Customer Reviews

Pink Friday

5 star:		(114)
4 star:		(44)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(15)
1 star:		(61)

 

 

Really Quick Review : If you like the singles "Right Thru Me" "Check it Out" and "Your Love" than you will LOVE Pink Friday.

OK, the rest of it:
Just about every song here is made for Top 40 radio and there a number of well-known stars here whose purpose is to maximize hit potential. "Fly" has Rihanna, "Moment 4 Life" has Drake "Last Chance" has ...Natasha Bedingfield??

The trouble with this Black-Eyed-Appease-radio-friendly-appeal-to-every-demographic approach is that Nicki has superlative MC skills and a Missy-Gaga-like eccentricity and pairing her up with these poppy, sanitized tracks is akin to watching a former NFL linebacker compete on that Dancing Stars show. It's a round peg into a square hole.
Is Nicki an able MC? Of course she is -- you've heard her on "Lil Freak", the "Hello Good Morning" remix and, above all her verse on "Monster" which, as far I'm concerned, is reminiscent of Busta Rhymes on Tribe Called Quest's "Scenario" where he slaughtered everyone else on that track and set the foundation for his own solo stardom.

She's obviously influenced by off-kilter MC's like ODB and Missy, but someone (management, the record company?) is keeping her muzzled here with both the accents the "freaky" persona. And no doubt, you don't want her to get gimmicky, but that *is* a wide part of her appeal.

There's no "street" on this CD, no New York grit and grime, no real torque just a glossy sheen. And while she may not appreciate comparisons to Lil Kim or Foxy Brown, their first cds were triumphantly New York with rollicking, bouncy riddims and fat soulful beats.

I give this three stars, because even though it's not *my* taste, it is a professionally crafted cd. Hopefully her next cd is a little more freewheeling and lets more of her personality shine through.

Thing is, when the hype surrounding you is so huge, being "good" isn't even good enough anymore. People begin to expect greatness every single time out and that's tough to do for any artist or professional at what they do. To a kid that has made straight A's their entire life, a B is almost seen as a failure in the eyes of some. You get the point. All in all, the album is decent. Stand out tracks for me.

Roman's Revenge - 5/5 - Slim Shady did his thing on this track. Roman held his own too. great hook.
Right Thru Me - 4/5 - Catchy. I'm sure a lot of chicks can relate.
Fly - 4.5/5 - Rihanna does an amazing job. Two solid verses from Nicki.
Save Me - 5/5 - Amazing Song. I can "feel" this song. Some songs do that to you. You just "feel" it.
Moment for life - 4.5/5 - is it me or is Drake killing every feature these days??? I have yet to hear a bad verse from him.
Check It Out - 4/5 - Fun dance song. Great verse from Nicki.

The other tracks are decent. 3-4 range. If I could more accurately rate the album, I would give it a 3.75 (4 for production and 3.5 for lyrics) due to the massive hype and praise. I was honestly expecting nothing less than perfection, but a B will do. Disregard any reviews that gave this album a 1. Cmon, be real, they couldn't have listened to the entire album. :-/

C'mon guys. Just because Nicki Minaj puts out a subpar, pop-ish album doesn't mean hip hop is dead. Nor does it mean she's a talentless hack. She's just...misguided? That'll work.

This album is not that great. It's not even very good. But it'll do. I, too, was expecting a looot more from her, but I'm not entirely surprised. As another reviewer noted, it seems like she only goes hard when she's featured on another artist's track and doesn't quite get there in her solo stuff, which probably results from a lack of experience. Maybe she's just a product of poor production influence. Maybe she was a little intimidated, what with all the INSANE BUZZ surrounding her. Maybe we're just expecting too much. Whatever it is, the album is disappointing - I don't deny this.

But give her a break. It's listenable and fun. A couple of tracks may be skip-worthy, but most are just silly, synth-laden tunes with okay hooks and entertaining raps. This isn't a five-star album. This isn't a one-star album either.

Better luck next time, Nicki. And, reviewers, stop bitching. Please and thanks.

I was mildly excited about this album as I have heard Nicki Minaj's work on some other Young Money albums and found her style of machine gunning witty lyrics refreshing, however. Popping this album into my car I was immediately disappointed; first and foremost the lyrics are just brainless, she uses idiotic metaphors to discuss superficial topics which seem to blend well with the modern hip hop zeitgeist. I can almost forgive this transgression, however, aside from the idiocy of her topic's, her vocals are way off you can tell a ton of auto tune was used and she modulates and shifts her voice from annoying to more annoying, I understand from some of Nicki's good verses (on other peoples albums) that she does change cadence and intonation and it happens to be something I am a fan of, when it sounds good, this doesn't. She sounds more drunk karaoke singer than an actual musician in these instances. The final problem with this album is the production, many of the beats seem phoned in using a variety of synths and technology instead of real musicians, furthermore these beats are simply cheap imitations of the same things we have heard before. Avoid this clearly Nicki is happy attempting to be modern hip hop's Lady GaGa and attempting to convince fans that superfluous topics are profound.

NO FRIGGIN WAY!!!!!....This is bubblegum rap @ its finest! Take a seat Nicki!...I am waiting on this girl to give us some LYRICAL substance. She rarely TALKS about anything and when she does her vocabulary won't let her use words REAL words, only made up ones that rhyme with whatever the hell she wants them to.I don't understand the hype surrounding this girl. Her whole career is a gimmick and she is riding this hype wave for as long as it will let her. Sure she has a pretty face,and maybe she's even mildly entertaining; she definitely keeps you guessing. The only problem is that I'm never EVER blown away once she finally presents the finished product. I feel sorry for the people who spent their money on the album. Ugghhhhhhhh...and the wait continues.

All the elements of a WACK release. With all the guest appearances, and all the hype, Nicki has dropped her pink terd on the whole industry. The joke is on all of those that bought the album due to this is a drink coaster at best. The tracks are weak commercial pop beats, NO subject matter in the lyrics, AUTOTUNE, WEAK HOOKS, and most of the tracks are down right annoying. It was hard for me to make it through this album without grinding my teeth. Kanye's verse was probably the most enjoyable out of the whole album along with Eminem's verse. NIcki would have a more promising career in adult movies than rapping. I would avoid this album at all costs!!!

This album really has no longevity, after I listened to this album a few times I asked myself what did I like about it so much? At least she knows how to advertise.

Now, not necessarily everybody who states this album is great or amazing is lying, but those who judge it as so under it being a "hip hop" album are unequivocally wrong. This album is better suited among ex Nsync fans, Justin Bieber admirers, Lady Gaga fiends and such. If pop was the genre the five star reviewers critiqued it under, then you could be right in hailing it as great, I don't know the first thing about pop or what makes a good pop album. I just know pop when I hear it. But if you look closely you will see that this is listed under Rap and Hip Hop, which makes things VERY different indeed. In that respect, this album is a failure to the highest degree (artistically, not commercially). There is no vision, there are far too few moments of lyrical finesse (from the hip hop interpretation of lyrical finesse, not the pop), the production falls so far outside of hip hop that some may be ashamed to play this at high decibels. From start to finish, this does not sound like anything but corporate, sales, marketing, gimmicks, psychology and most heinously, disrespecting one of the few last true musical art forms by polluting it with the likes of this album. There are many people giving great reviews because, as another reviewer wrote, they attend the Church of Minaj. This is true. There is nothing she can do that they will disagree with. Fans are a thing of the past. Now we have worshippers and disciples which is frightening for quality control within the industry, but great for the idols and labels. Also there are many people who simply want to see her fail and dish out harsh reviews. While they may be right on this album (it is dreadful as a hip hop album) wishing failure is what gives the teenagers incentive to yell hater as if its a war cry. To conclude, if you know good hip hop and are looking for just that, KEEP AWAY. But if you are open to pop music, Nicki may have what you are looking for.

I write this review after watching Nicki's MTV Documentary just now and having purchased her album.

The long and short of it is this; Nicki is a EXTREMELY bright, talented young lady. She is so very aware of her surroundings and the industry she finds herself now DEEPLY meshed in. She is in touch with music and its heart, which includes an awareness of how beats, lyrics, and sound all fuse together to create an experience for the listener. You can hear from a lot of her cameos in other performer's songs that she is indeed a very quick, witty MC that can hold her own. She comes from humble beginnings, and she very much knows who she is. She wants to be the Lady Gaga of hip-hop essentially, fusing a bit of `glam-rock' element in while drastically altering the stereotypical perception of what makes a good hip-hop artist. Few others would dare attempt such, especially in a culture and industry where women are often not only overlooked, but flat out shunned, regardless of their talents.

All that being said, this album is disappointing. It's not just because the album itself has very little flow to it; that is, there is no "picture" painted by this album, but more like a collage of random ideas and sounds arranged in fairly random order. It's not just because a lot of the songs effectively deeply underplay her voice range and talent with switching vocal ranges, accents, and melodies very quickly. It's a combine affect of the lack of real lyrical depth in tandem with all the auto-tune effects, along with all the aforementioned issues, that creates a overall poor listening experience and a poor first release.

Listening to this album, I am strangely reminded of that show Cake Boss and the stuff they churn out; while it is certainly an amazing piece of architecture which was produced by nothing less than the most genius within the industry..can you really eat and digest it? Does it even taste good? Does anyone really want to try eating it? One has to wonder in listen to this album where is Nicki's foundation? As another review pointed out, it's like she skipped over her 'hardcore' era, choosing instead to go straight for the 'look at me now' segment of her career. That may be the heart of the problem with this album...it's like it's out of place, in general; like a soundtrack to a gimmick Barbie Doll, rather than an introspective look into a bright, budding artist. Foundation is so critical in this industry, because without it, there is nothing to 'prove' you really should exist within it, thus making it all the more likely you will crash rather hard, rather fast.

It's like something got lost along the way here...as if an elaborate Wonderland of sound was compiled in each song, but when you look back, the story has no beginning, middle, or end...only a spiral of nebulousness. Some of the songs do stand out as really attempting to put the listener better 'in touch' with Nicki's more personal side, like Dear Old Nicki and Moment 4 Life. But in the end, it gets lost in the mad shuffle and competing sound that is all the auto-tuning, sound effects (often out of place), and over-chorusing, and drown out the depth of the art that is threaded through this album. It's like taking Picasso and covering it with a bunch of pink bows and little bunny rabbit stickers...something potentially Earth-shattering just became a joke.....a concoction for mad consumerism.

I try to keep in mind that she is still a new artist, despite how bright she is, which in itself comes with a learning curve. And as much as I like Lil Wayne and respect how intelligent and witty he is as well, I can't say I really think he would be the best example for an up-and-coming like Nicki to roll with; all Wayne's protégés tend to try to imitate Wayne more and more over time and lose a large chunk of their individuality...call this 'The Wayne effect', when ego gets so large, it encompasses everyone around you, not just yourself, costing you the ability to take criticism and grow from it.

I'm not giving up on Nicki because of this album because I think if you look back on many of the most talented and remembered artists throughout time, many of their first full releases were not their greatest. She became the first artist in history to have 7 different songs on the Billboard 100, all before even having a full album released. That is no easy task, and for that alone she deserves a lot of respect. She has a lot of growing to do before she can really better define herself outside the realm of guest appearances and hype. She's certainly got the smarts and the natural talent.

It is my true hope that Nicki will distance herself overtime from the over-produced, exaggerated hyped side of this industry and return to what her mixtapes display; a large potential for reshaping the landscape for female rap artists...but only if she can push away from the nonsense the industry itself is pushing her to be (including her handlers). She will have to not cave so much to the pressure of her record company and forge her own path. With time and experience, this will become easier. Let's hope she can last long enough in the industry to see that. That road however won't be so easy.

I was extremely excited about the release of Pink Friday. I was expecting nothing but amazing. But I am sad to admit, It has to be the worst CD I have purchased in quite a long time. Once I listened to ALL 16 tracks, I had to pop it out of my CD player and put it away. I dont think I will pull it back out either:(I think Niki makes an amazing feature, but is NOT strong enough to hold up an entire song. The only songs I thought were "OK" were those with other features such as Eminem and Kanye. I think she was over hyped and now did not live up to it. I wish her all the best on the second album. I dont think I will ever purchase another entire album of hers again, but maybe download a single here and there.