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Discussion: PF: RR Metacritic score so far
Member Since: 10/29/2010
Posts: 29,249
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NOW MAGAZINE ALBUM REVIEW - Nicki Minaj - Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded
(Cash Money/Universal) BY KEVIN RITCHIE
At 19 tracks, Nicki Minaj’s latest is essentially a double album divided almost evenly between gleefully rude hip-hop and big, shiny club numbers produced by pop-dance hit makers RedOne and Dr. Luke. Along the way, the cartoonish Queens MC flips an old-school electro beat into the Christmas carol Oh Come All Ye Faithful, tells her haters to “suck a big dick” on the record’s best chorus, goes hard over a minimal trap-rap beat and teams with Lil Wayne for a brilliantly nasty serenade in which Oprah’s name becomes a sex act.
It takes a few listens to comprehend how an MC capable of snarling “Take bitches to school, then I Columbine these hos” one minute can sing stultifyingly bland lyrics about getting “sexy and hotter” in order to “shut the club down” the next. The best things about Minaj are her spastic delivery, the complexity and outlandishness of her flow and her utter indifference to political correctness (or gender). Unfortunately, her adventurous side is rarely heard in the more radio-friendly jams, which are heartfelt and catchy but less inspired.
Top track: I Am Your Leader
RATING: 3/5; 60/100
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Member Since: 4/26/2007
Posts: 15,585
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Not surprised 
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Member Since: 10/29/2010
Posts: 29,249
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The Guardian - "Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded" Review
Nicki Minaj contains multitudes – berserk Barbie, poly-voiced rapper, hands-in-the-air pop star, R&B balladeer and more, writes Tom Ewing.
"It's Barbie, bitch!" was a Nicki Minaj warcry from her mixtape days, and it fit. The Trinidad-born, New York-bred rapper with a thing for pink wigs took the ultimate American girl's toy brand and strapped it to the centre of her wild carousel of characters and voices. Last year, Barbie owner Mattel decided to play along, creating a one-off Nicki Barbie and selling it for charity. It's as neat a symbol of Minaj's success and newfound status as she could wish for.
But the thing about being Barbie is that everyone wants to play dress-up with you. Minaj contains multitudes – berserk Barbie, poly-voiced rapper, hands-in-the-air pop star, R&B balladeer, not to mention Roman Zolanski, the loose-cannon gay male alter ego who gives Roman Reloaded its name. Thus everyone has their own dream version of a Nicki Minaj album. Fans who discovered her via her mixtapes long for a record that shows off her hardcore side: her skill, rawness and screwball invention. These same fans feel all the industry wants from Minaj is her pop incarnation, posing and declaiming over gleaming, club-ready beats by the same super-producers everyone else uses.
That isn't a dilemma anyone else in Minaj's league faces – nobody urges Katy Perry to rediscover any inner authenticity. But Minaj is aware of her divided fanbase. Every time she releases a single such as trancey juggernaut Starships – precision-tooled for the modern pop environment – she seems to judiciously leak a track such as LP highlight Beez in the Trap, a lunar landscape of bass pulses and sonar blips that Minaj plays relatively straight, throwing a bone to the listeners who just want to hear her rap.
The first half-dozen tracks on Roman Reloaded are what those long-term fans have been waiting for – Minaj has said she wanted the album to be more about "spitting" than pop, and at first she keeps that promise gloriously. The themes don't vary much – Minaj is very successful, rivals not so – but everything else bounces with invention. Minaj in full cry isn't about wordplay but voiceplay – in just the first track you get her growling as Roman Zolanski, her endearingly godawful English accent, a stab at hymn-singing, and a vocal tone that lurches from slapstick to terrifying across a single word.
Minaj's voices get called "personas" but – aside, maybe, from Roman – there's no character-building going on, just a manic, comic vocal shuffling: on Come on a Cone she lets the hook degrade into yelps and gasps, on I Am Your Leader she drops a couple of octaves to gleefully pompous effect. Her vocal shifts are used for punchlines, internal commentary, and just the joy of doing funny **** with your voice. Is it gratuitous? Of course: Minaj's stardom is – like Lady Gaga's – half about conspicuous waste, being able to throw away ideas others might mine for half a short career. And when she chooses to be direct – on the excellent Hov Lane – it's all the more thrilling.
Minaj doesn't drop her wildness for her pop tracks, but applies it piecemeal, outsourcing her excess to the music. In the middle of the record are a suite of songs by producer RedOne, which sound much like the tracks RedOne makes for Gaga or Alexandra Burke, but even more shameless. Minaj's own vocal armoury is bolstered by all the effects modern production can muster, like the chipmunk chorus on Whip It. If you've no tolerance for modern pop, these tracks are particularly gross, but if you enjoy it, Minaj's presence adds a touch of misused class – it seems to push the producers into going more over the top. Starships doubles down on its stadium trance synths with beefy glam chanting; Whip It mines Eurodisco trashiness so well you can almost smell the Piz Buin.
The full-on pop monsters aren't the problem here. It's the gentler tracks that bring the record's energy down: drizzly songs such as Fire Burns or Sex in the Lounge, on which nobody sounds engaged. But there are gems – the woozy, snaky production on Champion and the triumphant Beenie Man duet, Gun Shot, which invents the ragga power ballad.
You can see Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded as a great rap album dragged down by pandering, but you could equally see it as a triumph that one of the biggest pop records of the year leads off with a half-dozen tracks of blistering, filthy, idea-jammed hip-hop. The record is too long, horribly inconsistent, and makes no attempt to marry its rap and pop impulses. But that doesn't matter – at their best the styles are wedded anyway by a particular frenzy, a sense that Minaj comes with no off switch or lower gear. As long as she doesn't slow down, she's the best pop star we have.
RATING: 4/5; 80/100
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Member Since: 2/17/2012
Posts: 33,611
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What' with these positive reviews. I call for more dragging!
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Member Since: 6/17/2011
Posts: 16,910
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Quote:
Nicki Minaj shoots blanks with 'Roman Reloaded'
I heard Trey Songz’ 2010 hit with Nicki Minaj, “Bottoms Up,” on the radio the other day, and was struck by the sheer wizardry of Minaj’s cameo. It is thrilling, full of personality and beaming with life. And it’s everything Minaj’s new album, “Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded” is not.
“Roman Reloaded,” which clocks in at an exhausting 70 minutes, is a slog to wade through. It opens with “Roman Holiday,” the abysmal, grating pop-rap showpiece Minaj debuted at this year’s Grammys, and from there spins through a series of tracks designed to show off Minaj’s street side, her radio side, her rap side, her pop side, her R&B side and her dance side. All of her sides. But the result is an unconvincing mishmash of styles that is schizophrenic and underdeveloped, and feels both overstuffed and rushed. In short, it’s a mess.
There’s no doubt that Nicki Minaj is the most colorful personality hip-hop has produced in years. Her early run of cameos on songs from Mariah Carey to Robin Thicke to Kanye West painted her as a dynamo MC and a kinetic ball of energy; she was impossible to keep up with, yet it was a gas to watch her dominate everyone and everything with which she came in contact. Her 2010 debut, “Pink Friday,” was not the hard-edged album many wanted from her; it found her favoring her pop side, painting herself as a big dreamer and a role model for the self-affirmation set. It was disappointing to fans but it successfully made her a huge pop star, and among its highlights was the bubbly “Super Bass,” a tacked-on bonus cut that went on to become one of 2011′s biggest — and best — hits.
Even using “Pink Friday” as a yardstick, “Roman Reloaded” seems lost. A mid-album stretch of songs, including “Starships,” “Pound the Alarm,” “Whip It,” “Automatic” and “Beautiful Sinner,” recast Minaj as a generic dance club diva, lost in a sea of pounding bass and EDM flourishes. The songs could just as easily be credited to Katy Perry, or Jessie J, or Generic Club Singer No. 7, and there’s nothing to indicate Minaj even likes EDM, let alone has anything to do with the creation of these songs. From there she falls into “Marilyn Monroe,” a syrupy song about putting oneself together and questioning the status of her relationship. It kicks off a suite of mid-tempo pop-R&B jams that drift in and out of each other indiscriminately. “Stupid Hoe,” the misguided first single that tanked the album’s planned February release, rounds out the set.
For fans of early Nicki, the album’s first third is the most satisfying, and finds her dropping verses alongside Lil Wayne, Young Jeezy, 2 Chainz and more. This is Nicki the bar-spitter, and she excels on songs such as the spacey “Champion” and the old-school-feeling “Beez in the Trap,” wrapping her words around rough, hard-strewn beats.
But the worst part about “Roman Reloaded” is that its existence is largely unnecessary. Hip-hop is a carnivorous culture that is constantly eating itself and turning to whatever is the latest and greatest, but “Pink Friday” had enough legs — and continues to have enough legs — that Minaj could have comfortably waited another six months to a year to follow it up. There was no need to rush out an inferior project, especially one that is so grabby to current trends and without any real sense of purpose or center. Rather than setting the pace herself, she seems to be kowtowing to others, and she’s enough of a leader at this point that she should be following her own muse.
“I am the female Weezy,” Minaj is apt to say, and she says so at the close of “Stupid Hoe.” At least with regards to her mentor’s slippery grip on quality control, in this instance, she’s right.
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Detroit News
Grade D+
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Member Since: 10/22/2007
Posts: 5,601
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Member Since: 1/31/2012
Posts: 19,942
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Why the **** is she so high? Only 2 negative reviews? Wow...
These critics helping her out too much. SMH
Hopefully more <40
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Member Since: 10/1/2011
Posts: 53,790
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Quote:
Originally posted by Kool_Aid_King
Why the **** is she so high? Only 2 negative reviews? Wow...
These critics helping her out too much. SMH
Hopefully more <40
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You sound so angry 
57 isn't even high. Some of y'all really thought it was going to stay at 40.
I see it ending at 63 when it's all said and done.
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Banned
Member Since: 12/26/2011
Posts: 1,147
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LOL some people are so mad, up too 57 now 
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Banned
Member Since: 12/26/2011
Posts: 1,147
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Quote:
Originally posted by Kool_Aid_King
Why the **** is she so high? Only 2 negative reviews? Wow...
These critics helping her out too much. SMH
Hopefully more <40
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i love when my fave upsets people to this point, makes me feel like we're winning 
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Member Since: 11/13/2011
Posts: 1,163
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62 + at the end for sure 
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Member Since: 12/16/2008
Posts: 59,380
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Quote:
Originally posted by Kool_Aid_King
Why the **** is she so high? Only 2 negative reviews? Wow...
These critics helping her out too much. SMH
Hopefully more <40
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You sounded so bitter 
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Member Since: 2/26/2012
Posts: 21
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Despite the score, the album is amazing. I love it. I liked Nicki Minaj and after listening to PF:RR, I love her now.
Critics just make words. Music should be judged by your personal experience not by what others have to say about it.
Pink Friday Roman Reloaded is epic and I would definitely recommend people to buy it.
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Banned
Member Since: 6/12/2009
Posts: 1,883
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Member Since: 2/20/2012
Posts: 24,225
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PopMatters was too harsh. 
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Member Since: 11/2/2010
Posts: 6,894
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awesome it's going up, #underdog swag. go nicki
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Member Since: 1/31/2012
Posts: 19,942
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Quote:
Originally posted by Bandrew
i love when my fave upsets people to this point, makes me feel like we're winning |
and I love it when my fave gets 70 on her 2nd album
Quote:
Originally posted by UnusualBoy
You sounded so bitter |
I am. The album is really mediocre, and I don't understand how critics give it such a positive rating. I mean, they're ****ing critics... if someone at home can realize it's just generic music, why do critics fail to see that?
I was like this when Sasha Fierce came out. I actually wanted it to get less then 60 so Beyonce would know not to put a bunch of sappy ballads and Video Phone on the album. I love Nicki, but she needs to know critics and fans are not here for her basic ass pop sound.
Quote:
Originally posted by IREPMINAJ
awesome it's going up, #underdog swag. go nicki
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Since when was Nicki ever the underdog? 
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Member Since: 11/13/2009
Posts: 976
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Member Since: 10/29/2010
Posts: 29,249
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Pitchfork - "Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded" Review
During the making of Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, Nicki Minaj had some sort of epiphany. The moment occurred while she was recording an evil moonwalk of a rap song called "Come on a Cone"-- after verbally ******** on any and all competition for two minutes, she peaks with, "If you weren't so ugly, I'd put my dick in your face." And then something special happens. She pauses the track and starts to sing "dick in your face" all melismatic, like she's vying to stay alive on "American Idol". She's skewering tired pop-star singing styles, hip-hop masculinity, and maybe even herself, because while her major-label debut turned out to be a star-making success, it often traded in Nicki's trademark, potentially-game-changing eccentricities for something smoother, blander, and more radio-ready. Reminiscing on the "dick in your face" breakthrough in a Complex interview, she recently said, "That's when it was like [makes soda-can spritz noise]-- explosion, Roman Reloaded is here!"
And that sound-effected bit of self-promotion proves to be true on the album. Well, on some of the album, at least. Those who buy this thing based on the delirious bubblegum hit "Super Bass" or the CD's kindergarten-art-class via Maxim cover will likely be quite vexed by an extended opening salvo of minimalist, futurist hip-hop that recalls nothing less than Clipse's devilish opus Hell Hath No Fury. This streak includes two brilliantly off-kilter songs from "****** in Paris" producer Hit-Boy, the livewire "Cone" along with "I Am Your Leader", featuring verses from rap-cred stampers Rick Ross and Cam'ron. There's the effortless, pinging schoolyard taunt "Beez in the Trap", and the hyped "HOV Lane", which ends up pretty vicious considering its beat vaguely recalls the "Inspector Gadget" theme song. And the instrumental for "Roman Reloaded" employs safety-clicks and bullet booms for percussion as Nicki flips the sellout claims on their head: "Nicki pop?!/ Only thing that's pop is my endorsement op." On all of these songs, Nicki is dartboard focused-- she's rapping harder here than on almost anything from Pink Friday; the verses are akin to those on her breakout mixtape, Beam Me Up Scotty, or the myriad song-stealing guest shots she worked to leverage her big break in the first place. Listen to this album's first seven tracks, and it would be completely understandable to think that Nicki was using her first-class pop status to infiltrate and innovate with the playful abandon of prime-era Missy Elliott or Busta Rhymes.
But the next 12 tracks (15 on the deluxe version) by and large find Nicki doing exactly what she just said she wouldn't: going pop. Which, to be clear, is a perfectly fine (and admirably ambitious) idea-- in theory. Talking to Complex about her perfectionist streak, she said, "I'm doing it to prove to... myself that I don't have to settle for less because I'm a female rapper or because I'm black." And what was so great about "Super Bass" was how it married Nicki's inherent weirdness (see: flinging pink goop at muscle-bound dudes in the song's video) with a hook that reached everyone from Taylor Swift to little girls who have no idea who the eff Slick Rick is.
That kind of complementary appeal is missing in these new songs, which range from brittle Euro-trance to milquetoast R&B to washed-out balladry. Take lead single "Starships", produced by RedOne, whose bass-first style played a large role in making Lady Gaga the world's preeminent pop star on songs including "Bad Romance" and "Just Dance". The track throttles, its sky-aimed maximalism clearly designed to overtake the radio via pure volume. It seems to be born out of a creatively hobbled beer company's marketing team (an idea supported by the grossly pandering mention of "Bud Light" in the song's first few lines) rather than Nicki's gloriously odd brain. "Starships", along with the four club-ready tracks that come in its wake, do something that should be difficult; in her quest to avoid becoming just another female rapper, she inadvertently settles for being just another pop star. And the harsh truth is that she needs work in that department.
Just look at her recent "American Idol" performance of "Starships". Sure, she doesn't even attempt to sing most of the song live-- though, usually such blatant and high-profile lip-synchs are coupled with intense dance moves, or something to make up for the lack of in-the-moment vocals. But while Nicki's simplistic dancing has been endearing in other venues, it's less so when she's trying to sell a stupidly massive dance tune. So, on "Idol", she was essentially relegated to playing hype-woman to her own song. While she'd never be able to get away with her "Idol"-satirizing "dick in your face" theatrics on the show (though I'd love to see Seacrest's reaction to that), playing to both sides of the aisle sends a terminally mixed message.
Which brings up another inconvenient reality: Nicki's singing voice is a limited instrument, especially when contrasted with her limitless rapping. It can be shrill when it's not oddly blank or sounding like Rihanna ("Beautiful Sinner") or Ke$ha ("Young Forever"). But it's not hopeless; on the anguished "Fire Burns", Nicki embeds a palpable emotion into the song. She meets the track smolder for smolder, and her delivery on lines like, "You piece of ****, you broke me down/ Thought you said you, would hold me down," is more powerful than a thousand puddle-rumbling bass kicks. More common, though, is "Right By My Side", where Nicki flatly pines for a guy-- then again, her lackluster performance is somewhat understandable considering her duet partner is perennial asshole Chris Brown.
Nicki is well aware of the potential criticisms of her pop turns. On the confessional 2009 mixtape track "Can Anybody Hear Me", she recalls a disappointing label run-in: "When it rains it pours for real, Def Jam said I'm no Lauryn Hill: 'Can't rap and sing on the same CD, the public won't get it they got ADD.'" And on a defensive (and funny) 20-minute interview that closes out the deluxe Roman Reloaded, she takes on hip-hop diehards by recounting the unfortunate fate of many a 1990s female rapper: "These other bitches that only did rap and now they live in low-income housing-- is that winning? Just so that a ***** in the street can give me a ****ing dap? Get the **** outta here." Clearly, she's branching out to avoid that sad story. But, at the same time, this album's shortcomings are not the fault of a label or an attention-deprived audience or close-minded rap fans. Making a strong artistic and commercial statement that's true to (yet also more than) hip-hop is not easy in this climate, but it's definitely possible, a fact Nicki's friend Drake proved with last year's Take Care. But much of Roman Reloaded sweats with a too-big-to-fail desperation. "I'm a brand, bitch, I'm a brand," she raps. She's not wrong.
RATING: 6.7/10; 67/100
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/...oman-reloaded/
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Member Since: 1/31/2012
Posts: 19,942
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Pitchfork of all people gave her a positive review.
Well damn.... 
I still hate it, but she got the harshest reviewers to give her a positive review. Props for that.
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