REVIEW: Pink Friday 2 - Nicki Minaj
Maturing Beats and Lyrical Mastery: Nicki Minaj's Evolution in 'Pink Friday 2'
Nicki Minaj's career is far from waning, evident by her recent hits, including the successful 'Barbie World' featuring Ice Spice, despite its divisive use of Aqua's 'Barbie Girl'. With 23 US Top 10 singles, more than any other female rapper, Nicki Minaj doesn’t need a commercial lift, as she points out in 'FTCU'.
'Pink Friday 2' marks a return to her debut album’s essence. While 'Pink Friday' mixed mainstream pop with fierce hip-hop, defining Minaj’s commercial path with songs like 'Starships' and 'Anaconda', her latest album leans more towards her hip-hop roots. The album features tracks with moodier subject matter and creative productions, showcasing her diverse skill set. The initial tracks of 'Pink Friday 2' echo her debut’s hip-hop intensity, with standout songs like 'Beep Beep' and 'Fallin 4 U'. High-profile collaborations, such as 'Needle' with Drake and Sza, and 'Let Me Calm Down' featuring J Cole, complement rather than overshadow her presence.
Are You Gone Already', the opening track of 'Pink Friday 2', marks a matured direction in Nicki Minaj’s music, reflecting the emotional depth of her briefly considered 2019 retirement to focus on family. Over the haunting sample from Billie Eilish’s 'When the Party’s Over', Minaj intimately addresses her time away from her young child, her feelings about aging—coinciding with the release on her 41st birthday—and the loss of her father. This track, along with 'Blessings' featuring Tasha Cobbs Leonard, reveals a deeper, introspective side of Minaj. She skillfully intertwines themes of motherhood and personal loss into her lyrics, presenting a stark contrast to her typically vibrant personas and showcasing her evolution as an artist.
Personally, as a fan of Jersey Club beats since 2016, the track ‘Everybody’ featuring Lil Uzi Vert stuck with me as a particularly endearing highlight of the album. This song transforms the 2002 hit 'Move Your Feet' into a pulsating Jersey Club beat, a move that is likely to guarantee its success on platforms like TikTok. Given the platform's current fascination with dance trends, this type of music is ripe for virality, often propelling songs to new heights of popularity. Nevertheless, one can't help but ponder the longevity of 'Everybody' in the broader musical landscape. As trends evolve and the spotlight on Jersey Club music potentially dims, it raises questions about how this track will be remembered and valued in a post-trend world, away from the immediate allure of it’s Tik Tok driven popularity.
While there are a few tracks on the album that I might not seek out for individual repeat listening, in the context of the album’s entirety, they contribute effectively to its overall flow and thematic continuity, enhancing the listening experience as a cohesive body of work. Where 'Pink Friday 2' might share imperfections with its predecessor, it provides ample evidence of Nicki Minaj’s continued relevance and talent in the hip-hop world.