Nicki Minaj Pink Friday Zippyshare

By the time 2010 rolled around, debuts like Nicki Minaj’s Pink Friday could still fall into the “highly anticipated” category, but the reasoning was different. Two years of strong mixtapes and guest appearances meant the hip-hop faithful already knew this sometimes dirty debutante could take that gutsy Lil' Kim style to another level, and that both the single and the full-length format were at her command.

The only question left is how this versatile artist would present herself to the general public, and the answer is a Gwen Stefani-meets-Baz Luhrman-meets-Young Money-type affair that both dazzles and disappoints. Feed off the production, the great musical ideas, and Minaj’s keen sense of her surroundings, and Pink Friday is an outstanding success. It’s chock-full of new wave textures and diva attitude, creating the kind of atmosphere where will.i.am stops over while you tell the haters to kill themselves over a “Video Killed the Radio Star” sample (“Check It Out”). More grand moments come when Kanye West and Minaj mack together on the great, Simple Minds-sampling “Blazin,” or when “Your Love” waltzes out of the speakers with a unique brand of hood majesty, but when “Dear Old Nicki” comes round with “In hindsight, I loved your rawness and I loved your edge,” Minaj suggests that her growth as an artist requires the sacrificing of all Trina-like qualities. Confusingly, the key track, “Romans Revenge,” finds her winning while acting as savage as ever, standing up to Eminem -- who is in gross mode -- and literally roaring like a tiger to get the job done. Pro 14 table. This is the Nicki the mixtape crowd fell in love with, and you only need check out 2009’s mixtape Beam Me Up Scotty for examples of how the Barbie (read: pop and R&B) and the bitch (read: hip-hop) sides of Minaj can be sensibly presented together.

About File Formats. MP3 is a digital audio format without digital rights management (DRM) technology. Because our MP3s have no DRM, you can play it on any device that supports MP3, even on your iPod!

In the end, Pink Friday is an ambitious, glossy stunner if fashion week is your favorite time of year, but Minaj didn’t earn her diva status this way. Longtime fans familiar with her underground work won’t even consider this her debut, just an extravagant coming-out party, the kind where the invite mentions “no sneakers or athletic apparel.” [The Deluxe Edition included three bonus tracks, including the smash hit 'Super Bass.' ] ~ David Jeffries.

Kicking her career off with an exciting but flawed debut (2009's ) and a scattershot and safe sophomore release (2012's ), Young Money superstar continues to mess with her discography with this re-upping re-release, which tacks eight new tracks onto the front of her second album. Good news is, the too-pop now feels more balanced once this eight-track EP worth of material tips the scales, and if you missed the vicious-mixtape- that seemed like crossed with anime, the team-up 'High School' restores faith with three-and-half minutes of driven, witty filth. Comes on with such an anti-, back-to-basics attitude that it slowly slithers up to the track, opening with a grind-meets-gospel cut 'Up in Flames' ('I keep a sniper/I ain't talkin' 'bout Wesley') before the loopy meditation on fame called 'Freedom' offers the listener a dreamy float in space.

Then there's the dark majesty of 'Hell Yeah,' which comes off as a cursed track while also rhyming 'menses' with 'Louis V lenses', but everything after the duet is the kinetic of the past, starting with the too true 'I'm Legit,' where alternates between imitating a robot and an air-raid siren as provides the silky hook. It's a thrill, as is the girls' night anthem 'The Boys,' which skillfully switches influences from to to (dig that acoustic guitar bridge) with singer along for the ride.

As 'Va Va Voom' closes with some -styled flash, this tacked-on EP winds up as wild and rangy as 's debut. For fans who don't yet own the second album, this is certainly the better deal and bigger picture, and with some versions adding a DVD's worth of videos, the value goes up.

By the time 2010 rolled around, debuts like Nicki Minaj’s Pink Friday could still fall into the “highly anticipated” category, but the reasoning was different. Two years of strong mixtapes and guest appearances meant the hip-hop faithful already knew this sometimes dirty debutante could take that gutsy Lil' Kim style to another level, and that both the single and the full-length format were at her command.

The only question left is how this versatile artist would present herself to the general public, and the answer is a Gwen Stefani-meets-Baz Luhrman-meets-Young Money-type affair that both dazzles and disappoints. Feed off the production, the great musical ideas, and Minaj’s keen sense of her surroundings, and Pink Friday is an outstanding success. It’s chock-full of new wave textures and diva attitude, creating the kind of atmosphere where will.i.am stops over while you tell the haters to kill themselves over a “Video Killed the Radio Star” sample (“Check It Out”). More grand moments come when Kanye West and Minaj mack together on the great, Simple Minds-sampling “Blazin,” or when “Your Love” waltzes out of the speakers with a unique brand of hood majesty, but when “Dear Old Nicki” comes round with “In hindsight, I loved your rawness and I loved your edge,” Minaj suggests that her growth as an artist requires the sacrificing of all Trina-like qualities. Confusingly, the key track, “Romans Revenge,” finds her winning while acting as savage as ever, standing up to Eminem -- who is in gross mode -- and literally roaring like a tiger to get the job done. Pro 14 table. This is the Nicki the mixtape crowd fell in love with, and you only need check out 2009’s mixtape Beam Me Up Scotty for examples of how the Barbie (read: pop and R&B) and the bitch (read: hip-hop) sides of Minaj can be sensibly presented together.

About File Formats. MP3 is a digital audio format without digital rights management (DRM) technology. Because our MP3s have no DRM, you can play it on any device that supports MP3, even on your iPod!

In the end, Pink Friday is an ambitious, glossy stunner if fashion week is your favorite time of year, but Minaj didn’t earn her diva status this way. Longtime fans familiar with her underground work won’t even consider this her debut, just an extravagant coming-out party, the kind where the invite mentions “no sneakers or athletic apparel.” [The Deluxe Edition included three bonus tracks, including the smash hit 'Super Bass.' ] ~ David Jeffries.

Kicking her career off with an exciting but flawed debut (2009's ) and a scattershot and safe sophomore release (2012's ), Young Money superstar continues to mess with her discography with this re-upping re-release, which tacks eight new tracks onto the front of her second album. Good news is, the too-pop now feels more balanced once this eight-track EP worth of material tips the scales, and if you missed the vicious-mixtape- that seemed like crossed with anime, the team-up 'High School' restores faith with three-and-half minutes of driven, witty filth. Comes on with such an anti-, back-to-basics attitude that it slowly slithers up to the track, opening with a grind-meets-gospel cut 'Up in Flames' ('I keep a sniper/I ain't talkin' 'bout Wesley') before the loopy meditation on fame called 'Freedom' offers the listener a dreamy float in space.

Then there's the dark majesty of 'Hell Yeah,' which comes off as a cursed track while also rhyming 'menses' with 'Louis V lenses', but everything after the duet is the kinetic of the past, starting with the too true 'I'm Legit,' where alternates between imitating a robot and an air-raid siren as provides the silky hook. It's a thrill, as is the girls' night anthem 'The Boys,' which skillfully switches influences from to to (dig that acoustic guitar bridge) with singer along for the ride.

As 'Va Va Voom' closes with some -styled flash, this tacked-on EP winds up as wild and rangy as 's debut. For fans who don't yet own the second album, this is certainly the better deal and bigger picture, and with some versions adding a DVD's worth of videos, the value goes up.