Sequels may be big business, but they can also be difficult. While they build on pre-existing rumors, they can also create high expectations, comparisons between then and now are inevitable, and the patina of nostalgia can sometimes make “then” seem superior to “now” by default. Pink Friday 2the fifth album from veteran MC Nicki Minaj, it attempts to balance the expectations attached to its name from its groundbreaking 2010 predecessor with the spirit of Minaj's constant reinvention and confrontation.
Almost immediately after her debut 13 years ago, Minaj shot to the highest echelons of hip-hop and pop, and in the years since she's been top of mind for listeners and tabloid readers alike. She also became a mother and lost a parent, and has spoken about her own struggles in interviews and on social media, saying in her acceptance speech for the 2022 Video Vanguard Award at the 2022 Video Music Awards, “I wish people would take the mental health seriously. even for people we think have perfect lives.”
While Pink Friday opened with the glittering braggadocio 'I'm the Best' and closed with the Natasha Bedingfield-assisted victory lap 'Last Chance', its successor is framed by sadness and reckoning. Opener 'Are You Gone Already' is ushered in by a baby crying before segueing into the angelic harmonies of Billie Eilish's 2018 track 'when the party's over'. Minaj Untangles Her Feelings After Her Father Robert Maraj's 2021 Death Happened Just Days Before she was supposed to meet her son for the first time. “The phone rang, it didn't make it/I just thought you'd wake up/A memory at last,” Minaj sings, the words falling out of her mouth as if she's reliving the moment she got the news.
On the final track, the haunting “Just the Memories,” Minaj flips the script, quoting Beenie Man's provocative 1995 track “Memories” as she gathers memories of people — famous and not — who influenced her by yelling at her. her own legacy as a trailblazing MC who forged ahead despite her own vulnerabilities.
In between, Minaj—accompanied by an A-list pal, including longtime pals Lil Wayne and Drake—showcases her star power and still-nimble rhyming skills (both as MC and singer) over persistent rants. and top tier samples. Danish duo Junior Senior's slick indie-disco “Move Your Feet” is cut enough to go wild with the Lil Uzi Vert-assisted turf “Everybody.” Lumidee's rousing 2003 hit “Never Leave You (Uh Oooh, Uh Oooh)” is the backbone for the brooding “Red Ruby Da Sleeze.” The sadness lingers here, too: “Pink Friday Girls” comes off Minaj's beloved Cyndi Lauper's sequined “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” scream, and while its lyrics are Pink Friday callback party, Lauper's sweet reassurance that “Daddy dear, you know you're still number one” lends an air of melancholy to the memories. “Let Me Calm Down,” a collaboration with the versatile J. Cole, is one of the album's standouts, digging into the sometimes ugly details of relationships over calm storm cues and an insistent beat.
Pink Friday 2 It's a long album, and it's about to get longer. Minaj has teased releases four more tracks this week, bringing their total to 26. It's appropriate, given the lack of album data in the streaming era — more songs equals more streams equals more sales, after all — but it's also understandable given the indomitable persona and Minaj's personality and constant shape-shifting that also manages to stay true to her brightly colored essence.
