After more than five years of delays and gut-wrenching anticipation, Trinidadian-born rapper, singer and songwriter Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty, known professionally as Nicki Minaj, released her fifth studio album “Pink Friday 2” on Dec. 8, 2023, with 22 tracks and over an hour of new music. Notoriously renowned as the “Queen of Rap,” Minaj has cemented herself as a versatile and influential rapper with a unique flow of various alter egos.
A follow-up to her 2010 debut album, “Pink Friday,” Minaj ensures listeners will be sent to “Gag City” at first listen, feeling gagged, or at a loss for words for her impressive comeback. Inspired by the album artwork, “Gag-City” is a dreamy, vibrant pink utopia created by artificial intelligence and Minaj herself for the Barbz, her dedicated fan base.
“Are You Gone Already” opens listeners to a new world of emotional vulnerability with a dominating yet compelling sample of Billie Eilish’s “when the party’s over.” Minaj expresses her lamenting grief for the death of her father, Robert Maraj, in 2021. She mourns the fact that her son, Papa Bear, never got to meet his grandfather.
“All this guilt you carry is heavy / You’ve already made your peace with me / One day, you’ll have to forgive Mommy / But she knows you know too much already,” Minaj sings.
“Pink Friday 2” reveals its dynamic versatility as Minaj shifts from softness to brashness within seconds. In “Beep Beep,” the rapper boasts about her self-confidence and growth from the Nicki Minaj hate train era from 2017-2019. From being well-loved to offensively hated, Minaj’s legacy was challenged as the female rap scene became dominated by other figures, such as Cardi B. As the media curated false assumptions to bring her down, Minaj never lost herself in the process.
“Beep, beep, beep, is that bleep? / Is that you talkin’ to me? It’s that deep? / If I don’t even know you exist, is that beef?” Minaj sings.
In “My Life,” Minaj samples “Heart of Glass” by Blondie, symbolic of a fragile heart falling apart in love. She reinvents this narrative by becoming content with the independence and success she has developed throughout her career, despite the hate she has received.
“They gon’ talk about me whether I’m wrong or I’m right / I don’t need no more drama in my life,” Minaj sings.
Nicki Minaj has continuously referenced the samurai in her music, symbolic of the disciplined, respected and powerful military nobility of premodern Japan. Minaj treats herself like a samurai, conquering her fears and overtaking challenges throughout her career. “Super Freaky Girl” samples the Rick James hit “Super Freak,” using sexual empowerment to gain self-confidence.
“I got a princess face, a killer body, samurai mind / They can’t be Nicki, they so stupid, I just laugh when they try,” Minaj sings.
“Pink Friday Girls” notably samples the ‘80s pop hit “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper. The song represents the power of enjoying one’s successes and living in the moment. Minaj compares her love interest to a samurai whom she suddenly develops romantic feelings for, remembering this interaction as a “Moment 4 Life,” referring to the “Pink Friday” smash hit. The track can be interpreted as a continuation of “Your Love” from her debut album, following the same storyline 13 years later.
“Suddenly speak Thai, man, he samurai fly,” Minaj sings in “Pink Friday Girls.”
“When I was a Geisha he was a Samurai / Somehow I understood him when he spoke Thai,” Minaj sings in “Your Love.”
Furthermore, the track also draws parallels to one of the biggest hits of her career, “Super Bass.” Minaj recites the feeling of having a crush on someone through the sound of a racing heartbeat.
“He got that super bass, make my heart skip a beat, I mean,” Minaj sings in “Pink Friday Girls.”
“He got that super bass /Boom, boom, badoom, boom, boom, badoom, boom, bass / Yeah, that’s that super bass,” Minaj sings in “Super Bass.”
Of the six alter egos Minaj has performed throughout her career, she becomes “Harajuku Barbie” in the track “Bahm Bahm.” Harajuku Barbie is a fun and playful character associated with pink and naivete. From her perspective, Barbie is treated as a dumb bimbo, like how women in rap are undermined for their talents by their male counterparts.
“There I go again kickin’ some dumb flow / Think they Harajuku, they just some young (slur),” Minaj sings.
Minaj speaks on more vulnerable topics in “Just the Memories.” She reflects on the challenges she faced becoming a female rapper in the 2000s when the music industry did not support her endeavors, notably Def Jam who proclaimed her as “no Lauryn Hill” in 2009.
“I ‘member when I was the girl that everybody doubted / When every label turned me down, and then they laughed about it / I ‘member goin’ home and writin’ fifty more raps / Just ’cause I knew you really wanted me to fall back,” Minaj sings.
Minaj concludes the album with “Just the Memories,” thanking Lil Wayne for signing her to Young Money Records in 2009 and starting her remarkable career. As Drake became one of her most notable longtime collaborators, she found it her duty to feature him in the album. Minaj prides herself in her identity as a female rap MC, but even more so in the family she has created with her husband and son.
“I told Drake that he don’t owe me nothin’, never did / I pray that Wayne always remembered that I never slid,” Minaj sings. “Greatest female rapper to ever live, and that’s on my kid.”
From mixtapes in Queens, New York to studio albums in Los Angeles, Calif. Nicki Minaj further proves herself as an unstoppable force in the rap music industry on her fifth album, “Pink Friday 2.” Through her signature sampling techniques and unique wordplay, Minaj pays homage to the people who have helped her succeed, creating music for the fans who have supported her since “Pink Friday” and long before.