Well...let the debate begin. Is Nicki Minaj the queen of hip hop? Has she done enough and/or accomplished enough in her short career to be given this title? While I myself may not be the biggest fan of hers, it's really hard to argue against her being labeled the queen. In such a short time, Nicki Minaj has already accomplished more than a large number of female rappers have ever. Billboard chart toppers, record sales, awards, the list goes on. I mean I can't remember the last female rapper to make the hip hop Forbes list in the top five. But I don't have to go any further with that. Y'all already knew that stuff. 2014 was a...rocky year for Young Money to say the least. So did Nicki end the year on a good note for them with this release? Let's see. This is her third album The Pinkprint. Now I have to admit, I was very nervous going into this listening session. Why? Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded. That was her sophomore album that dropped in 2012. It's an album I'd like to pretend doesn't even exist. Not only was that album the worst of 2012, you can argue it was probably the worst in the last five years. The album was just a cluttered, confused mess of pop, techno and R&B with very little actual hip hop. Nothing about it was at all good musically. Well, with a huge sigh of relief, I can honestly say she made up for that huge mistake big time. I thought The Pinkprint, in short, is her best project to date. I was literally taken back and surprised by how good this album actually was. It was the perfect combination of lyrics (which she has stepped up) and solid production. What also caught me by surprise is the stories she had to tell and letting out a more emotional Nicki. A side I don't think no one is used to seeing out of her. It sounded like she took her time with this and put together the album that she probably been wanting to make since day one. Well with that, let's begin the break down:
1. All Things Go
Right off the back the album gets off to an emotional start. She's talking about a wide range of emotional and personal issues. From the ups and downs of her career, to her complicated relationship with her family, the murder of her cousin, her relationship with her mother as well as referencing an abortion she went through. It's really quite shocking to hear all of this. She's never opened up about this and you would think someone as happy as her would never have went through this. Production was pretty cool here too. It starts off slow then leads right into the drums and snares. Fits well with the mood of this song. Props to Boi-1da. Nice intro song overall.
2. I Lied
This is nothing but a straight up R&B ballad with very little rapping. The tempo of the beat is somewhat fast but slow enough for a R&B song. It sounds like she's admitting to lying to a guy so she could stay with him and "keep him from breaking her heart" as she says on the hook. I wanna believe this has a lot to do with her recent break up with her boyfriend but I'm not entirely sure. Anyway, her singing on here wasn't that bad. In fact throughout the whole album her singing is tolerable for the most part. But this is cool I guess. If you're into this kind of R&B.
3. The Crying Game (featuring Jessie Ware)
One thing that was pretty dope about this album was Nicki's transitioning between rapping and singing. She does an excellent job with it here. Mixing up a dope flow and lyrics with soothing R&B vocals. Props to Jessie Ware who delivers a very dark yet soulful hook. She's not credited on the album but I decided to credit her here. This is another song where I feel like she's reflecting on her now ex-boyfriend. Seems to me like she misses him and can't get over him still. That's women for you. Overall the song is nice.
4. Get On Your Knees (featuring Ariana Grande)
Here we have a slow fusion of rap, pop and a dash of trap. She's mostly talking about being dominant over her man. Specifically in the bedroom. Telling him what to do, how to please her and so on. Ariana Grande's hook was probably the best thing about this. It's one of the better hooks on this whole album. So for you girls who like the rule the relationship and/or the bedroom, here's your anthem.
5. Feeling Myself (featuring Beyonce')
Here is the first of many, many singles and it's the only one that's totally saved by production. I like the whistling like sound over the drums and heavy bass. Hit-Boy gets all the credit here. The lyrics are nothing but your typical braggadocios lyrics from Nicki. What I didn't like was Beyonce's lazy hook. Y'all know how I feel about these repetitive hooks. Didn't like it at all. Even "Flawless" has a better hook than this and I really didn't even like that hook or the song for that matter. This will just be another song females will look to to boost their confidence and will also become a popular hashtag caption for Instagram pics.
6. Only (featuring Drake, Lil Wayne and Chris Brown)
Now here's the second of the singles and it's really nothing but your typical Young Money bragging fest. Nothing special at all. The production is very simplistic but still isn't that bad. I honestly laughed when I first heard this on radio. It just sounds like Nicki trying her hardest to convince us that she never slept with Drake or Wayne. As does Drake and Wayne about Nicki (Drake says a little too much regarding sleeping with Nicki though). Well whatever the case, this is alright for a single. Not something I could listen to all the time though.
7. Want Some More
Time for some trunk music. The only song that sounds the closest to trap music, it's one of my favorite beats on the album. Had me nodding my head in the car when I first heard it. It kinda took me back to how I felt the first time I heard "Did It On 'Em" from her first album. Much props to the three man team of Zaytoven, Metro Boomin and Hitmaka for this one. Lyrically it's nothing but her yet again "feeling herself" and being braggadocios. Specifically daring her peers to come at her in any way. She's just stroking her ego all over this album. Her punch lines, while she has stepped them up, there were a few that left me face palming ("these bitches suck so I nicknamed these bitches BJ"). But anyway this song was dope. Especially the beat.
8. Four Door Aventador
Although I haven't chose one yet, this maybe my favorite song on the album. First the production. I loved the low-toned snap heavy sound. Has a throwback feel to it. The stand out thing on this song however is her flow. Which mimics Biggie's flow. I know how some of you get hen these rappers try to flow like Biggie but it wasn't that bad compared to others. The hook while very simple was actually pretty cool too. This overall is one of those "vibe" songs. That you could just chill, relax and just nod your head to. Dope song.
9. Favorite (featuring Jeremih)
After four straight songs of her spraying her cockiness everywhere, here she gets back mushy love stuff. Talking about being number one in her man's life. Over everything and everyone else. I'm not really feeling this however. Not that this song is terrible but it's just not my cup of tea. I didn't like the production here or Jeremih's hook. I typically don't like these kind of songs from male rappers. So of course coming from a female rapper I definitely wouldn't like it. But you ladies may like it I'm sure.
10. Buy A Heart (featuring Meek Mill)
Man...I can't explain how much this song caught me off guard. First off it is another mushy love song that I wasn't quite feeling either (although it's a slight bit better than the previous song). But here's what threw me off. Meek Mill. He is on this hook singing. Singing! He is one of the last rappers that should ever try to attempt singing. That was terrible (his verse wasn't nothing special either). Then, listening to the lyrics from both of them, is there something going on between these two? I mean I don't know if I'm late on a rumor or not but there's a huge amount of flirting going on with each other here. I don't know but anyway, this song to me was a big time miss.
11. Trini Dem Girls (featuring Lunchmoney Lewis)
Of course every now and then Nicki likes to bring out her island/Jamaican side. She does it here with this hip hop/reggae/dance hall fusion song. It's nothing much but a song to dance and/or "dutty wine" to. Again, another song that's not really my cup of tea but a lot of people who like this kinda music will love this.
12. Anaconda
Yet another single and the biggest one of them all. Probably the biggest of 2014 period. We all remember how she broke the Internet with the promo art for the song and the very revealing video (see below). Yeah all of that was nice, but once again the song is just not for me. I mean yeah the Sir Mix-A-Lot sample was nice. A bit extra but still alright. The lyrics are probably the worst of every song on the album (which isn't a big deal considering what this song is about). This is nothing really but another twerk anthem filled with a bunch of today's sexual lingo. Leave it to Nicki to keep the twerking freak fest going.
13. The Night Is Still Young
Here we got a 80% pop/20% hip hop song that sadly...made me flash back to Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded. This kinda had a sound that those songs generated with the uptempo clap happy dance/techno drums. However this song is better than anything on that album. Lyrically she just rapping/singing about a wild and fun night out at the club and out on the town. Though I find this song barely average, one good thing I can see is that this could be a huge crossover hit in various pop culture markets. Movies and commercials especially. I could definitely see this being in like a commercial promoting a liquor beverage with everybody partying and what not. But anyway, it's just barely average for me.
14. Pills-N-Potions
Now this was the official first single that had a lot of people on the fence about. Including myself. It's a ballad styled R&B/hip hop blend with a heavy but slow drums and pianos that give a mystifying feel. Honestly, her best R&B vocals came on this song. She sings the hook really well in almost like a soft whispering tone. Fitting right with the mood of the production. On the rap verses, it all depends on how you listen to it to determine what she's talking about. What I hear is her expressing how much she still loves someone even though they did her wrong. You can get that from the hook alone. As a single I was on the fence about it, but this actually sounds a lot better on context with the album.
15. Bed Of Lies (featuring Skylar Grey)
Finally, we're at the last single. This is the part of the album where everything starts slowing down and starts losing it's steam (it started with "Pills-N-Potions"). It's another hip hop/pop blend but actually more on the hip hop side. Skylar Grey brings the pop element with a well done hook. The production was actually done well too. Filled with heavy hip hop drums and bass on Nicki's part and soft keys on Skylar Grey's part. Lyrically she again talking about her ex-lover and what sounds like to me the reason for their break up. It's clear she still rattled by it and may still be in love with this guy. This is a decent overall track though.
16. Grand Piano
Now through the whole album, I didn't have much negative things to say about her singing. But here we have the only sing that straight up R&B and honestly, this maybe the worst song on the album. Her singing on here sounded so forced. Especially when she tries to hit the high notes. It's as if she's trying her hardest to convince us that she can really sing. Makes me think of American Idol contestants. The production is nothing but piano and violins. No drums, no bass nothing. Also, yet again, we're back to this dude again. Her ex. I don't think she'll ever get over him. We'll be hearing about this for a while I'm sure.
Well in closing, I was very very surprised by this album. It was way better than I could have ever imagined. I honestly believe this is the album Nicki Minaj fans have been waiting for since day one. I give this a final grade of a B+. I think Nicki Minaj realized the mistake she made with her last album and knew she had to make up for it. She owed it to her fans. It's why she went back to her natural look and ditched the pop/dance music and went back to her mixtape roots. I think (well I would hope) she realized this is who she really is. She is the lyrical "punchline princess" that we were introduced to in 2008/09. Hopefully her and her music stays this way from this point on. After all, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded was not an album the queen of hip hop would make. The Pinkprint is. Now Ms. Minaj, you can put on your crown and take your seat back on the queens throne. End.
Lyrics: B+
Production: B+
Collaboration: B
Originality: B-
Concept(s): C+
Final Grade: B+
CREDITS
Executive Producers
Onika Maraj
Dwayne Carter
Bryan Williams
Ronald Williams
Lead Artist
Onika Maraj
Production
Matthew Samuels
Anderson Hernandez
Allen Ritter
Michael Williams
Andrew Wansel
Warren Felder
Lukasz Gottwald
Henry Walter
Chauncey Hollis
Jeremy Coleman
Xavier Dotson
Christian Ward
Leland Wayne
Parker Ighile
Darhyl Camper, Jr.
Rob Holladay
Armond Redmen
Jamal Jones
Marcos Palacios
Ernest Clark
Daniel Johnson
Alexander Grant
Breyan Stanley Isaac
Vinay Vyas
Justin Davey
William Adams
Keith Harris
Collaboration
Jessica Ware
Ariana Grande-Butera
Beyonce' Knowles
Aubrey Graham
Dwayne Carter
Christopher Brown
Jeremih Felton
Robert Williams
Gamal Lewis
Holly Hafermann
Label
Young Money/Cash Money/Republic Records
Mic's Mixtape Of The Week
French Montana
Mac & Cheese 4: The Appetizer
Available now on DatPiff
Mic's Web Chick Of The Week
Jasmine
Denver, CO
Instagram: @jamminpatrice
COMING SOON...
 |
| PRhyme (Royce Da 5'9" & DJ Premier) PRhyme |
 | ||
| Rae Sremmurd Sremm Life
|
Copyright 2015. Mic Navarro's Corner.
@mic_navarro on Instagram
No comments:
Post a Comment