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Special Event: atrlcritic | Ed Sheeran's new songs after the upgrade
Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 43,331
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| The Pinkprint - Nicki Minaj
Nicki Minaj | Young Money/Republic | Release Date: December 12, 2014 | Review Period: December 24, 2014 - January 5, 2015
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79 | Member Score
Generally Favorable Reviews
based on 9 Reviews | ddddd. | dddddd
8.0 | Experimental Top Critic Score
Universal Acclaim
based on 3 Top Critics |
| | dddddddddddddd | Summary: The third album from the superstar hip-hop artist was supported by singles Pills N Potions, Anaconda, Bed Of Lies, and Feelin Myself. | Record Label: Label
Genre(s): Hip-Hop, Rap |
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| Member Reviews | | d | .iPositive: ████████████████ 8 | | d | ....iMixed: ██ 1 | | d | Negative: 0 |
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| | Top Critic Reviews | | d | .iPositive: ████████████████ 2 | | d | ....iMixed: █████ 1 | | d | Negative: ? |
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Member Since: 8/4/2012
Posts: 23,716
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Quote:
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The Pinkprint launches with 244,000 units, with pure album sales representing 194,000 copies of that total. The album sold better than anticipated compared to sales forecasts made shortly after it was released. On Tuesday, Dec. 16 (a day after the album hit retail), industry prognosticators suggested the album might sell between 150,000 and 160,000 in its first week. By Thursday (Dec. 18), that forecast had rose to 190,000.
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I love the production of the album. It is so much better than RR lyrically. This is the album that I can listen to if I'm heart broken or in love. I just think she should have more bangers on this album. But overall I give this album a 8.5/10
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Member Since: 6/2/2012
Posts: 37,284
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Nicki Minaj - The Pinkprint: 10/10
I'm not trying to sound biased, but this album is everything I wanted from Nicki, I absolutely love it. The album just shows how talented she is to me. Her lyrics are amazing on this album. She did some effort to get better vocals by getting a vocal coach and it really payed off. She also co-produced four songs on the album which just proves how invested she is in her work. Her lyrics on The Crying Game and very poetic and well-written. It's one of the best songs in Nicki's discography and a perfect representation of her emotions, it's a very very touching song. Jessie did a great job, they sound fantastic together. I Lied and All Things Go are very personal and she didn't hold back. No corniness, no ********, just raw emotions. The part about missing the sex with her man just shows how real the song is to me, it's not just a cheesy breakup song. All Things Go is the song I really wanted Nicki to make. Since her song Autobiography in 2008, which is one of my favorite songs ever, we hadn't really heard anything half as personal from her. Untill All Things Go of course, I really like to listen to Nicki talking about her life because it inspires me. I love the vibe of I Lied, The Crying Game, Mona Lisa and Put You In A Room. She sounds hopeless in these songs and she knows very well how to bring these emotions to the listener. These songs are very hypnotizing, almost depressing (in a good way). I also love how she experimented with PBR&B with a couple of these songs. Favorite and Buy A Heart are very romantic and relatable, also two of my favorite songs on the album. Both songs have top notch production. Favorite is Nicki's flow at her best and the song reminds me of her third mixtape Beam Me Up Scotty, the singing at the end of her verses is similar to the singing on songs like Best I Ever Had (Remix). I love how she does that cute singing voice, so I'm glad she brought that back. Jeremih's hook is also very good, it's a really romantic song and it's great to have a song which is just all about love on an album with many breakup songs. Nicki clearly shows the different sides of love. The chemistry between Meek and Nicki on Buy A Heart is just amazing, Meek really showed a different side of his personality on this song as he usually shouts in his music. Get On Your Knees is a perfect sex song, it's very sexy and smooth, Dr. Luke delivered with the production, this is the type of Pop music that she should be making. Her lyrics on Feeling Myself and Want Some More also amazing, she's a beast in those songs. Four Door Aventador showcases her killer flow and reminds me of her mixtapes, which I used to listen to the whole time, so this song is definitely special to me. Some people might find it boring, but I've always loved those songs with minimal production that are all about the raps with no distraction, like many of her mixtape songs, Hood Story for example, which is also one of my favorite Nicki Minaj songs. Four Door Aventador and Want Some More both have this old school Hip-Hop sound, which I absolutely love, she has never done anything like those songs on her previous albums, which mainly had modern Hip-Hop production. Win Again is also one of the highlights, she clearly had a lot of fun writing this song. I just love how confident she sounds in this song, it's a classy "**** you" to the haters, she pulled it off very well. The album also has a couple of bangers like Truffle Butter, Only, Shanghai and Feeling Myself. Truffle Butter is just a perfect club song and Nicki has a really catchy verse, there's nothing else to say about it. Trini Dem Girls is probably the biggest banger on the album, the verses go really hard. Big Daddy is also a banger, her verses are vicious and I always love me some cocky Nicki. And there are also many songs with quotable lyrics, which I always love, for example Anaconda, Only, Feeling Myself and Buy A Heart. Feeling Myself's third verse is just pure greatness. Only is a huger grower, Nicki's verse is one of those verses that everyone knows by heart, it's just a fun jam. Pills N Potions and Bed Of Lies are also great, they're probably two of the weakest tracks on the album, but that just shows how great the album is a whole. Grand Piano is by far the best ballad of her career. At first it was a bit corny to me, but after giving it multiple listens, I heard that the song is actually very emotional to her, it's not one of those corny, pseudo-emotional songs like Marilyn Monroe. Her singing on this song is also very good. I can say that this album made me appreciate her singing much more. I love how she doesn't sing for commercial reasons, it really sounds like she wanted to sing because she was in the mood to sing, it sounds very genuine to me. The Night Is Still Young was also one of my least favorite songs on the album when I listened to it for the first time, but after hearing that the song really isn't as 'happy' as you might think, I realized that probably has a meaning to her, I appreciate it even though I might not be one of the biggest fans of her Pop music. As a whole I think she did a great job combining the different genres and making this a cohesive piece of work. The album means a lot to her and it also means a lot to me. It really inspires me and I stan harder for her than I ever did. This album is very great for a Pop/R&B-influenced rapper like Nicki. She managed to shows her skills as a rapper while being interesting and entertaining at the same time. If I had to pick my five favorite songs on this album I'd probably pick All Things Go, The Crying Game, Favorite, Want Some More and Win Again.
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Member Since: 2/25/2012
Posts: 9,540
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The Pinkprint
Everyone seems to have an opinion on the kind of music that defines Nicki Minaj. There's a separation between the fans who love the bubbly, alter-ego'd candy-colored popstar-Nicki, and the ones who love the lyrically vicious, punch-line throwing self-proclaimed Queen of Hip-Hop. And with the four songs released prior to The Pinkprint, it was difficult to decipher what Nicki even thought defined her sound. Was it the simplistic faux-hipster pop song Pills N Potions? Or the bombastic and insane Anaconda? Or even the generic hip-hop song featuring a slew of urban radio bait, Only? Or the self-doubting break-up anthem Bed Of Lies?
What Nicki serves with The Pinkprint, however, transcends all expectations of her music. It takes what you think you know about Nicki Minaj, and turns it inside out in her most surprisingly personal album to date. From the opening confessional, All Things Go, in which she details her guilt in her cousin's death and touches on the abortion she got as a teenager, to the abusive relationship detailed in The Crying Game, the first 3 songs are unlike anything Nicki's previously done in her career. Turning into a sexual dominatrix in the trap-influenced Get On Your Knees, in which Ariana Grande gives one of her best vocal performances to date, she quickly follows with Feeling Myself, flexing her rapping prowess with the Queen Bey herself in what is undoubtedly the highlight of the album. Other highlights are the Zaytoven produced Want Some More, in which Nicki goes insane, stretching syllables and taking on voices in the way only she can, and the Biggie-influenced Four Door Aventador. In a knowing nod to her pop fans, she also includes the party-anthem The Night Is Still Young, reminding us all how great 2011 was. Closing with her most impressive vocal performance ever, Grand Piano is a heart-wrenching Ester Dean-written ballad that puts Save Me to shame.
Of the 8 bonus tracks, the best are Shanghai, where Nicki gives Chi-Raq Pt II a whole new meaning, and Win Again, in which she reminds us all why she continues to be the reigning Queen Of Rap.
10/10.
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 43,331
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Quote:
Originally posted by ririfan21
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I love the production of the album. It is so much better than RR lyrically. This is the album that I can listen to if I'm heart broken or in love. I just think she should have more bangers on this album. But overall I give this album a 8.5/10
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Hi, could you lengthen your review please? Album reviews are required to be at least 150 words in length.
Thanks for your participation. 
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Member Since: 11/16/2011
Posts: 32,177
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B++
9/10
“Sucker" is the 1st major-release album by British songstress Charlotte Aitchison (popularly known as Charli XCX) and this album is the definition of everything her persona talks about. It's a teens riot and rebellion anthem. Features songs about being reckless, not letting someone use you, masturbation, and even JFK references. The song is a gem from start to finish with only a few specks of dirt. So glad this album lived up to the hype and even happened to exceed my expectations.
 Song by song
8.5
+.5 for only having 1 track I don't like
Sucker - 10/10
Talk about the best Track #1 on an album since Phresh Out The Runway! With the heartbeat/flatline intro and the introduction to the album scream "SUCKER!". This song gives me goosebumps and is kind of like a single-man's anthem. The song is dedicated to people who only wanna sleep with you and that's not your thing.
Break The Rules - 9/10
Another awesome track! The Cashmere Cat production is on POINT. I love the rock-influenced breakdowns and the lyrics are so young and carefree. This song pretty much sums up Charli XCX's whole persona. With a cute music video to back it up, this is a great tune!
London Queen - 5/10
This song is so underwhelming and definitely the worst on the album. It has replay value out of pity.
Breaking Up - 8/10
The only issue I have with this song is it's length. It's so short, but it does pack a punch. It just makes me wonder how much it could have slayed if it were longer. It's super catchy and impossible not to either sing or just bop your head to.
Gold Coins - 10/10
I loved this song from the very first listen. From the white noise snares to the techno blips... UGH! This song is a masterpiece. Great production, great vocals and lovely lyrics. Definitely a song that you shouldn't pass up and I think this could be a future single!
Boom Clap - 9.5/10
I tried not letting this song get to me, but alas, it did. With it's super catchy and iconic chorus, it's cute verses and interesting bridge, this song just screams "ADORABLE". Something about this song is so romantic and electrifying with it even trying to be. Also, the production is amazing and that instrumental is FIRE!
Doing It - 9/10
Doing It symbolizes the divide of the album. The rest of the album feels more personal and less hit-hungry than the first half of the album feels. This song is incredibly catchy and I love the production. Nothing much else I can say about this song, other than it's another must-listen.
Body of my Own - 8/10
A masturbation anthem! This song is about not needing someone else there to satisfy your sexual needs. The modern day, rockier version of "Touch of my Hand". That subject alone makes this song awesome!
Famous - 9.5/10
Something about this song is so infectious. The editing on her vocals is almost captivating. The chorus is catchy as hell and I hope she shoots a music video for this song. This song is just magical and almost has an aura around it that makes me love it.
Hanging Around - 7.5/10
Probably the only song on the album that feels like it's just filler. It's a catchy tune, but it's the only track that doesn't make me bop. (In my head, London Queen isn't filler, it's just a bad track)
Die Tonight - 7.5/10
This song is so cute and I love the imagery it creates. A great chorus, a great production, great lyrics and great vocals! This song packs a lot into it, but it's not flawless and it doesn't have a lot of replay value.
Caught In The Middle - 10/10
This song is such a bop! It's incredibly catchy and mesmerizing. Every part of this song is flawless. Something about it is so captivating and it has loads of replay value.
Need Ur Luv - 8.5/10
Not gonna lie, I don't get much of the hype around this song. It's cute as hell, it's a definite bop and I love the contrast it has from the rest of the album, but I don't LOVE it. I just like it a lot. This is also a great closing track. Charli's ability to layout her album is impeccable!
HIGHLIGHTS:
Sucker, Gold Coins, Caught In The Middle
LOWLIGHTS:
London Queen, Hanging Around
THE SINGLES
THE ALBUMS
Ariana Grande - My Everything
Maroon 5 - V
LIGHTS - Little Machines
Future ****ing reference:
A++, A+, A = 10, 9.750, 9.5
A- = 9.250
B++, B+ = 9, 8.750
B = 8.5
B- 8.250
C++, C+ = 8, 7.50
C = 7.5
C- = 7.250
D++, D+ = 7, 6.750
D = 6.5
D- = 6.250
F = 6 - 0.250
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 43,331
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Quote:
Originally posted by Prometheus.
B++
9/10
1989" is the 5th studio album by country star turned pop sensation Taylor Swift. I wish she would have decided to go full pop sooner or at least had more pop-influence on "Red". 1989 is a delight from start to finish and surprisingly, the lead single "Shake It Off" is my least favorite song from the album. I loved the experimentation and change ups... ESPECIALLY her collaboration with indie-electro-pop Goddess Imogen Heap. The album is more upbeat and less like Taylor trying to be too mature or artsy like she was during the "Red" era. This album feels like the album Taylor was supposed to make. While there are a lot of good tracks, there's not a lot of great ones.
Song by song
8.5
+.5 for only having 1 track I don't like
Sucker - 10/10
Talk about the best Track #1 on an album since Phresh Out The Runway! With the heartbeat/flatline intro and the introduction to the album scream "SUCKER!". This song gives me goosebumps and is kind of like a single-man's anthem. The song is dedicated to people who only wanna sleep with you and that's not your thing.
Break The Rules - 9/10
Another awesome track! The Cashmere Cat production is on POINT. I love the rock-influenced breakdowns and the lyrics are so young and carefree. This song pretty much sums up Charli XCX's whole persona. With a cute music video to back it up, this is a great tune!
London Queen - 5/10
This song is so underwhelming and definitely the worst on the album. It has replay value out of pity.
Breaking Up - 8/10
The only issue I have with this song is it's length. It's so short, but it does pack a punch. It just makes me wonder how much it could have slayed if it were longer. It's super catchy and impossible not to either sing or just bop your head to.
Gold Coins - 10/10
I loved this song from the very first listen. From the white noise snares to the techno blips... UGH! This song is a masterpiece. Great production, great vocals and lovely lyrics. Definitely a song that you shouldn't pass up and I think this could be a future single!
Boom Clap - 9.5/10
I tried not letting this song get to me, but alas, it did. With it's super catchy and iconic chorus, it's cute verses and interesting bridge, this song just screams "ADORABLE". Something about this song is so romantic and electrifying with it even trying to be. Also, the production is amazing and that instrumental is FIRE!
Doing It - 9/10
Doing It symbolizes the divide of the album. The rest of the album feels more personal and less hit-hungry than the first half of the album feels. This song is incredibly catchy and I love the production. Nothing much else I can say about this song, other than it's another must-listen.
Body of my Own - 8/10
A masturbation anthem! This song is about not needing someone else there to satisfy your sexual needs. The modern day, rockier version of "Touch of my Hand". That subject alone makes this song awesome!
Famous - 9.5/10
Something about this song is so infectious. The editing on her vocals is almost captivating. The chorus is catchy as hell and I hope she shoots a music video for this song. This song is just magical and almost has an aura around it that makes me love it.
Hanging Around - 7.5/10
Probably the only song on the album that feels like it's just filler. It's a catchy tune, but it's the only track that doesn't make me bop. (In my head, London Queen isn't filler, it's just a bad track)
Die Tonight - 7.5/10
This song is so cute and I love the imagery it creates. A great chorus, a great production, great lyrics and great vocals! This song packs a lot into it, but it's not flawless and it doesn't have a lot of replay value.
Caught In The Middle - 10/10
This song is such a bop! It's incredibly catchy and mesmerizing. Every part of this song is flawless. Something about it is so captivating and it has loads of replay value.
Need Ur Luv - 8.5/10
Not gonna lie, I don't get much of the hype around this song. It's cute as hell, it's a definite bop and I love the contrast it has from the rest of the album, but I don't LOVE it. I just like it a lot. This is also a great closing track. Charli's ability to layout her album is impeccable!
HIGHLIGHTS:
Sucker, Gold Coins, Caught In The Middle
LOWLIGHTS:
London Queen, Hanging Around
THE SINGLES
THE ALBUMS
Ariana Grande - My Everything
Maroon 5 - V
LIGHTS - Little Machines
Future ****ing reference:
A++, A+, A = 10, 9.750, 9.5
A- = 9.250
B++, B+ = 9, 8.750
B = 8.5
B- 8.250
C++, C+ = 8, 7.50
C = 7.5
C- = 7.250
D++, D+ = 7, 6.750
D = 6.5
D- = 6.250
F = 6 - 0.250
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I think you made a mistake with the main paragraph- that looks like a 1989 review to me.
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 37,384
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Let me do TPP before I forget 
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 37,384
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Nicki Minaj - The PinkPrint
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I discovered Nicki Minaj on accident one night in 2010 while browsing Vevo, before becoming a pop music stan and before even learning to tolerate Hip Hop. Still, I was instantly struck by the video for Your Love; a simple R&B/Hip hop ode to a lover. From then on I watched Minaj's career as she hopped on feature to feature before finally breaking out with the ultra colorful and personality filled Super Bass, which proved to be a defining song of summer 2011. The young rapper's career looked promising looking over the pink, bubbly horizon of the pop/rap song.
In 2012 came major career changes. Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded was a solid pop album, but felt forced at times. Instead of letting her natural over the top personality speak for itself, Minaj forced even more personality into the record to the point of it feeling overbearing, turning much of the general public off by it.
Which brings us to 2014. The PinkPrint era started subtly with the emotionally charged Pills N Potions. Sure, it under-performed, but it brought back the Minaj I fell in love with 4 years earlier. The personality wrote itself instead of being written off personality. This atmosphere continues on standout tracks throughout the album such as The Crying Game, Grand Piano, I Lied, All Things Go, and the best track off the album, Bed of Lies. This is Minaj at her most vulnerable ever, and arguably her best ever. More upbeat songs on the album remain just as successful. Feeling Myself fits a booming beat over rapid fire verses and Beyonce's confident sing-boasting. Get On Your Knees combines a pop chorus reminiscent of Dark Horse and Black Widow (which makes sense considering the cowriters) with Minaj's signature rap flare. Even the controversial Anaconda provides witty lyrics about salads and French monuments.
However near perfect the album is, it does have its flaws. Notably, Big Daddy feels try-hard in comparison to the much stronger Buy A Heart, and Lil Wayne's verses on Only and Truffle Butter don't hit quite as hard as intended. Still, The PinkPrint should be regarded as 2014's strongest mainstream release no matter how much it sells.
9.3/10
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Other Reviews
SINGLES
Jessie J, Ariana Grande, and Nicki Minaj - Bang Bang 9/10
Carrie Underwood - Something In the Water 10/10
One Direction - Steal My Girl 4/10
Gwen Stefani - Baby Don't Lie 6/10
Iggy Azalea feat. MŘ - Beg For It 9/10
Imagine Dragons - I Bet My Life 10/10
Ariana Grande feat. The Weeknd - Love Me Harder 8/10
Selena Gomez - The Heart Wants What It Wants 8/10
Beyonce - 7/11 3/10
ALBUMS
Tove Lo - Queen of the Clouds 8.5/10
Tinashe - Aquarius 9.5/10
Hozier - Hozier 6.8/10
Jessie Ware - Tough Love 8.7/10
Taylord Swift - 1989 6.3/10
Calvin Harris - Motion 6.0/10
Azalea Banks - Broke With Expensive Taste 7.3/10
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Member Since: 8/31/2013
Posts: 6,548
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Nicki Minaj's third studio album came with a delay, and a lot of expectations. She needs no introduction, so lets get into this.
All Things Go: One of my favorite songs on the album. A really atmospheric vibe to this song, which I like. This song is very emotional, where Nicki touches on family, love, and an abortion that she had when she was younger. The hook is sung by Nicki, and pretty catchy without being generic. A very strong opening song, establishes the personal themes that will be explored on the album
I Lied: This seems to be a fan favorite but I'm not really on board. Her vocals are so autotuned as to erase any emotion she might have had in the delivery, and its a pretty generic take on a cliche love angsty story. The melody is also not particularly fresh or catchy. A loss in momentum for the album after a strong opening.
The Crying Game: The best song on the album, hands down. The verses are sharp and well written, the beat pulses nicely, and the chorus is hauntingly sung by Jessie Ware (uncredited). In contrast to the previous song, her romantic troubles actually seem interesting and engaging here, maybe even exciting. I feel like this song reflects Nicki's personality in a fierce light, while still letting her show vulnerability at points.
Get On Your Knees: This is a catchy song, and a potential hit single. Katy Perry wrote the hook (sung here by Ariana) melody and it shows. Its almost identical to Dark Horse. That has the unfortunate effect of making the song feel like a leftover, but other than that, its a pretty good song. The verses arent special but they have energy and charisma and some cute punchlines. Ariana sounds the best I have heard her sound in a while on this hook, and her enunciation seems improved.
Feeling Myself: This is the much hyped song featuring Beyonce' but unfortunately, it is not nearly as good as their team up on the ***flawless remix earlier this year. Beyonce' is rapping (I guess?) again but she is barely even trying to rhyme on her verse, it almost feels like a parody of herself tbh. Nicki is better, and the only saving grace of the song. The production and chorus are both repetitive to the point of being irritating.
Only: This song features 3 artists, relegating Nicki to just 16 bars of the song. The hook by Chris Brown is catchy enough (though lyrically blah), and Wayne comes through with some genuinely funny lines and a fun flow on his verse. Drake's verse is kind of boring and his voice acting doesnt appeal to me, nor does his cocky attitude (Drake doesnt really pull that off for me- it sounds forced when he does it). Nicki's verse features multiple whack punchlines (yes that was a setup for a punchline on duct tape being the worst offender) so maybe its a blessing in disguise that she didnt have more to on the song.
Want Some More: I like this song. The flow is really great and super fun to listen to. I like the beat too. The hook is annoying but thats the only real negative I have on the song. Its nothing we havent heard from Nicki before in the verses, but still, its so well executed that I cant complain too much.
Four Door Aventador: This song is fun. I like the production and the kind of off beat delivery. Something different for Nicki. Don't have much to say about this song's content, but its a really enjoyable listen.
Favorite: This song is the very definition of mediocrity. Jeremih's hook is so bland vocally and lyrically and melodically that it could be on a million other songs easily. The flow and lyrics are generic and insipid. It sounds like filler urban radio bait, right down to the reductive and too familiar production.
Buy A Heart: This song features Meek Mill, who doesn't add much to the song but isnt terrible. The song has grown on me a bit, its pretty cute. Another leftover (from K. Michelle this time) but I think its a nice song, if a bit fillerish. The album could just as easily exist without it.
Trini Dem Girls: This song has a great islandy flavor that really suits Nicki. It shows a lot of personality and like FDA, this song is great to listen to. It makes me want to dance around my room. I hope Nicki does a whole album with Trinidad tinged songs at some point.
Anaconda: This song has filler verses that sound as though they were written in 2 minutes, Nicki is almost an afterthought compared to the sample on this song. I know lots love it, but the song still falls flat for me, even after having had months to grow on me.
The Night Is Still Young: Dated and generic pop song. Probably will end up a radio single at some point. The verses being bad wouldnt matter so much if the chorus was any good but its not. The vocals sound worse than on Starships, and the melody is boring and not very catchy at all.
Pills n Potions: Not a terrible song, just a very boring one without much interesting to say in the lyrics. The personal details that make these type of songs interesting are missing here. Everything is so general and vague.
Bed Of Lies: This song is better in terms of the personal details, and the hook is good, but it just feels a little stale, and by this point in the album, Nicki has failed to make me invested enough in this failed relationship to want to sit through another song about it.
Grand Piano: This song has so many problems, and I feel like I shouldn't like it, but it is so personally relateable to my life right now in terms of content that it honestly got to me. That's basically the only positive I have about the song though. The violin is off key and shallow, and the vocals are overly autotuned and sound weak. Recommended only if you can really relate to the content of the song.
Highlights: The Crying Game, All Things Go, Trini Dem Girls, Four Door Aventador
Lowlights: Favorite, Anaconda, The Night Is Still Young, Feelin Myself
Overall, the album has a lot of good songs and a lot of bad songs and a lot of filler. This could have been a really strong album, and that album is in here somewhere, but as is, The Pinkprint is all over the map. Nicki needs to work on quality control. She's got the goods. Just needs to figure out how to separate them from the trash.
Score: 6.5/10
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Member Since: 6/12/2011
Posts: 3,237
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Review: The Pinkprint
What Minaj proclaims to be her most personal work can only be seen as an utterly confused mixture of mediocrity and what should be construed as pandering to rap fans that have long abandoned her.
While the lyrics are not too shabby by Minaj’s standards, therein lies one of the album’s many unintentional ironies: rapping on the icy production of “Feeling Myself,” Minaj trumpets, “Bitches ain’t got punchlines or flow / I have both…” Track to track, her ineptness in the game can be heard, to the point that Beyonce’s uninspired guest appearance on “Feeling Myself” is the highlight. That is not to say The Pinkprint does not redeem itself in some aspects.
Her lead single, “Pill N Potions,” while not musically at the forefront of the pop genre, is a welcome break from the pedestrian raps on previous tracks. It is here where Minaj is best suited – pop. Because at the core, Minaj is not an Azealia Banks or Kanye West, as she would like you to believe, but a pop singer whose tunes are better than her Kesha-esque egocentric diatribes.
Rating: 4.5/10
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Banned
Member Since: 10/28/2011
Posts: 21,283
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NICKI MINAJ
THE PINKPRINT
I have a very long personal history with the artistry of Queens' own Onika Maraj. I was a "stan" of hers at one time, if you will.
I can still remember being in the seventh grade and hearing about her for the first time from my friend in our middle school's cafeteria. Before I knew it, I was bumping her infamous mixtapes on datpiff.com day and night. "Beam Me Up, Scotty!" was my SONG. I knew all the words to "I Get Crazy", yep. I waited all of 2010 for her debut album; that summer saw many nights of combing through pages upon pages of YouTube search results for possible leaks. It would be the end of November (eighth grade now) when Pink Friday finally came out. I remember that like it was yesterday! I got the 18-track deluxe edition from BestBuy, but my mother had to stop at the market before she could drive me home so I could give that thing a LISTEN. Waiting in the car in the parking lot of that grocery with the record I had been waiting for since like forever was tough. But BOY did that album BLESS me for the next few months.
Then I got bored of her by the time "Super Bass" was smashing and I had moved on to Beyonce by the following summer.
It's been four long years since the eighth grade, and in that time, my musical tastes have expanded and grown drastically, dare I say faster and more drastically than the sound of Nicki's music. Even as only a casual fan, no longer a 'stan', of Nicki's, I had been waiting on her to deliver a piece of music that would once and for all prove her abilities and solidify her artistry and work as significant to Hip Hop music; her classic; her artistic statement; her masterpiece. The Pinkprint ain't it. It was fun. It was energetic. It was tough (lol). The beats were mostly fire. She's undoubtedly a talented rapper, I must say. But the album was not excellent.
Songs like "Only", "Four Door Aventador" (favorite!), "Favorite" and "Feeling Myself" are the highlights of the album, as they showcase Nicki's strong points: clever, witty, fast-paced, and sometimes caricature-like lyricism and fun, head-nodding production. The introspection and revelatory vulnerability of "All Things Go", "I Lied", "The Crying Game" and "Pills N Potions" are MUCH appreciated. "Grand Piano" is actually a pretty great vocal performance for one who is not primarily a singer (her voice is bright, thin, and youthful). "Anaconda" is hilarious. Still, the album is not excellent. In fact, the album is not anything The Re-Up or even Pink Friday wasn't. There is neither anything exceptional about the words she wrote, nor the beats she wrote them over, nor how she strung the resulting songs from those words and beats together. Even though she touches on some painful life experiences, I hate to say that there is nothing incredibly left-field or artistic about how she does that. She really doesn't even do it that much tbh. There is no overarching theme or message she is trying to convey through this work. It's just a bunch of Pop and Rap hits thrown together on the album with some cute vocals and intense testimonials thrown in here and there, AS ALWAYS.
"AS ALWAYS" = my point: Nicki has not grown and she has not proven herself yet, in my humble opinion. There has been no noticeable, dramatic shift in her sound or lyricism. Her music sounds almost the same as it did 5 years ago, and it's not necessarily any better than it was 5 years ago either. What's most baffling is that she's 30 and is still making the kind of stuff one would expect to hear out of a 22 year-old! She's 30 and she has not grown up or changed much musically at all. She's 30 and has yet to release a true opus that will be remembered for decades and stand apart from the rest of her work as well as the work of her peers. Missy Elliott, Lil' Kim, and Lauryn Hill did not have this issue at age 30, especially not Missy, who had demonstrated musical innovation and artistic brilliance in album form maybe 3 or 4 times by her mid-30s. So it truly bewilders me to hear people assert Minaj as the greatest female Hip Hop artist of all time, above Missy and her peers.
The Pinkprint is good, and certainly good enough, but not as good as it should be by now. From what I hear at this point in time, I don't foresee much change in Nicki's musical future. Some people have already adorned that future with dubious titles like 'legend' and 'icon'. If Nicki Minaj does become a legend and is remembered as a significant figure in Hip Hop music, it won't be because of her work or her talent; it will be because she is, or at least was, the lone woman standing in a room full of men. Personally, I love her, and I want her to prove me wrong SO bad.
7.5/10
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Member Since: 8/4/2012
Posts: 23,716
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Quote:
Originally posted by alexanderao
Hi, could you lengthen your review please? Album reviews are required to be at least 150 words in length.
Thanks for your participation. |
What are you talking about?
I added a quoted post and it went over the required length.
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 43,331
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Quote:
Originally posted by ririfan21
What are you talking about?
I added a quoted post and it went over the required length.
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But the quoted post isn't your review. It's just sales data. 
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Member Since: 2/2/2014
Posts: 11,642
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Though it is popular to drag Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, I really enjoyed how it was full of carefree party music I could dance to. Outside of "Anaconda", the promotional material (" Pills N Potions", "Only", "Bed of Lies", and "All Things Go") released greatly contrasts her previous album and arguably Pink Friday too. So, I was not sure whether or not I would really enjoy the album as much as her previous one, but Nicki surprised me! It is not as dance heavy as Roman Reloaded and it is not as pop friendly as Pink Friday, both of which work to its advantage. It shows a more raw Nicki Minaj who is not lyrically vague and is not scared of revealing too much. She is vulnerable and goes into great detail about her personal life and, for me, that shows improvement. She has grown so much and the music demonstrates it. The Pinkprint is definitely one of the best releases of 2014 and her career
10/10
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Member Since: 8/19/2013
Posts: 58,053
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The PinkprintNicki Minaj
Nicki Minaj is back for a more personal album. This album is supposed to be the pinkprint/blueprint for other female rappers, but after horrendous singles and dull ballads. I hope no other female rapper follows this strategy... Not saying this formula is bad for Ms Minaj, I must admit this album is a bit unbalanced. BUT the album has a lot of highlights and standout tracks. Nicki gives sexy, sensual, and tasteful tracks. Showing her vocal range on 'I Lied' & 'Grand Piano'. What I love most about this album is her raw flow on tracks like 'Want Some More' & 'Four Door Aventador' Nicki is proving once again why she is the undisputed King of Rap.
Favorites: Mona Lisa, Want Some More, Four Door Aventador, & The Night Is Still Young.
Overall Rate: 9/10
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Member Since: 2/20/2012
Posts: 24,225
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Quote:
Originally posted by alexanderao
I think you made a mistake with the main paragraph- that looks like a 1989 review to me.
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Oops. 
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Member Since: 5/22/2011
Posts: 21,227
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Nicki Minaj - The Pinkprint
Review By: Sugar Rush
Nicki Minaj's third album "The Pinkprint" was one of the most anticipated albums of 2014 and although it did not fail to meet expectations, it certainly failed to live up to all the hype in several ways as well. For starters, when an album has twenty one tracks on it there's bound to be several filler songs. The first half of the album has the gems "The Crying Game" and "Only" but asides these songs, the whole first half is under whelming. With collaborations with A-List artists like Beyoncé and Ariana Grande you'd expect the first half to be on fire, but everything comes across as forced, rushed or lazy. However, from track twelve onwards the listener is given some of the best work that Nicki has ever recorded. "Pills n Potions", "Bed of Lies" and "Grand Piano" seems to be a perfect balance between Nicki's signature rap style and an authentic more stripped down version of pop music. The best song on the album comes at track eighteen with the fiery "Shanghai" that is a classic example of why Nicki is one of the most important female hip hop figures to breakthrough this decade. So in conclusion, yes the album probably could have easily been eleven or twelve tracks instead of twenty-one but you can't ignore the immense amount of talent this album puts forward. Nicki's lyrics are growing stronger than ever, and we're taken on a journey of her feeling heartbreak, insecurity, and power all at once that manage to fit together perfectly. The production, like most Nicki's album, provides some of the finest quality songs that we have heard this year on any album. Nicki's still trying to perfect her craft, and that takes time. But this album is a much stronger, solid, more cohesive album released compared to her two previous releases and she will only grow stronger from here on out.
7.0 / 10
Best Tracks: Pills n Potions, Grand Piano, Shanghai
Weakest Tracks: Favourite, Buy a Heart, Trini Dem Girls
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Member Since: 8/19/2013
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Nicki Minaj - The Pinkprint (6.5/10)
Let's start saying this -- this album's release was a mess. Despite being scheduled for a Dec 16 release in my country, it didn't see the music shops' shelves until a few days later. Releasing an album just under Christmas is never a good idea. But now, let's start talking about the album itself.
Nicki finally delivered a mature sound with this highly anticipated album. To defend her title as the ultimate rap queen, she almost completely abandoned the pop sound of her last record, and served something the urban community would fully appreciate. Still, The Pinkprint is not pure rap, as most of it is sung ("Grand Piano", for example, features no rap at all). Also, Nicki's presence stays in the background in several tracks, letting the featured artist(s) shine instead of her, and making this album sound more like a collab record. After all, the amount of big names we can hear on the album -- half of the tracks feature another artist, including Ariana Grande, Beyoncé, and Chris Brown -- is useful to attract more potential buyers.
What I appreciated about this album is that Nicki showed more sides of her personality: she talks about her vulnerability as a woman, her love stories, personal experiences, yet still delivers her usual sassiness and, when needed, cockiness.
But now let's go through the record track by track.
"All Things Go" (5/10)
The 5 out of 10 points I gave to it go to the lyrics, which are some of the best Nicki has ever served. The problem of the song is: its sound is too boring, it doesn't make you want to go on listening to the album.
"I Lied" (3.5/10)
It's your typical Mike Will Made It production that recycles sounds that have been overused by himself. This song is way too long, and doesn't make a potential general public listener want to go on with the album, even though there's better to come.
"The Crying Game" (6/10)
Another slow, calm, sentimental song, featuring Jessie Ware. The potential listener will definitely find this track more exciting than the previous two, but that's mostly thanks to Jessie's chorus, which is the highlight of the song.
"Get on Your Knees" (6/10)
Way to waste a bunch of money. This song features a big name, Ariana Grande, but basically no music. It's probably the worst production of the entire album, and it falls completely flat. Its highlight? The final part of the chorus where Ariana goes up with her voice. A few seconds in heaven, then the rest is completely forgettable.
"Feelin' Myself" (7.5/10)
Finally a potential hit! This trap-influenced song would be nothing special without Beyoncé's presence. Nicki still won't use a strong musical base, we'll have to beg for it and find some catchy beats later.
"Only" (7/10)
This is barely a Nicki song, as most of it is sung by Chris Brown (it's basically The Pinkprint's "Sex on the Lounge"), but it's overall a great hip hop track, and it's worth all its five minutes.
"Want Some More" (9.5/10)
What I love about this song is that she uses the accent from my area (in Northern Italy) and she doesn't even realize it 
"Four Door Aventadoor" (7/10)
A fun song, and one of those Nicki tracks with random references I will never be able to get, yet that I like no matter what.
"Favorite" (7/10)
Despite not having strong verses, "Favorite" has one of the best choruses of the album. A good example of Nicki playing the secondary role in a song on this album.
"Buy a Heart" (6.5/10)
It's a cute song, despite the try hard gangsta lyrics. My favorite Meek Mill verse I've heard so far also.
"Trini Dem Girls" (9/10)
With a title that apparently makes no sense, "Trini Dem Girls" is definitely one of the highlights of the album. The catchy beat, the sassy rap, the typically Nicki sound, all make it the perfect urban smash.
"Anaconda" (9/10)
The highest charting song of Nicki's career, as well as this year's biggest viral video. It made songs about butts "so 2014", yet we all love it. The song is complete fun, as well as sexy. Nicki herself does sound like she had fun recording this song.
"The Night Is Still Young" (9.5/10)
This electropop influenced song could've easily been on Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded's pop part, as it sounds a bit like "Automatic". It's the perfect pop single for the album, and definitely one of its highlights.
"Pills n Potions" (8.5/10)
Most of her fans might hate it (maybe because of its commercial underperformance?), but it's still a great pop-rap song. It's like we got to see a completely new, more grown up Nicki, and she sounds and looks fantastic.
"Bed of Lies" (4/10)
Ignoring the fact that I find Skylar Gray's voice annoying, this entire song just doesn't work. It sounds so impersonal and it's like there's no Nicki in it. The definition of album filler in one song.
"Grand Piano" (8.5/10)
Nicki goes completely sentimental on this unexpectedly slow song, featuring only a piano, bowed string instruments, and Nicki's voice. Her singing voice incredibly improved from her previous album, where she was criticized for having weak vocals. Prove 'em all wrong, queen!
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 13,761
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The Pinkprint
Nicki Minaj
Review archive
Beyoncé - 7/11
Kanye West - Yeezus
Azealia Banks - Broke With Expensive Taste
Ariana Grande ft. The Weeknd - Love Me Harder
Taylor Swift - 1989
Tinashe - Aquarius
Calvin Harris ft. John Newman - Blame
Taylor Swift - Shake It Off
Jessie J, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj - Bang Bang
Azealia Banks - Heavy Metal and Reflective |
Back in 2012, Nicki Minaj announced to everyone on twitter that she was going to discontinue making pop songs. To some, maybe this was a little too convenient coming off the cuff of Roman Reloaded, which helped expand her fanbase with its bipolar blend of classic Nicki and eurodance. Such sentiments were echoed earlier this year, in which The Pinkprint was being set up to be Nicki's most chart-evasive record to date. If these promises did not already cast Minaj as an opportunist of sorts, they may have at least illustrated her as unwaveringly gravitating between her rap-pop dichotomy by the time Dr. Luke-produced lead single Pills N Potions was released, distinctly stamped with a clear pop hook.
The crux of Nicki's artistic issue has always been overcoming double standards, whether it be becoming an assertive female boss without being a bitch, or overcoming a pop audience without abandoning her hip hop core, the fans of which constantly cawing 'hip hop Nicki' like baby eagles begging to be fed. The Pinkprint sees a thematic departure from Nicki's previous work, wherein the central feud comes in the form of a post-break up album. The alternate personae are left in a pile on the ground along with her candy-coloured wigs, as Nicki fully embraces a wholly organic vision of herself - emphatically stating 'this is The Pink Print' at the end of opening track, All Things Go.
Without a doubt, as quickly as Minaj could once don a nun's habit and become the exorcised Roman Zolanski, she convincingly adopts the forlorn victim of a breakup. The Crying Game and Buy A Heart are the most convincing at this, showing Nicki at her most vulnerable and yet at her most technically effective as a narrative voice, with the beautiful imagery and astute rhyming of 'Blood drippin' out your arm on my Asian rugs / We was just planning a wedding, Caucasian doves' being the most emphatic illustration of the love-loss dichotomy. While these two efforts are convincing, when Minaj stretches this over twenty-or-so tracks, it somewhat becomes laboured. Songs like I Lied and Want Some More feel superfluous, Pills N Potions and Bed of Lies feel like rehashes of the same song.
The production largely indulges within sparse Beyoncé-isms, but instead of being used to a haunting or a seductive effect, the instrumentals feel thinly spread and poorly fleshed out. The overall sonic effect feels deflated, almost as if The Pinkprint is the helium-less balloon following Roman Reloaded's rave. It culminates to the point where large portions of The Pinkprint merge together to become one tedious stream of consciousness. When Minaj is effective, she's great, but when she so often trips over herself the music transpires as a pseudo-profound, bland tableau of background noise. It almost speaks bounds that the prerelease mishap Anaconda, with all its delightfully buoyant humour, is a blessing when it comes bounding in with the resonance of someone setting off a party popper at a funeral.
However, the flaw at the centre of The PinkPrint is having these strokes of greatness being constantly undermined by the niggling at the back of Nicki's mind to never abandon pop. For a woman who - in a very thinly veiled way - derided fellow rapper Iggy Azalea during a BET Awards Acceptance speech, it's almost a gross irony hearing Nicki taking a punt at her own Black Widow (or Dark Horse), with the Ariana Grande collaboration Get On Your Knees, titled as such presumably because the listener is praying for Nicki to stop making these kinds of songs.
While Roman Reloaded demonstrated Nicki's inability to consolidate the rap-pop binary by having the album literally fractured into two pieces, The Pinkprint shows her inability to do this by how inorganic some of the songs feel. Only, with a discomforting, confidante narrative of each artist discussing their sexual inclinations towards each other (featuring possibly the least convincing portrayal of heterosexual lust courtesy of Drake) is so heavy handedly strung together between verse and hook. Even Beyoncé collaboration, Feelin Myself, feels a year too late with the ego-stroking persona of Yoncé feeling more obnoxious than it does exciting. It's parts like this where the structure of The Pinkprint falls apart that the songs feel merely utilitarian - lurching forward and waiting for the next hook, the next song, the end of the album.
Perhaps the more fractured moments on The Pinkprint are a beautiful symbol of holding onto her pop hooks like a small child gripping a comfort blanket, almost as tenaciously as she fails to fully let go of her lost love. Even in its musical failings, The Pinkprint is irrefutably successful in its branding and characterisation of 'Minaj', doing so even more thoroughly than all the Zolanski's and bad bitches from Sri Lanka. The album's artwork is a succinct symbol of what the ultimate aim of this album is, to stamp this album with a sense of identity, the DNA of Minaj. Musically, she may have a lot of catching up to do, but there's no doubt Minaj understands herself; perhaps 'Nicki Minaj, the human', is her most convincing persona to date.
5.9 out of 10 |
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