The 26 Best Albums Of 2010: #5. Nicki Minaj – Pink Friday
Released November 19, 2010
1. I’m The Best
2. Roman’s Revenge ft. Eminem
3. Did It On ‘Em
4. Right Thru Me
5. Fly ft. Rihanna
6. Save Me
7. Moment 4 Life ft. Drake
8. Check It Out ft. Will.I.Am
9. Blazin’ ft. Kanye West
10. Here I Am
11. Dear Old Nicki
12. Your Love
13. Last Chance ft. Natasha Bedingfield
Deluxe edition bonus tracks
14. Super Bass
15. Blow Ya Mind
16. Muny
iTunes bonus track
17. Girls Fall Like Dominoes
Best Buy bonus tracks
17. Wave Ya Hand
18. Catch Me
I first became aware of Nicki Minaj through her guest verse on Mariah Carey’s criminally underrated single ‘Up Out My Face’, in which Nicki perfectly slots herself into the whole atmosphere that surrounded Memoirs, slowing down her rhymes to fit the beat and enhancing Mariah’s performance. Since that early 2010 single, she has appeared on songs by industry heavyweights like Ludacris, Usher, Lil’ Wayne, Christina Aguilera and Jay Sean, not to mention her legendary (it cannot be said enough) verse on Kanye West’s ‘Monster’.
So it is fair to say that Pink Friday was among the most anticipated albums of the year, and the mixed reaction it received upon release is probably not a great representation of its actual quality – more a consequence of being hyped up as the most important female hip-hop record since Missy was Under Construction way back in 2002. There are faults here, of course – where the fuck is ‘Massive Attack’, her best single? So it didn’t do very well commercially, surely it could have been a bonus track or something! But if ‘Massive Attack’ was her only good single then we’d have a serious problem, but Pink Friday is full of other amazing moments that take your mind off what is missing.
‘I’m The Best’ is one of those classic hip-hop album openers, like Kanye’s ‘Dark Fantasy’ or Jay-Z’s ‘The Ruler’s Back’. It tells a story, feels epic yet personal at the same time, and it has a great chorus. The stunning ‘Roman’s Revenge’ follows, featuring a ferocious Eminem in Slim Shady mode and Nicki proudly telling us how much of a cunt she is. Brilliant, and it all happens over one of the most compelling beats of the year. We see different shades of Nicki as the amazing songs keep coming – cocky (‘Did It On ‘Em’), vulnerable (‘Right Thru Me’) and she even has a go at full-on R&B with the runaway hit ‘Your Love’. The bonus tracks are among the best on the record, which is unexpected – ‘Blow Ya Mind’ and ‘Girls Fall Like Dominoes’ are especially adventurous, and are a good indication of where this artist might go once the debut album pressures have lessened somewhat.
Pink Friday is a coming out party for someone who has been involved with a ridiculous amount of quality 2010 singles – this has absolutely been her year, and even with such a fantastic track record so far, it still seems like the only way is up from here.
