Half-pop and half-hip-hop, you might want to call Nicki Minaj's sophomore album I Am...Roman Zolanski. That's because like Beyonce's half-soft rock and half-urban pop'n'b album I Am...Sasha Fierce, Nicki is trying to serve two masters with one album.
The first half of Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded is a love letter to Old Nicki fans. It's all hip-hop with a bevy of impressive rap all-stars on the roster, including features from Nas, Cam'Ron, Lil' Wayne and 2 Chainz. Here, the beats hit hard and the trash talk hits even harder. Washed up female rappers and nay sayers are often on the receiving end of jabs from Nicki, as heard on "I Am Your Leader."
"When I fly it's one letter and one number / You wack hos could get hot for one summer / After that the queen will still reign here / I'm Santa Claus to these hos without a reindeer," Nicki spits.
The other half of the album flies off to Saturn for what is really just one big ol' slice of space pop. It starts off with "Starships" and runs amok until "Stupid Hoe," which is oddly tacked on at the end of the standard album. Maybe Nicki wasn't so proud of that one? At least it made the cut, unlike "Roman In Moscow," which is nowhere to be found here.
Listen to the snippets of Nicki's new album below
Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded Tracklisting
- Roman Holiday
- Come On A Cone
- I Am Your Leader ft. Cam'ron and Rick Ross
- Beez In The Trap ft. 2 Chainz
- HOV Lane
- Roman Reloaded ft. Lil Wayne
- Champion ft. Nas, Drake and Young Jeezy
- Right By My Side ft. Chris Brown
- Sex In the Lounge ft. Lil Wayne and Bobby V
- Starships
- Pound The Alarm
- Whip It
- Automatic
- Beautiful Sinner
- Marilyn Monroe
- Young Forever
- Fire Burns
- Gun Shot ft. Beenie Man
- Stupid Hoe
- Turn Me On**
- Va Va Voom**
- Masquerade**
** = deluxe track
