Pink Friday is the debut studio album by hip hop recording artist Nicki Minaj. It was released on November 19, 2010 in standard and deluxe editions through Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records, and Universal Motown. The intended lead single from the album, "Massive Attack", was commercially unsuccessful, and was therefore removed from Pink Friday. The album was preceded by the singles "Your Love" and "Right Thru Me" which were released in June and September 2010, respectively. "Your Love" reached number 1 on the Hot Rap Songs chart, while "Right Thru Me" peaked at number 2. In addition, a previously released joint single between American rapper will.i.am and Minaj, "Check It Out", appears on the album. A third single, "Moment 4 Life", features Canadian rapper Drake and was released in December 2010. It topped the Hot Rap Songs chart in the US.

"Roman's Revenge", which originally featured rapper Eminem, was remixed to feature Minaj's labelmate Lil Wayne, and was released as a promotional single on January 19, 2011. After being released as Pink Friday's fourth single, "Did It On'em" received very positive reviews from critics, and peaked at number 4 on the US Rap Songs chart. "Girls Fall Like Dominoes" was released as a single in Australia and the U.K., as the sixth single overall. It samples "Dominos" by British indie rock band The Big Pink. On May 13, 2011, "Super Bass", a bonus track from the deluxe version of Pink Friday, was released as a single. It is one of Minaj's most successful singles, reaching number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. The seventh single from the album, "Fly", features Barbados singer Rihanna, and was released on August 30, 2011. It has since peaked at number 19 on the Hot 100.

Pink Friday features production styles crossing the genres of pop, hip-hop and R&B. Contributions to the album's production came from a wide range of producers including J.R. Rotem, Bangladesh, Swizz Beatz, T-Minus and will.i.am. After a much anticipated release as the result of Minaj's extensive featured appearances on the singles of other artists, Pink Friday debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart with first-week sales of 375,000 copies. Ultimately reaching number one on the chart, it has been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America and, as of February 2012, had sold more than 1.7 million copies in the United States.

Background[link]

After a major record label bidding war, Young Money Entertainment announced on August 31, 2009 that Minaj had been released a 360 deal with the label in which she retains and owns all of her 360 rights – including merchandising, sponsorships, endorsements, touring and publishing.^[3] Sessions for the album began in 2009 with a tentative release in the second quarter of 2010. Minaj stated in an MTV interview that "Married in the Club" was set to be the lead single from the album and was slated for a November 2009 release.^[4] Plans for the single were cancelled and Minaj explained in a February 2010 interview with MTV that she had scrapped the previous material and began recording again from scratch. Minaj explained, "I have songs that where I am now, they aren't a great representation of me to where I'm at musically. I wanna start from scratch but I do have my single and it'll be out."

Minaj spoke about the great importance of the album to her and all females in hip-hop in an interview with V103's Greg Street, stating; "They won't look to sign other female rappers because they'll say, 'Her buzz was so crazy and if she couldn't do it, then no one can do it.' And I don't want that to happen, so I'm doing this as well for all the girls. I hope that with the success of the album—because I know it will be successful, I believe it will be successful—I hope that this opens doors for all of the girls everywhere. Even as far as I've come right now, it's a testament in my mind," she said. "So I hope the female rappers will understand how big it is, just for our culture, that the album does well."^[5]

Recording and production[link]

Recording sessions for the album took place at several recording locations, including 25 Sound Studios in Detroit, Chalice Recording Studios in Los Angeles, and Glenwood Place Studios in Burbank, California.^[6] Hip-hop producer Swizz Beatz confirmed his collaboration with Minaj for the album, with Minaj discussing a song "Catch Me", that she described as "moody" and "mellow futuristic" which later became a bonus track on the album.^[7][8] Minaj also confirmed to Entertainment Weekly that The Black Eyed Peas member and record producer will.i.am contributed production to the album. She stated in the interview that "The album is much more emotional than you anticipate, which is a great thing. And I know women are gonna connect to the album so much. I felt like for so many years I was the girl who did the catchy little raps, and it's time for me now to tell my story, and in telling my story, I'm really telling every girl's story. We all go through the same thing. So the album is gonna feel very personal to every female."^[9] Producer Bangladesh also contributed to the album.^[10]

Hip-hop rap artist and producer Kanye West was also confirmed for the album.^[11] In an interview with Interview Minaj stated that she would be toning down her sex appeal for the album, stating: "I made a conscious decision to try to tone down the sexiness," she told Interview magazine. "I want people—especially young girls—to know that in life, nothing is going to be based on sex appeal. You've got to have something else to go with that."^[12] The song "Right Thru Me", which Minaj confirmed as a "standout" track of the album, was confirmed for the album with Minaj stating, "It's not gonna come right now. It'll come closer to when the album drops, but it's a really, really pretty song. Everyone's gonna like it. It's just really insightful but in a very conversational kind of way."^[13][13] In an interview with 95.8 Capital FM, Rihanna stated that after the two collaborated on "Raining Men" from her album Loud, that they would be teaming up together for a possible second collaboration on Minaj's Pink Friday.^[14]

A joint single between Minaj and will.i.am titled "Check It Out", which samples "Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles, was released on September 3, 2010 via digital download.^[15][16] On an unexpected Ustream on October 25, 2010, Minaj discussed a song she had recently recorded with fellow label-mate Drake, which later ended up on the album and became a single and had a music video filmed for it.^[17] Minaj revealed exclusively to Rap-Up that she collaborated with rapper Eminem on a Swizz Beatz-produced track titled "Roman's Revenge" which references Minaj's alter-ego Roman Zolanski and features Eminem's alter-ego Slim Shady.^[18][19] "Moment 4 Life" featuring Drake impacted US Rhythmic radio on December 7, 2010.^[20]

Release and promotion[link]

On her Twitter Minaj stated that if she reached one million followers she would dedicate a Ustream to her fans. On August 3, Minaj went on Ustream to call fans who emailed her their phone numbers and to reveal the album's title.^[21] On August 3, 2010 Minaj revealed on a Ustream.tv channel for her fans that the album's name would be Pink Friday, stating, "To carry on a great tradition of Black Friday, we are going to switch it up this year in honor of the Nicki Minaj album and call that day Pink Friday, and call my album Pink Friday!"^[21] A deluxe edition of the album has also been confirmed.^[22] Minaj released the artwork for her album cover on Friday, October 15, 2010.^[23] Rap-Up commented on the album cover, stating "The cover features Minaj as a doll alarmingly staring at the camera, sitting armless on the ground with her elongated legs in a flowing silver corset, pink stilettos, and a stark pink wig."^[24]

On June 17, 2010, promotional photos for the album were leaked online, depicting Minaj in a neon-orange wig dressed as a ninja.^[25] On July 8, 2010, Minaj announced via Twitter that the album would be released on November 23, 2010.^[26] It was later announced that the album was pushed up by one day to November 22, 2010.^[27] Minaj's official website and related social networking pages later announced that the digital download version of the album would be available for pre-order through iTunes on October 30, less than a month before the release date of the physical edition.^[28] Music videos for four additional tracks are planned: "Moment 4 Life" featuring Drake, "Save Me", "Fly" featuring Rihanna, and "Girls Fall like Dominoes".^[29] (Only those for "Moment 4 Life" and "Fly" have been released as of October 2011.) On January 5, 2011, Minaj booked Sanaa Hamri to direct the music video for "Fly" featuring Rihanna.^[30] In March 2011, Minaj booked Sanaa Hamri to direct the video for "Super Bass".^[31] At the beginning of May, a teaser trailer was released for "Super Bass". Around Memorial Day weekend, it was expected that the previously recorded video for the track, "Fly", would be released in September,^[32] which was proven true.

Tour[link]

Minaj announced via the social networking site Twitter that she would kick off a five-date promotional tour a month before the album dropped.^[33] Tweeting, "Ok Barbz, here are the 1st 5 dates on my Pink Friday Tour," the tour began in Philadelphia on October 22, and ran through October 30 in Trinidad and Tobago.^[33][34]

Singles[link]

"Massive Attack" was released on April 13, 2010 through digital distribution. It charted at number 65 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The song was a distinct change from Minaj's previous work on mixtapes and features, thus receiving mixed to positive reviews from critics, commending lyrical content and distinctiveness, but critiquing that it did not fit her "Barbie" persona well. The song bubbled under the Billboard Hot 100 at #22, and peaked at #65 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. "Massive Attack" was initially announced as the album's lead single, however, after the single's poor chart performance, Minaj dethroned its lead single status and declared that it would not be featured on Pink Friday.^[35] "Your Love" was released as the album's first official US single on June 1, 2010 and as the first single in the United Kingdom on July 2, 2010. Initially, the song had never been planned for release, but due to abounding airplay it was mastered and used as the follow-up to "Massive Attack". The song peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100, and at 5 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and topped the Hot Rap Songs chart for eight consecutive weeks. Minaj became the first female artist to top the Hot Rap Songs chart unaccompanied since 2002. It also charted in Canada and the UK.^[36] "Right Thru Me" was released on September 24, 2010^[37] and officially impacted urban radio on October 5, 2010.^[38] A music video directed by Diane Martel was released for the single on October 27, 2010.^[39] "Check It Out" was released as a joint single by will.i.am and Minaj on September 3, 2010.^[40] A music video for the song was directed by Rich Lee and released October 25, 2010.^[41]

"Moment 4 Life", which features Drake, officially impacted Rhythmic radio on December 7, 2010.^[42][43] The music video for "Moment 4 Life" was released on January 27, 2011.^[44] "Roman's Revenge" featuring Eminem was released as a promotional single to iTunes on October 30, 2010.^[45] A re-worked version of "Roman's Revenge" featuring Lil Wayne was released to the iTunes Store on January 19, 2011.^[46] "Did It On'em" was sent to rhythmic radio on March 7, 2011 and "Super Bass" impacted radio on April 5, 2011.^[47] "Super Bass" was released to iTunes in some markets on May 13, 2011.^[48][49] In its seventh week on the US Billboard Hot 100, the song has achieved number 10, making it Minaj's first top ten placement as a lead artist.^[50] The song's title is also used as part of the title of a UK deluxe edition of the album, called the "Super Bass edition".^[51] "Girls Fall like Dominoes" was released in Australia on April 11, 2011,^[52] and in the UK on April 15.^[53] "Fly" was officially released as the album's eight and final single. It was sent to US rhythmic radio on August 30, 2011.^[54] and to Top 40/Mainstream single.^[55]

Reception[link]

Commercial performance[link]

Pink Friday debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 375,000 copies: this marked the second-highest sales week for a female hip hop recording artist, behind Lauryn Hill's The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill in 1998.^[56] The album debuted at number eight in Canada, number 30 in Ireland, and number 34 in the UK.^[57][58][59] On January 5, 2011, Pink Friday was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.^[60] Three months after its release, Pink Friday sold a total of 1,035,000 copies, and never left the top ten of the Billboard 200.^[61] On the week of February 9, 2011, Pink Friday went to number one, after its eleventh week on the Billboard 200, selling 45,000 copies in that week.^[62] As of February 2012, the album had sold more than 1,774,000 copies in the United States.^[63]

In the UK, in its fourteenth week, Pink Friday climbed back into the top forty at number 34, the same position it peaked at during the week of its album release.^[64] The following week, the album climbed to a new peak of number 32.^[65] On April 1, 2011 Pink Friday was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry, with sales of 100,000 copies sold in the United Kingdom.^[66] On August 7, 2011 the album raced back up the charts at a new peak of number 16. As of April 2012, the album had sold 281,346 copies in the UK.^[67] On 5 April, 2012, Pink Friday was certified Platinum in the UK, with over 300,000 copies sold.^[68]

Critical response[link]

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Robert Christgau	A[69]
Entertainment Weekly	B+[70]
The Guardian	[71]
Los Angeles Times	[72]
Pitchfork Media	6.5/10[73]
Rolling Stone	[74]
Slant Magazine	[75]
Spin	7/10[76]
The Village Voice	mixed[77]

Pink Friday received generally positive reviews from music critics.^[78] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 69, based on 25 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".^[78] Rolling Stone writer Rob Sheffield gave it three-and-a-half out of five stars and called it "surprisingly pop".^[74] James Reed of The Boston Globe called it "a brash pop album brimming with Minaj's various personae and Technicolor rhymes".^[79] Entertainment Weekly's Brad Wete commended Minaj's "knack for melody" and "boasting lyrics".^[70] Sam Wolfson of NME complimented Minaj's "pop sensibility" and found her "volatility and quirks [...] reminiscent of heyday Lil Wayne".^[80] USA Today's Steve Jones wrote that the album "swerves effortlessly from hard-core rap to sweet pop bliss".^[81] Los Angeles Times writer Margaret Wappler commented that it "shows Minaj is on the cusp",^[72] while Ann Powers noted Minaj's attempt to showcase her multi-faceted range and complimented her female perspective.^[82] Pitchfork Media's Scott Plagenhoef expressed a mixed response towards its pop concessions, but stated "Fortunately, even when she's aiming down the middle of the road, she's at least better than almost anyone else".^[73] Allison Stewart of The Washington Post stated "'Friday' nibbles at the edges of what female rappers are allowed to do, even as it provides a steady helping of pop hits".^[83] In his consumer guide for MSN Music, critic Robert Christgau gave the album an A rating and stated "she's proud to be shameless, with the hooks to back it up".^[69]

Andy Gill of The Independent gave a rating of three stars out of five, writing that "Right Thru Me" is the only track that exhibits "adequate use of [Minaj's] R&B vocal skills" among an album of unoriginal "rap braggadocio".^[84] Slant Magazine's Jesse Cataldo praised Minaj's versatility on tracks like "Roman's Revenge", but was disappointed with the collaborative "Moment 4 Life", noting she could have shown more confidence by acting as a foil for Drake, but didn't.^[75] Kitty Empire of The Observer called the album a "triumph of prevarication", but stated "Pink Friday can't decide whether Minaj is a rapper or just another pop artist [...] This album's pop quotient... is adequate, but anonymous."^[85] Rich Juzwiak of The Village Voice criticized the album's "r&b crossover" material and found it lyrically "underwhelming".^[77] Despite complimenting Minaj's "adoption of personas", Alexis Petridis of The Guardian commented that "For every burst of originality, there's a burst of generic frosty synth and Auto-Tune", noting that "the pop- and R&B-influenced tracks simply aren't as exciting, lyrically or musically, as the foam-mouthed hardcore ones".^[71] Marc Hogan of Spin stated "As an MC showcase... the album falls short", but ultimately viewed it as "a budding artist's love letter to pop — well-wrought and exuberantly penned".^[76] Allmusic's David Jeffries wrote that it "both dazzles and disappoints", stating "Feed off the production, the great musical ideas, and Minaj's keen sense of her surroundings, and Pink Friday is an outstanding success".^[1] "Did It on'em" appeared on Rolling Stone's Best Singles of 2010 list at number 25.^[86]

Track listing[link]

The official track listing as reported by MTV was revealed through the iTunes Store on October 30, 2010.^[1][87]

Standard edition

Deluxe edition

Notes

• * indicates additional producer(s).
• The chorus for "Super Bass" features main vocals from Ester Dean, but Dean is not noted as being featured on the track.

Samples and interpolations[link]

Adapted from album booklet.^[95]

• "Right Thru Me" contains samples of "Always With Me, Always With You" by Joe Satriani.
• "Check It Out":
  • embodies portions and samples of "Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles.
  • contains elements and samples of "Think (About It)" written by James Brown, performed by Lyn Collins.
• "Blazin" samples "Don't You (Forget About Me)" performed by Simple Minds.
• "Here I Am" samples "Red Sky" by John B and Shaz Sparks.
• "Your Love" samples "No More I Love You's" by Annie Lennox.
• "Girls Fall Like Dominoes":
  • Contains samples from "Dominos" written by The Big Pink.
  • Contains interpolations of "Trailar Load a Girls" written by Cleveland Browne, Greville Gordon and Whycliffe Johnson.

Personnel[link]

Credits for Pink Friday adapted from Allmusic.^[96]

Charts and certifications[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Pink Friday at Discogs
• Pink Friday at Metacritic

Nicki Minaj
Minaj at 2010 MTV Music Awards
Background information
Birth name	Onika Tanya Maraj
Born	(1982-12-08) December 8, 1982 (age 29)[1] Saint James, Trinidad and Tobago
Origin	South Jamaica, Queens, New York, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop, R&B, pop
Occupations	Rapper, singer-songwriter
Years active	2002–present
Labels	Cash Money Records, Young Money Entertainment, Universal Republic Records, Universal Motown
Associated acts	Young Money
Website	mypinkfriday.com

Onika Tanya Maraj (born December 8, 1982), known by her stage name Nicki Minaj ( /mɪˈnɑːʒ/), is a Trinidadian-born American rapper and singer-songwriter. She was born in Saint James, Trinidad and Tobago and when she was 5 years of age she moved to the New York City borough of Queens, where she grew up.

After releasing three mixtapes between 2007 and 2009 and being signed to Young Money Entertainment in August 2009, Minaj released her debut album, Pink Friday, in November 2010. It quickly became a commercial success, peaking at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 and being certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) a month after its release.^[2][3] She became the first female solo artist to have seven singles on the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time.^[4] Her second single, "Your Love", reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot Rap Songs chart, making Minaj the first female artist to top the chart unaccompanied since 2002.^[5] She also became the first female artist to be included on MTV's Annual Hottest MC List.^[6] Minaj was named the 2011 Rising Star by Billboard.^[7] Her second studio album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded was released on April 3, 2012.

Early life[link]

Maraj was born in 1982^{[1][note 1]} in Saint James, a suburb of Trinidad and Tobago's capital city Port of Spain.^[8][9][10] Her parents are of mixed Indian and Afro-Trinidadian ancestry^[11][12] and she lived in Saint James with her grandmother until age five, because her parents were looking for a place to live in the Queens borough of New York City at the time. Her mother would occasionally visit, and one day, when Minaj was five, her mother picked her up to move to Queens.^[13] According to Minaj, her father drank heavily, took drugs, and once tried to kill her mother by setting the house on fire.^[14]

She attended Elizabeth Blackwell Middle School 210, where she played the clarinet.^[13] She graduated from LaGuardia High School.^[15][16] At LaGuardia, a school specializing in music and the visual and performing arts, Minaj participated in the drama program.^[15] She had initially planned to sing at LaGuardia but lost her voice on the day of the audition.^[15]