Pink Friday
Pink Friday is the debut studio album by rapper Nicki Minaj. It was released on November 22, 2010, by Cash Money Records, Young Money Entertainment and Universal Motown Records. Minaj began recording the album after signing a recording contract with Young Money Entertainment in 2009. Musically, it is primarily a hip-hop, pop and R&B album that incorporates elements of electronic music. The album features guest vocals from Eminem, Rihanna, Drake, will.i.am, Kanye West, and Natasha Bedingfield.
Pink Friday was promoted with three singles before its release: "Your Love", "Check It Out", and "Right Thru Me". "Moment 4 Life", "Did It On'em", and "Fly" followed. Five singles peaked within the top 40 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and the deluxe album's "Super Bass" peaked at number three on the chart. Pink Friday debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200, selling 375,000 copies in its first week, which marked the second highest sales debut ever for a female rapper after Lauryn Hill. It later peaked at number one, becoming Minaj's first number one album. Internationally, it charted within the top 20 in Australia, Canada, and the UK. In 2016, the album was certified 3× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.
Pink Friday received generally positive reviews, with some critics ambivalent on Minaj's exploration of R&B and pop. It 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". Over a decade since its release, the album has received praise from music journalists and has developed a cult following. In 2022, Rolling Stone included Pink Friday in their list of "200 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time" at number 31, stating that the album "proved you could own the charts without dialing back your confrontational individuality, and it set the table for a generation of artists." Minaj released a sequel to the album, Pink Friday 2, in 2023.
Recording and production
After a major record label bidding war, Young Money Entertainment announced on August 31, 2009, that Nicki Minaj had signed to the label. 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. American record producer Swizz Beatz confirmed that his collaboration with Minaj for the album, with Minaj discussing a song, "Catch Me", describing it as "moody" and "mellow futuristic", would later became a bonus track on the album. Minaj also confirmed to Entertainment Weekly that the Black Eyed Peas member and record producer will.i.am contributed production to the album. Fellow rapper and record producer Kanye West was also confirmed for the album. Fellow record producer Bangladesh also contributed to the album. In 2011, there was a track, titled "We Miss You", from the album being leaked online. Minaj responded by saying that the song "was sent to Mariah Carey and Keyshia Cole over a year ago", but did not "make it on Pink Friday, due to clearance issues".Music and lyrics
"Your Love" is a mid-tempo hip-hop, pop, and R&B song, with an auto-tuned chorus. 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. "Roman's Revenge" features American rapper Eminem; the song includes both rappers exchanging bars over a "spastic beat" produced by Swizz Beatz. Lyrically, "Roman's Revenge" has been described as "unrelenting", "bonkers", "angry" and "outrageous". "Did It On'em" is a hardcore hip-hop and post-dubstep song that has instrumentally been described as having a massive, ungainly beat. The lyrics speak of Minaj winning over her competition, by saying she "shitted on 'em" or "pissed on 'em.""Right Thru Me" is styled with pop-rap tones, and has an electronic beat, while being influenced by R&B. Lyrically, the song describes someone who wonders aloud about how a lover can see the real her. 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. 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. "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. "Super Bass" utilizes electronic music and bubblegum pop in its composition, while Minaj raps over a hip-hop beat, 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."
Singles
"Massive Attack" was released on April 13, 2010, through digital distribution. It bubbled under the US Billboard Hot 100 at number 22, and peaked at number 65 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The song was initially considered to be the album's first single, however it was not on the album."Your Love" was released as the album's official lead single in the US on June 1, 2010, and as the first single in the United Kingdom on July 2, 2010. Initially, the song had never been planned for release, but after significant airplay it was mastered. It peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100, number four on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and topped the Hot Rap Songs chart for eight consecutive weeks. Minaj became the first female artist to top the Hot Rap Songs chart unaccompanied since 2002. It also charted in Canada and the UK.
"Check It Out" was released on September 3, 2010. It was a joint single from the album between will.i.am and Minaj. A music video for the song was directed by Rich Lee and was released on October 25, 2010. The song has since peaked at number 24 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Right Thru Me" was released on September 24, 2010. A music video directed by Diane Martel was released for the single on October 27, 2010. The song peaked at number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Moment 4 Life", which features Drake, was released on December 7, 2010, as the album's fourth single. The music video for "Moment 4 Life" was released on January 27, 2011. The song peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped both the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Rap Songs charts. "Roman's Revenge" featuring Eminem was released as a promotional single to iTunes on October 30, 2010.
"Super Bass" was released as the album's fifth single and officially impacted radio on April 5, 2011. It was released to iTunes in some markets on May 13, 2011. The song became an international top ten hit. In its seventh week on the Billboard Hot 100, the song had peaked at number 3, making it Minaj's first top ten placement as a lead artist.
"Did It On'em" was sent to Urban radio on April 7, 2011, as the album's sixth single. The song peaked at number 49 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at numbers 3 and 4 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Rap Songs charts respectively. "Girls Fall Like Dominoes" was released in Australia on April 11, 2011, and in the United Kingdom on April 15, 2011.
"Fly", which features Rihanna, was the album's eighth and final single. It was sent to US rhythmic radio and to Top 40/Mainstream radio on August 30, 2011. The song peaked at number 19 on the Billboard Hot 100 as well as in the top 20 in Australia and the United Kingdom.
Release and promotion
On July 8, 2010, Minaj announced via Twitter that the album would be released on November 23, 2010. It was later announced that the album was pushed up by one day to November 22, 2010. 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.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. 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!" A deluxe edition of the album was also confirmed. Minaj released the official artwork for her album cover on Friday, October 15, 2010. 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." GL Woods, the photographer of the cover, stated that Minaj wanted to look like a "broken Barbie". Woods photographed Minaj for an Out, which had a similar theme; according to the photographer, Minaj was inspired by the photoshoot.
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. 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. 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.
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".