To call Nicki Minaj’s Pink Friday 2 highly anticipated would be a severe understatement.
Her last album was six years ago — an eternity in the fast-moving world of hip-hop. On top of that, she’s gotten married, had a child, suffered the loss of a parent, and had no shortage of controversy. So when she announced that PF2 would be "one of the greatest albums of ALL TIME," fans and hip-hop observers everywhere couldn’t wait to get their hands on it to hear it for themselves.
It will no doubt take a long time to really absorb all of the 22 songs, 70-minute project, but read on for five initial impressions.
Nicki Loves Big Hits
Nicki is Bad Boy-esque on this album in her use of familiar samples. There are a number of songs on Pink Friday 2 that take significant chunks from pop hits of the past: On "Super Freaky Girl," Minaj samples Rick James’ No. 1 hit from 1981; "Super Freak"; Blondie’s 1970 No. 1 "Heart of Glass" shows up in "My Life."
Elsewhere, "Pink Friday Girls" samples Cyndi Lauper’s signature "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" (No. 2 in 1984). Lumidee’s No. 3 "Never Leave You (Uh Oooh, Uh Oooh)" (2003) pops up in "Red Ruby Da Sleaze." Billie Eilish’s "when the party’s over" (No. 29 in 2019) is heavily sampled for album opener "Are You Gone Already."
She’s Unapologetic About Her Husband’s Street Cred
In 2021, Nicki and her husband Kenneth Petty were accused of being gang members. The accusation came from Jennifer Hough, who was in the process of suing Petty for sexual assault over an incident that took place in 1994. At the time, Petty, then 16, pleaded guilty to attempted rape in the first degree.
All of this backstory matters because Hough claimed at one point that members of the Makk Ballas set of Bloods sent her death threats over her suit. Minaj doesn’t address any of this directly on Pink Friday 2, but she does go out of her way to brag about her husband’s street affiliations, and to use some possibly gang-related slang. "Sleeze," as in album cut "Red Ruby Da Sleeze," is, according to some, an informal term for a member of the Makk Ballas. "I tell 'em that I'm the Sleeze, they tellin' me, ‘Okay, prove it,’" she rhymes on "FTCU."
There are a number of lines on the record where she directly addresses Petty’s street bona fides. "I can't be playin' with n—, I married a G/ I got some n— that do what I say, if I tell 'em to shoot, they pull up from the three," she rhymes on "Big Difference." On "Red Ruby…" she brags that she "married a shooter." "If he gotta put an opp down, I don’t see s—," she rhymes at one point. (It should be noted that Nicki has publicly denied any gang affiliation).
The lines are notable given that Petty was just sentenced to four months of home detention earlier this year for threatening Cardi B’s husband Offset. It’s impossible not to read some of this real-life context into Nicki’s bars. (If the line "His ex-bitch went up against me, but she didn’t survive" isn’t about Hough, it’s certainly alarming that no one told the star that a lyric like that could be interpreted that way).
Nicki And Kenneth Petty Have A Healthy Sex Life
To judge by the contents of Pink Friday 2, Nicki and her husband have no problems in the bedroom. Song after song praises Petty’s prowess. Even for a rapper who has been plenty raunchy in the past, the amount of content of PF2 devoted to Nicki and her husband’s love life is a little surprising. But we’re glad those crazy kids are making it work!
Birth And Death Inspire Her Best Work
The most emotionally intense and fulfilling moments on the album come when Nicki is trying to reconcile her father’s unexpected death from a hit-and-run in February 2021 with the September 2020 birth of her son, nicknamed Papa Bear.
The fact that these two life-changing incidents took place so close together, and that, as a result, her father never got to meet his grandson, is the emotional center of Pink Friday 2. Papa Bear makes the first sounds you hear on the album, as opener "Are You Gone Already" examines how birth and death overlapped. The two album closers, "Last Time I Saw You" and "Just The Memories," deal with some of these same issues as well, and are equally affecting.
Nicki Still Loves Her Punchlines
Nicki Minaj was introduced to the rap world as a certain type of punchline was ubiquitous in the music. It was sometimes called the "Supa Dupa flow," after a Big Sean song. Basically, it consisted of similes without the use of the words "like" or "as" — think of Drake’s famous "If I was at the club, you know I balled — chemo" or Nicki saying, "It’s going down — basement" on "My Chick Bad."
Over a decade later, Nicki still loves that format. It shows up repeatedly on PF2. "Peek under my dress — Marilyn Monroe" shows up on "Cowgirl." "All of them is my juniors — Sammy" is there on "My Life."