Nicki Minaj is back and as unhinged as ever in her latest release, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded. While Reloaded contains its fair share of missteps into R&B vocalism, the album’s diverse beats and provocative lyrics deliver a product well worth a listen.
The album’s namesake, Roman Zolanski, appears frequently on the record in the form of a bastardized British accent-wielding Nicki Minaj.
As Roman Zolanski, the rapper, known for saying whatever the hell she wants, exercises a fouler mouth than most female performers. On “Come on a Cone,” Minaj coos, “If you wasn’t so ugly / I put my dick in your face.”
One should not get too caught up in the personal meanings of Minaj’s lyrics when she is in character. Roman Zolanski, Minaj has said, is a gay lunatic who lives inside of her. He says his own piece when necessary and is completely separate from the Trinidadian rapper.
If that sounds crazy, it is.
Other voices of Minaj attempt to help out the gay man inside Minaj throughout the record. In “Roman Holiday,” an upbeat chorus repeats, “Take your medication Roman / Take a short vacation Roman / You’ll be okay.”
Minaj is at her strongest on Reloaded at her meanest and dirtiest. She strikes gold when she raps on dicks and coke, and of course, when she trash talks. One of the things that make Minaj a respectable presence in contemporary music is her willingness to challenge norms.
Minaj cites female rappers like Missy Eliot, who she admires for saying whatever she wants however she wants, as influences, but takes their talent and adds a tough offensiveness that has been absent from female rap.
People have long criticized rap for its often misogynistic overtones, and Minaj herself reappropriates lyrics that would give any third-wave feminist night terrors into catchy raps. Minaj turns words like “bitch” and “ho” from meaning female or promiscuous female to meaning a weak person, a hater or anything else, really.
When Minaj says “bitch,” it is like any male rapper representing himself and undercutting the credibility of his competition. “Bitches ain’t shit and they ain’t say nothin’ / A hundred motherfuckers can’t tell me nothing,” Minaj snarls on “Beez in the Trap.”
“Stupid Hoe” also delivers some classic sass directed at an unknown rival. “I’m Angelina, you Jennifer / Come on bitch, you see where Brad at.”
Minaj channels all the machismo contained in much contemporary hip-hop into her own brand of asexual (bisexual?) music. “Ice my wristes, then I piss on bitches / You can suck my disnick if you take this jizz-this” she continues in “Stupid Hoe.”
Forays into R&B territory feel like forced attempts at making singles for Clear Channel stations. Tracks like “Gun Shot” and “Masquerade” fall flat as examples of the saccharin pop vocals that make listening to Top 40 music a drag. “Turn Me On” in particular is a shameless attempt at profiting from the popularity of Rihanna’s dance pop sound. It is not a weak track sonically, but the lyrics are paper thin and the beat feels hollow and uninspired.
Nicki Minaj went into making Reloaded with a mind to put out a diverse record with something for any taste. To this effect, it is impossible to say she did anything but succeed.
The vocals go from the tough to the sweet (to the very, very sweet at times) and the beats go from heavy to so light you would think they were going to pop. It is a scattershot of musicianship that will strike a chord with anyone willing to give it an honest chance.
Ultimately Nicki Minaj’s tendency to rap and sing about little more than sex and partying, bitches and blow jobs holds her sophomore record back from achieving the kind of depth necessary to make it into an album future generations will return to Fortunately, the sonic diversity and the signs of an experimenting Minaj hint at a maturing artist who should prove to be even more serious in her next release.
Roman Reloaded highlights Minaj’s place as a rapper unlike any other now or ever before. Anyone who thinks that hip-hop music is dead or static need look no further than Nicki Minaj to see that is not the case.
In a world of largely homogeneous pop music, Minaj delivers a vulgar originality that is refreshing to audiences used to recycled beats and lyrics that seem to never change. Although flawed, Roman Reloaded proves itself as a masterpiece compared to many of its contemporaries.
3.5 out of 5 stars
