alter-ego, Roman in this song, and she doesn't ease up. Along with Slim Shady, they tear up this song with an almost chaotic feel to it. 5/5 3)Did it on 'Em- Once again, she hits us with another song reminiscent of mixtape days. With a sick beak and very catchy hooks, this is another great! 5/5 4)Right Thru Me- I will be honest, this wasn't my favorite song at first. But it grew on me. This song truly showcases the soft side to Nicki. Pretty song and big change of pace from previous songs! 4/5 5)Fly Ft. Rihanna- Another one of my favorite songs of the album. Rihanna and Nicki wonderfully collabarate vocals on this very pop-ish song. In my opionion, most pop-orientated song of the album, but executed wonderfully. 5/5 6)Save Me- Most beautiful song on the album. Very soft, but impactful strong. Do note that there is not any rap in this song, once again making her core fans scratching their heads. Still nonetheless, 5/5 7)Moment 4 Life ft. Drake- Favorite song on the album. Love the beat, lyrics, and let's just say that if Nicki Minaj and Drake aren't secretly in love, then call me surprised! Excellent song 5/5 8)Check It Out ft. Will.I.Am- I, to this day, am still on the edge. I have never been much of a Will.I.Am fan, so I don't care for his part in this, but Nicki slays her verses in this song, making up for it's flaws. 3.5/5 9)Blazin ft. Kanye West- Rap fans rejoice! This song features some of Nicki's best rap verses on the album and Kanye also kills several bars on this song. 5/5 10)Here I Am- This is the album's oddity, I feel. I like the song a lot, however. It has partial feeling of Save Me, but a little bit faster paced. A little bit of rap, little bit of singing. Nice song. 4.5/5 11)Dear Old Nicki- Nicki's song addressing "Old Nicki" and acknowledging she has changed. Strong lyrics, but still not my favorite. Very pop-ish feel to it as well. 3.5/5 12)Your Love- A great job done on this song. Actually the original version of this song was created years back in her mixtape days, but it was leaked and eventually charted. Does a great job on this song 5/5 13)Last Change ft. Natasha Bedingfield- To me, it feels like the introduction, I'm the Best. It is a good song, with a mixture of pop and rap elements, but to me, just is not the strongest track. 4/5 Now, this is the end of the standard edition. But with this album, you HAVE to get the deluxe edition. 14)Super Bass- Her biggest hit, and one of my personal favorites. I still ponder why a great song like this would be on the deluxe edition! Bubbly pop song, but still has some classic Nicki rap interfused as well. 5/5 15)Blow Ya Mind- Another classic hip-hop hit. In this song, we see some hardcore Nicki return for one last fiery track. Vulgarity at its best! Awesome beat and hilarious lyrics! 5/5 16)Muny- I was rather disappointed with this track. Out of all the songs of the album, this track truly disappointed me and actually came off as annoying. Not horrible, but my least favorite 2.5/5 Overall, I think this album has a little something for everyone. I think this album is one of my favorites. I thoroughly enjoy her rap on the album, which is one of the main reasons I bought it, but was allured into the rest of the songs and I am craving more. Her next album, I hope she keeps a slew of songs, ranging from fast to slow and rap to pop as in this one, because she executes each genre wonderfully.