Maps of Music

Pink Friday 2 (2023)

Where the lyrics of Pink Friday 2 take you, and where it was really made.

Pink Friday 2 made Nicki Minaj the first female rapper with three number-one albums, and it debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200.

Key places

Harbor Studios in Malibu (2023)

Recording site Bob Dylan's garage studio (Malibu) — Wikipedia lists Harbor Studios in Malibu as a studio connected to this album. The point uses city-level coordinates, so the exact building is not pinned. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Pink Friday 2: fifth studio album by rapper Nicki Minaj
• Released December 8, 2023 through Republic Records
• Sequel to Minaj's debut album Pink Friday (2010)
• Fuses various genres with hip-hop, R&B and pop
• Lyrical topics include grief, mental health, self-doubt, self-confidence, achievements and motherhood
• Collaborations with J. Cole, Drake, Lil Wayne, Future, Lil Uzi Vert, 50 Cent, Monica and Keyshia Cole
• Samples from Billie Eilish, The Notorious B.I.G., Cyndi Lauper, Rick James and others

Background

• June 2019: Minaj said on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon that she had begun work on a new album
• September 2019: Minaj announced her retirement from hip-hop, then withdrew the statement and apologized
• Before release, Minaj described the album as fierce, fun and unapologetic
• June 2023: release date first announced as October 20
• June 29, 2023: title officially confirmed as Pink Friday 2, release moved to November 17
• October 25, 2023: release postponed to December 8, Minaj's birthday
• Before release, fans created an AI-generated online city called Gag City, a concept Minaj had coined earlier
• Pink Friday 2 World Tour began in March 2024

Recording

• Minaj spoke to US Vogue about recording the album, which was written from the vantage point of a woman who has gotten many of the things she dreamed about
• Released digitally and for streaming as a 22-track album
• Physical versions included only 10 tracks
• Gag City Deluxe released December 14, 2023 through Minaj's webstore
• Gag City Pluto Edition released January 13, 2024
• Gag City Reloaded deluxe announced August 2024, then scrapped on September 15

Cover

• First cover shared September 2023: Minaj in an all-white Vetements ensemble on a roofless subway above pink clouds
• Second cover shared October 6: Minaj in an all-pink gown in front of a black background
• Four more cover variations for vinyl and digital release, all shot by British photographer Charlotte Rutherford

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Career

• Trinidadian rapper, singer, and songwriter; known as the "Queen of Rap".
• Raised in New York City; began rapping professionally in the early 2000s.
• Gained recognition through three mixtapes released between 2007 and 2009.
• Debut studio album Pink Friday (2010) topped the US Billboard 200 and produced "Super Bass".
• Pink Friday 2 (2023) made her the female rapper with the most US number-one albums (three).
• Known for a dynamic rap flow, witty lyrics, musical versatility, and alter egos such as Roman Zolanski.
• Has sold over 100 million records; ranked by Billboard and Vibe as the greatest female rapper of all time (2023).

Recognition

• Won multiple MTV Video Music Awards, BET Awards, and American Music Awards.
• Named one of Time's 100 most influential people in 2016.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Metacritic: 70 out of 100, based on twelve reviews, indicating generally favorable reviews
• AllMusic (Fred Thomas): most songs exhilarating and fun, but the album lacks cohesion and self-editing
• NME (Nick Levine): probably too long, but Minaj paces it sharply, and it feels like a consolidation and refinement of her abilities
• The Guardian (Alexis Petridis): praised thematic variety, lyrical muscles, considerable microphone skills, production and moody atmospherics
• Evening Standard (David Smyth): an expansion of what she can do rather than a complete about-turn
• The Independent (Nadine Smith): criticized the use of samples, saying the album shows flashes of brilliance but mostly makes you wish you were listening to the original
• PopMatters (Nick Malone): heavy on raps, with rewarding melodies when singing comes in, and commended the more versatile production
• Clash (Robin Murray): an ambitious record that combines fan-pleasing tendencies with real artistic growth
• Critics in general praised Minaj's consistency and innovation but criticized the use of samples

Records

• Debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with 228,000 album-equivalent units in its first week
• 92,000 of the first-week units came from pure album sales
• Third US number-one album for Minaj, after Pink Friday and Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded
• Top ten in Australia, Canada, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom
• Certified platinum by the RIAA on March 19, 2024 for one million units in the US
• Sold 25,000 vinyl copies
• Fell to number two in its second week, earning 100,000 more units, behind Taylor Swift's 1989 (Taylor's Version)
• Spent seven weeks in the Billboard 200 top ten
• Best-selling female rap album of 2023 and 2024 in the US
• First-week total of 169.9 million streams

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The album's title was described as a callback to Minaj's Pink Friday (2010), and Minaj also confirmed it as a sequel.
• The physical versions included only 10 tracks, which was theorized to be because the other tracks were not finished in time for pressing and release.
• Minaj revealed that Needle, featuring Drake, was originally intended for Drake's album For All the Dogs.
• Super Freaky Girl began as a clip Minaj previewed in July 2022 under the title Freaky Girl, and it garnered over 20 million views on Instagram in its first day.
• The song Barbie Dangerous interpolated The Notorious B.I.G.'s Notorious Thugs.
• Fans created the Gag City campaign before release, and it drew participation from celebrities including Tyla, Bia and Tyga, as well as brands such as Spotify, Netflix and Oreo.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Maps of Ages ↗ (mapsofages.com)

Privacy · Contact