Pink Friday 2 is the fifth studio album by rapper Nicki Minaj, released on December 8, 2023 through Republic Records. A sequel to Minaj's debut album Pink Friday (2010), it is her first studio album in five years following the release of Queen (2018). Musically, it fuses sounds from various genres with hip hop, R&B and pop, and lyrical topics include grief, mental health, self-doubt, self-confidence, achievements, motherhood, and other contemporary reflections. The album includes collaborations with J. Cole, Drake, Lil Wayne, Future, Lil Uzi Vert, 50 Cent, Monica, and Keyshia Cole.
Pink Friday 2 debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, making Minaj the first female rapper in history to have three number-one albums. It earned over 228,000 album-equivalent units in its first week, with 92,000 coming from pure album sales. Internationally, it peaked in the top ten in Australia, Canada, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The album received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised Minaj's consistency and innovation but criticized the use of samples. It includes samples from tracks by Billie Eilish, Biggie, Cyndi Lauper, Rick James, among others.
In June 2019, Minaj mentioned on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon that she had begun work on a new album with no official release date at the time and stated that she had not titled it yet.[1] In September, Minaj announced her retirement from hip hop;[2] however, she later withdrew her statement and apologized for her false announcement.[3] That same month, in an interview with Elle, Minaj stated that the album would be, "fierce, fun, and unapologetic" and spoke about the project's ultimate sound.
It's probably the most excited I've been about an album release in a really long time. I'm happy that we're not making my fans wait for another album like I've done in the past. This one incorporates all the things people love about Nicki, but it also just has a way bigger sound, so it goes perfectly with the collection.[4]
A year later on June 29, 2020, Minaj tweeted, "PF2" and "MEMORIES" which went on to be revealed as the initials of the album and a song.[5] In May 2023, she teased that the album "is the best thing that will come out of 2023 & will raise the bar to new & unreachable heights", and that its accompanying tour "will be hailed as 'genius.' That's it & that's all."[6]
Release
On June 5, Minaj initially announced the release date of the album would be October 20, 2023.[7] On June 29, she officially announced that the album would be titled Pink Friday 2, and that the release date would be pushed back to November 17.[8][9][10] In September, she debuted an unreleased track from the album entitled "Big Difference" during her performance at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards.[11] On October 25, Minaj announced that the album's release date was postponed to her birthday on December 8, 2023.[12]
In November, as part of weekly surprises leading up to the album release, Minaj teased a surprise that she and her fans alike were awaiting for a long time, making her fans trend "#TellUsNicki" number one on Twitter before teasing the surprise any further.[13] The following day it was revealed that she was the cover feature for the December 2023 issue of US Vogue, in which she spoke about recording her new album which "was written from the vantage point of a woman who has gotten so many of the things she dreamed about".[14] With that, Minaj became the first rapper on the cover of US Vogue.[15]
Pink Friday 2 was released on December 8, 2023 through Republic Records,[16] and made available for digital download and streaming as a 22-track album.[17] The album was also available in several physical versions, which consisted of four vinyl editions (three retailer-exclusive versions each with different covers) and two CD variants (standard and signed).[17] The physical versions only included 10 tracks, which was theorized to be because the remainder were not finished in time for pressing and release.[17] On December 14, 2023, an extended edition titled Gag City Deluxe edition was released through Minaj's webstore and made available to streaming platforms a day later.[18][19] On January 13, 2024, another extended version, labelled the Gag City Pluto Edition, was also released.[20] In August 2024, Minaj announced a deluxe version of the album, titled Gag City Reloaded, would be released on September 13, 2024;[21] she performed music from the deluxe during the second US leg of her Pink Friday 2 World Tour.[22][23] However, on September 15, 2024, she announced that she scrapped the deluxe in favor of a new album, titled Pink Friday 3.[24]
Title and artwork
The album's title was described as a callback to Minaj's Pink Friday (2010) with Minaj also confirming it as a sequel.[25] Minaj first shared one of two official cover arts for the album in September 2023, depicting the rapper in an all-white Vetements ensemble traveling on a roofless metropolitan subway floating above pink clouds.[26][27] On October 6, she shared the second album cover, which depicted her in an all-pink gown revealing her midriff and surrounded by a billowing pink satin sheet in front of a black background.[28] In the remaining weeks leading up to the release, Minaj shared four additional album cover variations for vinyl and digital release, all of which were shot by British photographer Charlotte Rutherford.[29]
Musical style and lyrics
Pink Friday 2 comprises a variety of sounds fused primarily with hip hop, R&B and pop.[30][31][32][33] Lyrical topics include grief, mental health, self-doubt, self-confidence, achievements, motherhood, and other present-day reflections.[34][35] The album opens with "Are You Gone Already" which samples Billie Eilish's "When the Party's Over".[36] On the song, Minaj raps about her father's death and "love, loss, guilt, and fear".[36] This is followed by "Barbie Dangerous" which was an interpolation of the Notorious B.I.G.'s "Notorious Thugs".[36]Billboard described the song as a "lyrical exercise for the rap legend as she breezes through the Hollywood Cole production".[36] "FTCU" samples "Fuck the Club Up" by Waka Flocka Flame and was called a standout on the album.[36][37] This is followed with "Beep Beep" and "Fallin 4 U" which are both "powered by a catchy chorus".[33] "Let Me Calm Down" featuring J.Cole spoke on Minaj's "grievances against her lover" and "explores the complexity of adult relationships".[36] Cole's rap echoes Minaj's where he "relates to Minaj's struggle, he takes a jab at the critics and references one of [his] most chaotic public relationship fall-outs".[36]
"RNB" saw Minaj reuniting with her mentee, Lil Wayne, and singer Tate Kobang.[36] The R&B song was an acronym for "Real Nigga Bitch".[36] "Pink Birthday" was described as a "new birthday anthem" while "Needle" featuring Drake was called an anthem "oozing with island vibes".[36] Minaj revealed that the song was originally intended for Drake's album For All the Dogs.[38] This was followed by pop-inspired songs, "Cowgirl" featuring Lourdiz and "Everybody" featuring Lil Uzi Vert.[36] The latter sampled "Move Your Feet" by Junior Senior.[39] "Big Difference" and "Red Ruby da Sleeze" were both released prior to the album's release and saw Minaj boasting of her legacy and impact on the music industry.[40] "Forward from Trini" saw Minaj showcasing her "Caribbean pride while connecting to her Trinidadian roots".[36] Both the next songs, "Pink Friday Girls" and "Super Freaky Girl" sampled high-profile songs including "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" by Cyndi Lauper and "Super Freak" by Rick James.[36] This was followed with "Bahm Bahm", "My Life" and "Nicki Hendrix" featuring Future with the second song sampling "Heart of Glass" by Blondie.[36]
"Blessings" featuring Gospel singer Tasha Cobbs Leonard was called a "palette cleanser from the dessert section" of Pink Friday 2 and saw Minaj rapping about "giving up the glory to God".[36] "Last Time I Saw You" was compared to Minaj's 2018 song "Come See About Me".[36] The song has a "guitar-driven instrumental".[36] The standard album ends with "Just the Memories" which was called an "ethereal album closer" and saw Minaj rapping about the dark hurdles of her childhood, her come-up and her subsequent legacy.[36]
The Gag City Deluxe edition of the album features a remix of "Beep Beep" with 50 Cent and a new track titled "Love Me Enough" with Monica and Keyshia Cole.[41] The latter song saw Minaj rapping about "self-love, building yourself back up after a bad relationship, and ultimately putting yourself first".[41] The Gag City Pluto edition of the album featured "Press Play" with Future.[42][43]
With over $108 million in revenue, Minaj's Pink Friday 2 World Tour became the fourth-highest grossing tour by a rapper or hip-hop artist in history, the highest-grossing tour by a female rapper, and the first tour among female rappers to surpass US$100 million in revenue. It also made Minaj the fifth Black female artist in history to surpass the mark from a single tour.[44][45][46]
Gag City
To promote Pink Friday 2, Minaj's fans created several AI-generated images of celebrities and brands arriving at the fictional "Gag City", a city dominated by pink colors.
Prior to the album's release, Minaj's fans came together to begin an online marketing campaign and created an AI-generated city called "Gag City", which the rapper herself had previously coined and acknowledged on social media.[47][48][49]Yahoo! Finance described the concept as "the pink metropolis inhabited by stans and brands alike," whereas Forbes described it as a "hyper-futuristic, uber-pink digital town complete with the same pink, dreamlike aesthetic featured in the album's cover art."[50][51]
In July 2022, Minaj previewed a song from the album originally titled "Freaky Girl" on her social media, with the clip going viral and garnering over 20 million views on Instagram in its first day.[54] "Super Freaky Girl" was released as the lead single from the album on August 12, 2022, a month after its preview.[55] Its music video, directed by Joseph Kahn, was uploaded onto Minaj's YouTube account on September 1.[56] The song debuted at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 and the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart a month later which debuted atop the Hot 100 marking Minaj's third number-one song on the chart.[57] The single proved to be Minaj's biggest solo hit, spending 11 weeks inside the top 10 of the Hot 100, 10 of which were consecutive.[58]
"Red Ruby da Sleeze" was initially released as a promotional single on March 3, 2023, described by Minaj as her "street record" before her "next official single".[59][60][61] It was officially sent to rhythmic contemporary radio on March 14, 2023, becoming the album's second single.[62] Its music video, directed by Grizz and filmed in Trinidad and Tobago, was uploaded on YouTube on May 13.[63] The song peaked at number 13 on the Hot 100 and at number four on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.[64]
"Last Time I Saw You" was released as the album's third single on September 1, 2023.[65] The song peaked at number 23 on the Hot 100 and at number six on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.[66] Minaj performed the song at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards.[67]
"Everybody" featuring Lil Uzi Vert was sent to contemporary hit radio in the United States on January 9, 2024, serving as the album's fourth single.[68] The song debuted at number 26 on the Hot 100,[69] and later peaked at number 24.[70]
"FTCU" was released as the album's fifth single on January 10, 2024, with an EP of various versions of the song also made available for streaming and digital download.[71] The song impacted rhythmic contemporary radio in the United States on January 30, 2024.[72] It debuted at number 42 on the Hot 100,[69] and later peaked at number 15.[70] A remix subtitled the "Sleeze Mix" featuring Travis Scott, Chris Brown and Sexyy Red was released on April 19, 2024.[73]
While not released as an official single, on March 3, 2024, Minaj released an extended version of the song "Let Me Calm Down" featuring J. Cole.[74]
Pink Friday 2 was met with generally favorable reviews by music critics. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the album a score of 70 out of 100, based on twelve reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[76] Fred Thomas of AllMusic deemed most songs "exhilarating and fun" but said the album "lacks the cohesion and self-editing that would make it a rightful follow-up to her 2010 mainstream arrival".[77]NME's Nick Levine wrote that while it is "probably too long, [...] Minaj paces it sharply", and it "feels like a consolidation and refinement of everything Minaj can do".[32]Alexis Petridis of The Guardian highlighted Minaj's thematic variety, "lyrical muscles" and "considerable skills on the microphone" and praised the production and "moody atmospherics".[35]
The Evening Standard's David Smyth described Pink Friday 2 as "an expansion of what she can do rather than a complete about turn."[80] Nadine Smith of The Independent criticized Minaj's use of samples and felt that the album "shows flashes of the inventive brilliance that made Nicki such an undeniable superstar, but like so many legacy sequels, it mostly just makes you wish you were listening to the original".[81]PopMatters's Nick Malone characterized it as "heavy on raps but finally delivering rewarding and memorable melodies when singing comes into the mix", commending its "punchier and more versatile production" and Minaj finding "new homes for her effortlessly versatile voice."[83] Robin Murray of Clash called Pink Friday 2 an ambitious record that "mirror[s] fan-pleasing tendencies with actual artistic growth" and a "demonstration of her breadth", regarding it as "riveting in its entertainment, and gripping in its musicality."[79]
Commercial performance
Pink Friday 2 debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, earning 228,000 album-equivalent units in its first week of which 92,000 came from pure album sales, and became the largest week in overall units as well as in pure sales for a female rap album in the 2020s and a female R&B/hip-hop album in 2023.[18]
Upon the album's release, Minaj broke several records. The album became Minaj's third number-one album in the country after Pink Friday (2010) and Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded (2012), and broke her tie with Foxy Brown for the female rap artist with the most number-one albums in the country. Minaj also achieved her seventh top-ten album overall. It also sold 25,000 vinyl copies, earning the largest vinyl sales week for a female rap album in history.[18] The album dropped one place to number two in its second week, earning an additional 100,000 album-equivalent units but being beaten by Taylor Swift's 1989 (Taylor's Version).[84] It spent 7 weeks in the top-ten region of the Billboard 200.[85] The album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for moving a million units in the US, on March 19, 2024.[86]
The album's songs achieved 90.8 million streams in its first three days.[87] In its first week, Pink Friday 2 received a total of 170 million streams, marking the highest streaming week of her career, for a female rap album in the 2020s, and for a female R&B/hip-hop album in 2023.[88] Upon its release, 14 songs from the album debuted on the Billboard Hot 100, of which two entered the top 40: "Everybody" and "Needle" featuring Lil Uzi Vert and Drake.[69]
