Universal Motown Records 2010

I have to admit that Pink Friday by Nicki Minaj has been my most anticipated release  for the year. I first heard Nicki over a year ago on a remix of “Single Ladies” by Beyonce and I was so impressed not only by her style, talent, but also her attitude as a female rapper. I tend to love strong female artists with a voice, and she is definitely that and beyond. Many things about her reminded me of Lil Kim who was one of the first rappers I really got into back in the day. What impressed me the most with Nicki was her quick growth in the industry, before she even had a solo album released.

Nicki Minaj started out as an artist of the group Young Money which was a group of rappers and singers put together by Lil Wayne. The album debuted in 2009 and the success of the single “Bedrock” brought not only Drake but Nicki Minaj great attention. Shortly thereafter, Nicki Was guesting on many big artists songs: Mariah Carey, Ludacris, Usher, Will.i.am, Gucci Mane, Kanye West, and you name it. This was such an incredible task being she hadn’t even released a solo album yet, and she was already a mega star and named the new “Queen” of Hip Hop music.

However all of the praise and positive reactions was receiving put huge pressure on her to not only release her solo album, but also be just as successful at it. Her first single was released in May of 2010 with a hip hop track called ”Massive Attack” which featured  Sean Garrett. Though a decent song in its own right, it didnt seem to have the strenth and energy expected from Nicki. Her second single came out in June of the year called “Your Love” which was a sultry pop ballad sampleing one of  Annie Lennox hit songs, and showed us not only Nicki’s rap skills but vocal abilities as well. This song did extrmemly well on the charts, and it was decided that her album needed to be released very soon.

Pink Friday debuted on November 22nd this year and reached huge praise from not only fans but critics as well. Her album is a perfect blend of rap, pop, and female empowerment. Some critics were dissapointed that there wasn’t more of the Nicki strong Hip Hop songs that we all have grown to love, but I myself disagree because Nicki is a great combination of both Hip Hop/R&B and Pop musical styles.

Songs such as “I am the Best”, “Right Thru Me”, “Roman’s Revenge”, and “Last Chance” are great examples of Nicki’s range of abilities in different genres of music. She has some great guest stars on the album such as; Will.I.Am, Rihanna, Eminemn, and Natasha Bedingfield which help her in her musical efforts.

I have to say, and its rare for me to say this but this is DEFINITELY the album of the year for me! I love every single song, and listened to this album non stop for the first two weeks after I got it. While I am a music lover and always have been, its rare for me to like an album this much. Nicki has blown me away and more than exceeded my expectations. I can’t wait to see what Nicki brings to us for the future to come, and see her out on tour for this album.

A heads up to all readers, the album is pretty explicit, and definitely not for the kiddies. However, a clean version is also availble as well. I highly recommend the Deluxe version of the album which includes four bonus tracks, more than worth the extra couple of bucks!  

I give Pink Friday by Nicki Minaj FIVE out of FIVE STARS!!! A first for an EfTRoU Review!!!

-Warren