Pink Friday
Pink Friday is the debut studio album by rapper Nicki Minaj. It was released on November 22, 2010, by Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records and Universal Motown Records. After signing a recording contract with Young Money Entertainment in 2009, Minaj began planning the album that same year and work continued into 2010. Minaj enlisted a variety of producers whose efforts resulted in a primarily hip hop, pop and R&B album, which sees additional influences from electronic music. The album features guest vocals from Eminem, Rihanna, Drake, will.i.am, Kanye West and Natasha Bedingfield.
This article is about the album. For the fragrance, see Nicki Minaj § Fragrances.Pink Friday
November 22, 2010
2008–2010
50:46
- Bangladesh
- Blackout Movement
- Drew Money
- J.R. Rotem
- Kane Beatz
- Pop & Oak
- Skyz Muzik
- Swizz Beatz
- T-Minus
- will.i.am
The album was promoted with eight singles; "Your Love", "Check It Out", "Right Thru Me", "Moment 4 Life", "Super Bass", "Did It On'em", "Girls Fall Like Dominoes", and "Fly". "Super Bass" peaked at number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 and entered the top ten worldwide, while five other singles peaked within the top 40 on the Hot 100. Minaj also supported the album with a five-date promotional concert tour during October 2010. After a much anticipated release, Pink Friday debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200, selling 375,000 copies in its first week, marking the second highest sales debut for a female rapper since Lauryn Hill. The album later peaked at number one, becoming Minaj's first number one album.[1]
The album received mostly positive reviews from critics, however some were ambivalent on Minaj's exploration of pop.[2] Internationally, it also charted within the top 20 in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom.[3] As of February 2018, the album has sold two million traditional copies in the United States.[4] The album has been certified 3× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for combined album sales, track sales, and song streams equivalent of three million album-sale units. Pink Friday was nominated for Best Rap Album at the 54th Grammy Awards in 2012, alongside Minaj's other nominations for Best New Artist and Best Rap Performance for the single "Moment 4 Life". A sequel to the album, Pink Friday 2, was released in 2023.
Recording and production[edit]
After a major record label bidding war, Young Money Entertainment announced on August 31, 2009, that Nicki Minaj had signed to the label.[5] 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. 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.[6][7] Minaj also confirmed to Entertainment Weekly that the Black Eyed Peas member and record producer will.i.am contributed production to the album.[8] Hip-hop artist and producer Kanye West was also confirmed for the album.[9] Producer Bangladesh also contributed to the album.[10] In 2011, a track entitled "We Miss You" from the album leaked online.[11] Minaj responded saying the song "was sent to Mariah Carey and Keyshia Cole over a year ago" but did not "make Pink Friday due to clearance issues".[11]
Music and lyrics[edit]
"Your Love" is a mid-tempo hip-hop, pop, and R&B song, with an auto-tuned chorus.[12] It samples the instrumentals and background vocals of Annie Lennox's cover version of "No More I Love You's" by the Lover Speaks, with the addition of additional bass, drum-loops and hip-hop backbeats.[13] "Roman's Revenge" features American rapper Eminem; the song includes both rappers exchanging bars over a "spastic beat" produced by Swizz Beatz.[14] Lyrically, "Roman's Revenge" has been described as "unrelenting",[15] "bonkers",[16] "angry"[17] and "outrageous".[18] "Did It On'em" is a hardcore hip hop and post-dubstep song that has instrumentally been described as having a massive, ungainly beat.[19][20] The lyrics speak of Minaj winning over her competition, by saying she "shitted on 'em" or "pissed on 'em."[21]
"Right Thru Me" is styled with pop-rap tones, and has an electronic beat, while being influenced by R&B.[13][22][23] Lyrically, the song describes someone who wonders aloud about how a lover can see the real her.[13][24] Lyrically, "Moment 4 Life", is about a desire to maintain a feeling of accomplishment, as Drake follows behind Minaj and raps the same theme of enjoying the moment.[25] Straying away from the standard rap song construction of three verses and a hook, Nicki performs a brain-dump of sorts on the track, spitting as if she's making a speech to both her fans and detractors.[26] "Check It Out" features the nearly constant repetition of the piano and vocal hook from the Buggles' 1979 classic, "Video Killed the Radio Star", which is famous for being the first video ever played on MTV.[15] "Super Bass" utilizes electronic music and bubblegum pop in its composition, while Minaj raps over a hip hop beat,[27][28][29] Minaj explained the song's concept, stating: "'Super Bass' is about the boy that you are crushing over, [...] And you kind of want to get your mack on, but you're taking the playful approach."[30]
Release and promotion[edit]
On July 8, 2010, Minaj announced via Twitter that the album would be released on November 23, 2010.[43] It was later announced that the album was pushed up by one day to November 22, 2010.[44] Minaj's official website and related social networking outlets 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.[45]
On her Twitter, Minaj stated that if she reached one million followers she would dedicate a Ustream to her fans. On August 3, 2010, Minaj went on Ustream to call fans who emailed her their phone numbers and to reveal the album's title.[14] Later that same day, Minaj revealed on Ustream 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!"[46] A deluxe edition of the album was also confirmed.[47] Minaj released the official artwork for her album cover on Friday, October 15, 2010.[48] 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."[49] GL Woods, the photographer of the cover, stated that Minaj wanted to look like a "broken Barbie".[50] Woods photographed Minaj for an Out, which had a similar theme; according to the photographer, Minaj was inspired by the photoshoot.[50]
Prior to the release of Pink Friday, MAC Cosmetics announced and launched a lipstick called "Pink 4 Friday" that was sold for four consecutive Fridays beginning November 26, 2010, in promotion of the album.[51] In 2011, OPI Products created a six-piece nail polish collection with Minaj, in which the colors of the collection were named after select songs from the album.[52] In December 2011, Mattel produced a custom-made, Minaj-themed Barbie doll valued at about $15,000 for auction. The doll's design was modeled after Minaj as how she appears on the Pink Friday album cover, with the pink wig and a similar outfit.[53][54]
A 2020 reissue of the album, titled "Complete Edition", was released to coincide with its 10th anniversary on November 20, 2020, containing all the bonus tracks that were released from other versions of the album, such as "Bedrock", and the Lil Wayne remix of "Roman's Revenge".
Associated album
Pink Friday
October 22, 2010
October 30, 2010
5
Commercial performance[edit]
Pink Friday debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 375,000 copies in its first week. 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.[1] On December 17, 2010, the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[82] In its eleventh week on the chart, the album sold 45,000 copies and topped the Billboard 200.[83] The album also held the record for the most weeks in the top ten on the Billboard 200 chart by a female rap album, having spent fourteen consecutive weeks in the top ten since its release.[84] On March 22, 2016, the album was certified triple platinum by the RIAA for combined album sales, track sales, on-demand audio, and video streams equivalent of three million album-sale units.[82] As of February 2018, the album has sold two million traditional copies in the United States.[4]
Internationally, Pink Friday peaked at number eight in Canada, and within the top twenty in Australia, Ireland and the United Kingdom.[85][86][87][88] In the United Kingdom, it has sold 282,000 copies, as of April 2012.[89]
Legacy[edit]
According to DeMicia Inman of Nylon, Pink Friday's commercial success "propelled [Minaj] into worldwide fame, which comes with more weight and responsibility than handing out mixtapes and street DVDs in club parking lots" and also "expanded the constraints that previously contained women to battle it out for a metaphorical throne".[90] Dayna Haffenden of Complex wrote that "throughout the 13-song tracklist, she proved her pen game was not to be questioned, while showcasing her vulnerability and chameleonic abilities".[91] Nick Soulsby of PopMatters wrote that "we're witnessing an avalanche of female rappers rising to the top" and that "we're living in a house that Minaj built and recognition that she is the finest rapper of the past decade... is overdue".[92] Billboard credited Pink Friday with helping Minaj reintroduce female rap into the mainstream in the United States.[93] Writing in 2021, Ellish Gilligan of Junkee wrote that "the influence of Pink Friday in pop, rap and even hyperpop in undeniable" and added that is still inspiring albums like Doja Cat's Planet Her (2021).[94]