Nicki Minaj is returning to her spiritual home

On the Billboard Hot 100 song chart, Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas Is You has returned to the familiar No.1 position every Christmas season. Meanwhile, on the Billboard 200 album chart, new albums still dominate with No.1 last week being Nicki Minaj’s “Pink Friday 2”.

With her third No.1 this time, Nicki Minaj is currently the female rapper with the most No.1s on the Billboard 200, surpassing Foxy Brown.

Famous female rapper

Previously, Nicki Minaj took the lead with Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded in 2012 and her debut studio album Pink Friday in 2011. In addition, she also entered the chart 7 times, all in the top 10 with The Pinkprint (No. 2). 2015), Queen (No. 2, 2018), Beam Me Up Scotty (No. 2, 2021), and Queen Radio: Volume 1 (No. 10, 2022). Currently, she is also the first female rapper to have 2 No.1s in 2 different decades.

According to Luminate, in the US in the week ending December 14, Pink Friday 2 debuted with 228,000 equivalent album units. This marks the biggest week for a rap album by a female artist in the 2020s, and the biggest R&B/hiphop album by a female artist this year.

Nicki Minaj on the album cover “Pink Friday 2”

The album was successful in both streaming and sales. Stream accounted for a larger volume with 129,000 units (equivalent to 169.87 million on-demand streams of 22 songs on the album), being Minaj’s largest streaming week ever, the largest of the 2020s for a rap album. by female artist and biggest of 2023 for R&B/hiphop album by female artist. Meanwhile, sales were 92,000 units, the largest sales week for a rap album by a female artist in the 2020s and the largest for an R&B/hiphop album by a female artist in 2023. The album sold 25,000 copies vinyl, the biggest week for a female rap album since Luminate began tracking electronic sales in 1991.

Sales were bolstered by multiple editions, both physical and digital. It includes 2 CD versions with 10 songs (general version and signed version) and 4 different cover vinyl versions. In digital form there are 5 versions, with up to 24 tracks.

Prior to its release, Pink Friday 2 was paved by the trio of high-ranking Hot 100 figures, Super Freadky Girl (No.1, 2022), Red Ruby Da Sleeze (No.13, 2023), and Last Time I Saw You (No.23, 2023).

Interestingly, at No.2 is 1989 (Taylor’s Version) by Taylor Swift, marking the 5th week that Minaj and Swift have occupied the top 2 spots on the chart. The first time was in January 2011 when Swift’s Speak Now ranked No.1 and Minaj’s Pink Friday ranked No.2. Then, for 3 consecutive weeks in January 2015, Swift’s 1989 ranked No.1 while Minaj’s The Pinkprint ranked No.2.

Besides the US, Pink Friday 2 reached the top 10 in many other countries such as Australia, Canada, Netherlands, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland and the UK.

When asked why, after more than 10 years, she returned to her first inspiration, Nicki Minaj said: “That’s where I feel my spiritual life. It feels like such a moment.” coming for the second time”.

Expand the pink world

Nicki Minaj’s fifth studio album, Pink Friday 2 was released on December 8, 2023 through Young Money Entertainment and Republic Records. It is the follow-up to Minaj’s debut album, Pink Friday (2010), and her first studio album in five years after the release of Queen (2018).

The album covers a variety of genres with the main theme being pride in her hometown as well as reflections on Minaj and her dominance in the rap industry. Guest artists on the album include J. Cole, Lil Wayne, Tate Kobang, Drake, Lourdiz, Lil Uzi Vert, Future, Tasha Cobbs Leonard, 50 Cent, Monica and Keyshia Cole.

The album was first revealed on June 28, 2019 when Minaj appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to promote the single Megatron. “Oh, of course there’s a new album, for sure,” she said. However, just 3 months later, Minaj announced her retirement from hip hop. Immediately after that, she withdrew her words and apologized for her wrong statement.

The same month, she shared that the new album would be “fierce, fun and unapologetic” and was excited about the project’s ultimate sound: “This is probably the most excited I’ve been about releasing an album in a while.” really long. I’m glad I didn’t make my fans wait any longer like before. This album combines everything that people love about Nicki (Minaj), but it also has a much more epic sound. So So, it’s the perfect collection.”

In mid-2020, she promised the album “is the best thing to come out in 2023 and taken to new, unattainable heights”, that the accompanying tour “will be hailed as genius”.

Nicki Minaj pampers fans in her new album

The album received relatively positive reviews with a Metacritic score, based on 12 reputable sources, of 70/100. Critics indeed considered the record to be extremely ambitious, an example of the trend of pleasing fans but still developing its own artistry by combining colorful pop atmospheres with introspective moments. dark. The album feels like it unites it all and refines everything Minaj can do. Although not as perfect as Pink Friday, Pink Friday 2 once again proves that Minaj never lies.

However, there are opinions that the album is more of an expansion than a standalone product. Additionally, Minaj’s sampling shows off her creative brilliance – something that has undeniably helped catapult her to superstardom – but like so many legacy things, it leaves people wanting to hear it again. original.

Surely Minaj will not be too concerned about this mixed opinion. Because Pink Friday 2 is truly a return to the world she built in Pink Friday. “It’s a place where everything is pink, really uplifting and enchanting” – she explained – “The music is from a girl there. She also sometimes invites people to Gag City to sing and sing. composing, organizing shows and everything…”.