Pink Friday 2

'' Pink Friday 2'' is the fifth studio album by rapper Nicki Minaj. It was released on December 8, 2023, by Young Money Entertainment and Republic Records. A sequel to Minaj's debut album ''Pink Friday'' (2010), it is her first studio album in five years following the release of ''Queen'' (2018). The album is a hip-hop and pop-rap record that borrows influences from other genres as well. Collaborations on the album include J. Cole, Drake, Lil Wayne, Future, Lil Uzi Vert, 50 Cent, Monica, Keyshia Cole, and various other collaborators.

Upon its release, ''Pink Friday 2'' debuted at number one on the US ''Billboard'' 200, making Minaj the first female rapper in history to have three number-one albums. It earned over 228,000 album-equivalent units in its first week, with 92,000 coming from pure album sales, and achieved the largest vinyl sales week by a female rapper in history. Internationally, the album peaked in the top ten in Australia, Canada, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The album received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised Minaj's consistency and innovation, but felt it was too long. ''Pink Friday 2'' samples tracks by Billie Eilish, Blondie, Cyndi Lauper, Travis Scott, Rick James, among others.

''Pink Friday 2'' was supported by five singles, " Super Freaky Girl", "Red Ruby da Sleeze", " Last Time I Saw You", " Everybody" featuring Lil Uzi Vert, and " FTCU". The platinum-certified lead single "Super Freaky Girl" marked Minaj's first solo number-one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, while all singles peaked within the top 25. To promote the album, Minaj has embarked on the Pink Friday 2 World Tour since March 2024.

Background and recording

On June 28, 2019, Minaj appeared on ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' in promotion of her single "Megatron" in which she stated: "well, there's definitely a new album, of course"; however, she continued to note that there was no official release date at the time: "with this one, I don't have a name yet". In September 2019, Minaj announced her retirement from hip hop; however, she later withdrew her statement and apologized for her false announcement. In an interview with ''Elle'', on September 17, 2019, Minaj stated that the album would be, "fierce, fun, and unapologetic" and spoke about the project's ultimate sound. The first teaser of the album was on June 29, 2020, after Minaj had taken to Twitter to tweet, "''PF2''", the initials of the album. In May 2023, she teased that the album "is the best thing that will come out of 2023 & will raise the bar to new & unreachable heights", and that its accompanying tour "will be hailed as 'genius.' That's it & that's all."

Release and promotion

On June 5, 2023, Minaj initially announced the release date of the album to be October 20, 2023. On June 29, she officially announced the title of the album as ''Pink Friday 2'' and that the release date was pushed back to November 17. She also stated that the album would be "well worth the wait", and followed up by a concert tour in 2024.

On September 4, Minaj shared one of two official cover arts for the album depicting the rapper in an all-white Vetements ensemble traveling on a roofless metropolitan subway floating above pink clouds. On October 6, she shared the second album cover, which depicted her in an all-pink gown revealing her midriff and surrounded by a billowing pink satin sheet in front of a black background. On October 25, Minaj announced that the album's release date was postponed to her birthday on December 8, 2023. In the weeks leading up to the release, Minaj shared four additional album cover variations for vinyl and digital release, all of which were shot by renowned English director and photographer Charlotte Rutherford.

Minaj appeared on the December 2023 cover of ''Vogue'' to promote the album, with the cover and editorial spread shot by Norman Jean Roy. With that, Minaj became first female rapper to grace the solo cover of US Vogue. In the interview, she hinted at what fans can expect from the album, promising a full-circle moment that will resonate with everyone.

Prior to the album release, fans of Minaj came together to create an AI-generated city called "Gag City", which the rapper herself had previously coined and acknowledged on social media. The trend gained traction and saw participation from a variety of companies and brands, including Spotify, Netflix, Bing, Amazon, Empire State Building, and various food and beverage companies such as Chili's, Oreo, KFC, McDonald's, and many more.

Upon release, ''Pink Friday 2'' was made available for digital download and streaming as a 22-track album. It was also available in several physical versions, which consisted of four vinyl editions, including three retailer-exclusive versions each with different covers, as well as two CDs, one standard and one signed. The physical versions only included 10 tracks, which was theorized to be because the remainder were not finished in time for pressing and release. On December 11, a digital deluxe edition of the album was released through Minaj's webstore, featuring a bonus remix of "Beep Beep" with 50 Cent; the remix was made available to streaming platforms a day later. On December 13, a second digital deluxe edition was released through her webstore, featuring the bonus track "Love Me Enough" featuring Keyshia Cole and Monica. On December 14, a 24-track version labelled the "Gag City Deluxe" edition was released through Minaj's webstore containing both the "Beep Beep" remix and "Love Me Enough", which was made available to streaming platforms a day later. On January 13, 2024, another deluxe version, labelled the "Gag City Pluto Edition", was released featuring the song "Press Play" featuring Future.

Singles

" Super Freaky Girl" was released as the lead single from the album on August 12, 2022. Its music video, directed by Joseph Kahn, was uploaded onto Minaj's YouTube account on September 1. The song debuted at number one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. With this, Minaj became the first solo female rapper to debut at the summit of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 since Lauryn Hill's "Doo Wop (That Thing)" in 1998 and the first female rapper to debut a solo song at number one in the 21st century.

"Red Ruby da Sleeze" was initially released as a promotional single on March 3, 2023, described by Minaj as her "street record" before her "next official single". It was officially sent to rhythmic contemporary radio on March 14, 2023, becoming the album's second single. Its music video, directed by Grizz and filmed in Trinidad and Tobago, was uploaded on YouTube on May 13. The song peaked at number 13 on the Hot 100 and at number four on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

" Last Time I Saw You" was released as the album's third single on September 1, 2023. The song peaked at number 23 on the Hot 100 and at number six on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. On September 12, Minaj performed "Last Time I Saw You" at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards, where she also debuted a new track from the album entitled "Big Difference" as a surprise.

" Everybody" featuring Lil Uzi Vert was sent to contemporary hit radio in the United States on January 9, 2024, serving as the album's fourth single. The song debuted at number 26 on the Hot 100, and later peaked at number 24.

" FTCU" was released as the album's fifth single on January 10, 2024, with an EP of song versions made available for streaming and digital download. The song impacted rhythmic contemporary radio in the United States on January 30, 2024. It debuted at number 42 on the Hot 100, and later peaked at number 15.

Promotional singles

On October 13, 2023, Minaj released the track "Bahm Bahm" on her website, describing it as a scrapped outtake, though it was later included on the album. On March 3, 2024, Minaj released an extended version of "Let Me Calm Down" featuring J. Cole.

Critical reception

''Pink Friday 2'' was met with generally favorable reviews by music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 70, based on twelve reviews. AllMusic wrote that "Pink Friday 2 lacks the cohesion and self-editing that would make it a rightful follow-up to her 2010 mainstream arrival. As it stands, Pink Friday 2 is another collection of Nicki Minaj songs, most of them exhilarating and fun, but some awkwardly placed". Robin Murray of '' Clash'' called ''Pink Friday 2'' "a record of real ambition, an example mirroring fan-pleasing tendencies with actual artistic growth" as it "match sultra-colourful pop to moments of sombre introspection". ''NME''s Nick Levine opined that while it is "probably too long, ..Minaj paces it sharply" and concluded that it "feels like a consolidation and refinement of everything Minaj can do". Alexis Petridis of ''The Guardian'' stated that "it may be as imperfect as ''Pink Friday'' was, but ''Pink Friday 2'' offers more than enough supporting evidence to make er claims about her abilitiessound like anything but hollow boasts".

''The Evening Standard''s David Smyth described the album as "an expansion of what she can do rather than a complete about turn. While she never transitions into the many-voiced rap monster who was such a blast in her early days, anyone hoping to hear her putting her rivals in their place will find plenty of great lines". Nadine Smith of ''The Independent'' criticized Minaj's use of samples and commented that the album "shows flashes of the inventive brilliance that made Nicki such an undeniable superstar, but like so many legacy sequels, it mostly just makes you wish you were listening to the original".

Commercial performance

In the United States, ''Pink Friday 2'' achieved 90.8 million streams in its first three days, with the album tracks " Everybody" featuring Lil Uzi Vert and "Are You Gone Already" gaining early traction. The album debuted at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200, becoming Minaj's third number-one album in the country after ''Pink Friday'' (2010) and '' Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded'' (2012). With this, Minaj broke out of a tie with Foxy Brown to become the female rapper with the most number-one albums. She also became the first female rap artist with number-one albums in two decades (2010s and 2020s), and achieved her seventh top-ten album. ''Pink Friday 2'' earned 228,000 album-equivalent units in its first week, of which 92,000 came from pure album sales, becoming the largest week in overall units as well as in pure sales for a female rap album in the 2020s and a female R&B/hip-hop album in 2023. The album sold 25,000 copies on vinyl, earning the largest vinyl sales week for a female rap album in history. It also achieved 169.87 million streams in its first week, garnering the largest streaming week ever for Minaj, for a female rap album in the 2020s, and a female R&B/hip-hop album in 2023. Upon its release, 14 songs from the album debuted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, of which two entered the top 40—"Everybody" featuring Lil Uzi Vert and " Needle" featuring Drake. The album dropped one place to number two in its second week, earning an additional 100,000 album-equivalent units. As of January 14, 2024, Pink Friday 2 has sold over 1 million units in the US.

Accolades

Track listing

Notes
* signifies a co-producer
* signifies an additional producer

Sample credits
* "Are You Gone Already" contains samples from " When the Party's Over", written by Finneas O'Connell and performed by Billie Eilish.
* "Barbie Dangerous" contains samples from "Notorious Thugs", written by Christopher Wallace, Anthony Henderson, Bryon McCane, Steven Howse, Sean Combs, and Steven Jordan and performed by The Notorious B.I.G. and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony.
* "FTCU" contains samples from "Fuck the Club Up", written by Juaquin Malphurs and Joshua Luellen and performed by Waka Flocka Flame.
* "Pink Birthday" contains samples from "Pornography", written by Jacques Webster, Leland Wayne, Michael Dean, and Sonny Uwaezuoke and performed by Travis Scott, which itself samples "Expectation", written by Peter Mellin and performed by Ache.
* "Everybody" contains samples from " Move Your Feet", written by Jesper Mortensen and performed by Junior Senior.
* "Red Ruby da Sleeze" contains a sample of "Never Leave You (Uh Oooh, Uh Oooh)", written by Lumidee Cedeño, Teddy Mendez, Edwin Perez and Steven Marsden and performed by Lumidee.
* "Forward From Trini" contains a sample of Dave Kelly's "Stink" and "Showtime" riddims.
* "Pink Friday Girls" contains samples from "Girls Just Want to Have Fun", written by Robert Hazard and performed by Cyndi Lauper.
* "Super Freaky Girl" contains samples from "Super Freak", written by James Johnson Jr. and Alonzo Miller and performed by Rick James.
* "My Life" contains samples from " Heart of Glass", written by Debbie Harry and Chris Stein and performed by Blondie.
* "Just the Memories" contains samples from "Stop Live in a de Pass", written by Moses Davis, Lynford Marshall, Colin York, John Bristol, Jerry Butler, James Dean and John Glover and performed by Beenie Man.

Personnel

Musicians

* Nicki Minaj – vocals
* Finneas – programming (track 1)
* Hollywood Cole – programming (track 2)
* YG! Beats – programming (track 2)
* Tate Kobang – programming (track 2)
* Waka Flocka Flame – background vocals (track 3)
* Southside – background vocals (track 3)
* ATL Jacob – programming (tracks 3, 6)
* OJ Finnessey – programming (track 4)
* Murda Beatz – programming (track 4)
* Kuji – programming (track 6)
* Hendrix Smoke – programming (tracks 6, 21)
* J. Cole – vocals (track 6)
* Lourdiz – background vocals (tracks 7, 15), vocals (10)
* Boi-1da – programming (tracks 8, 9), drum programming (8)
* Apollo Parker – programming (track 8)
* Fierce – programming (track 8)
* 116 – programming (track 8)
* Nana Fofie – background vocals (track 9)
* Yogi – programming (track 9)
* Drake – vocals (track 9)
* Rahiem Hurlock – voice (track 9)
* Dr. Luke – programming (tracks 10, 16)
* DJ Smallz 732 – programming (track 11)
* Tate Kobang – programming (track 11)
* Lil Uzi Vert – vocals (track 11)
* FnZ – programming (track 13)
* BoogzDaBeast – programming (track 13)
* Keanu Beats – programming (track 13)
* Slade Da Monsta – programming (track 13)
* Basbeats – programming (track 14)
* Melio Sounds – programming (track 14)
* Skillibeng – vocals (track 14)
* Skeng – vocals (track 14)
* J Reid – programming (track 15)
* Malibu Babie – programming (track 16)
* Aaron Joseph – programming (track 16)
* Vaughn Oliver – programming (track 16)
* B Ham – programming (track 19)
* Vincent Shaw – programming (track 19)
* Future – vocals (tracks 19, 25)
* Beau Nox – background vocals, programming (track 20)
* Bnyx – programming (track 20)
* Sad Pony – programming (track 20)
* Tasha Cobbs Leonard – vocals (track 20)
* Alex Bak – programming (track 21)
* Frankie Bash – programming (track 21)
* TooDope – programming (track 21)
* Keisha Renee – background vocals (track 22)
* Bone Collector – programming (track 22)
* Habib Defoundoux – programming (track 22)
* 50 Cent – vocals (track 23)
* Monica – vocals (track 24)
* Keyshia Cole – vocals (track 24)

Technical

* Chris Athens – mastering
* Rob Kinelski – mixing (tracks 1, 8, 20)
* Serban Ghenea – mixing (tracks 2–7, 10–16, 18, 19, 21, 22)
* Noel Cadastre – mixing, engineering (track 9)
* Noah Shebib – mixing (track 9)
* Aubrey Delaine – mixing (track 17), engineering (all tracks), immersive mix engineering (1–12, 14, 15, 20, 22)
* Kuldeep Chudasama – engineering (track 6)
* Clint Gibbs – engineering (track 16)
* Kalani Thompson – engineering (track 16)
* Tyler Sheppard – engineering (track 16)
* John Hanes – immersive mix engineering (tracks 13, 16, 21)
* Cristal Viramontes – vocal engineering (track 7)
* Daniel Sheehy – vocal engineering (track 7)
* Manny Galvez – vocal engineering (track 7)
* Eli Heisler – mixing assistance (tracks 1, 8, 20)
* Ruby Smith – mixing assistance (tracks 1, 8, 20)
* Bryce Bordone – mixing assistance (tracks 2–7, 10–16, 18, 19, 21, 22)
* Jack Letchinger – engineering assistance (tracks 1–3, 6–10, 14, 18, 20)
* Alexx Nielsen – engineering assistance (tracks 1–3, 6, 8–10, 14, 15, 20)
* Nico Fabito – engineering assistance (tracks 1–3, 6, 8–10, 14, 15, 20)
* Cory Williams – engineering assistance (track 12)
* Grant Horton – engineering assistance (track 16)

Charts

Certifications

Release history

See also

* List of ''Billboard'' 200 number-one albums of 2023

References

{{Authority control

2023 albums
Cash Money Records albums
Nicki Minaj albums
Republic Records albums
Young Money Entertainment albums
Sequel albums