Pink Friday is a more serious album than the hip-hop firecracker many fans expected. At times the album poignantly reveals Nicki Minaj as the insecure 25-year-old living underneath spandex bodysuits and neon wigs. Unfortunately, however, that poignancy turns to dull repetition on many tracks.
A major flaw of Pink Friday is not what is on it, but what is not. The single ""Massive Attack,"" though it came out in April, is a glaring omission from the album. It is easily Minaj's catchiest song as a solo artist, yet it didn't make the cut. Lackluster tracks like ""Fly"" (featuring Rihanna) and ""Blazin"" (featuring Kanye West) get more play, seemingly just because they feature more popular artists.
On the first track, ""I'm the Best,"" Minaj celebrates her relatively newfound fame through Lil Wayne and Young Money. But her boasts are grounded in her past, as evidence in lines like these: ""I remember when I couldn't buy my mother a couch / Now I'm sitting at the closing, bought my mother a house.""
From a jubilant boast track Minaj pulls a hard 180 in ""Roman's Revenge"" to furiously defend her reputation against haters. She takes jabs at Lil' Kim, calling her a has-been, and gives a shout out to Busta Rhymes with the line ""Rah, rah, like a dungeon dragon."" Eminem's quick and vulgar verses add even more emotion to the track because, well, Eminem is almost always angry.
""Did It On 'Em"" brings Reggaeton airhorns into the mix but not much else. And with lines like ""If I had a dick I would pull it out and piss on 'em,"" it's the farthest from ladylike on the album. It gets the point across, but Minaj is at her most subversive when playing the artificial Barbie she portrays on many of her guest verses, such as Kanye West's ""Monster"" and Young Money's ""BedRock.""
""Check It Out"" is irritably catchy, mostly thanks to a sample of ""Video Killed The Radio Star"" by The Buggles. Despite the cheesy backdrop, Minaj is sweetly spiteful as ever, especially with the line ""Haters you can kill yourselves."" Will.i.am complements Minaj's Trinidadian flow, sprinkling the track with his trademark Autotoned monotone.
""Dear Old Nicki"" is the realest track on the album, reflecting on her startling transition into the mainstream. She's exchanged her natural hair and jeans for Popsicle-colored wigs and Gaga-esque getups. She's exchanged brown eyes and low riders for blue contacts and stretch Hummers. No one regrets the loss of underground rapper Nicki Minaj more than hip-hop icon Nicki Minaj.
""Your Love"" infectiously samples ""No More I Love You's"" by Annie Lennox and once again features Minaj's lovely singing voice, and while it is a run-of-the-mill ode to forbidden love, the R&B sincerity is subtle, not schmaltzy.
Overall, Minaj's best verses are on tracks featuring other rappers, which may explain the conundrum. Maybe it's easier to stick your neck out for your friends than for yourself. Or maybe it's easier to come hard when the competition is next to you in the booth.
