lol
― emo canon in twee major (BradNelson), Tuesday, 16 December 2014 19:13 (nine years ago) link
this album sort of typifies the risks in judging music according to its political importance. the p4k review was entirely accurate in analysing what nicki was trying to do on it and why presenting herself as a human being with emotions is in theory important, but you could tell the reviewer still didn't like it much (most of the songs she praised were the pre-pinkprint material and the bonus tracks). the idea of a nicki minaj powerful enough to be vulnerable is a tremendous one but that doesn't mean she's actually done it well.
― lex pretend, Tuesday, 16 December 2014 19:30 (nine years ago) link
i think the review presented a consistent POV that is pretty near mine, although the grade probably coulda been lower and better matched the content but w/e numbers
― some dude, Tuesday, 16 December 2014 19:45 (nine years ago) link
lol― emo canon in twee major (BradNelson), Tuesday, December 16, 2014 2:13 PM (49 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― emo canon in twee major (BradNelson), Tuesday, December 16, 2014 2:13 PM (49 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
Cute!
― Greer, Tuesday, 16 December 2014 20:06 (nine years ago) link
Yeah agreed. She likes it more than I do but it was well written and well thought and right now I'm more worried about underrating it than overrating it. The jezebel one was over the top though.
― longneck, Tuesday, 16 December 2014 20:09 (nine years ago) link
the p4k review is great, agreed
― emo canon in twee major (BradNelson), Tuesday, 16 December 2014 20:09 (nine years ago) link
just throwing this out there but i've been wondering for some time if the marginalization of black women in pop music has led to an increasing pressure on the three that are hugely successful and visible (beyoncé, nicki and rihanna) to be politically important and represent and evaluate what it means to be a (black) woman in the industry and society today in their music. beyoncé and nicki have evidently grappled with these things for years but there feels like more scrutiny than ever for them to live up to certain expectations placed upon them.
of course in general it's great there's more female reviewers writing and discussing these things notwithstanding.
― prolego, Tuesday, 16 December 2014 20:37 (nine years ago) link
yeah concur with all praise for the pitchfork review, meaghan garvey is awesome
― uxorious gazumping (monotony), Tuesday, 16 December 2014 20:52 (nine years ago) link
another p good review, by lindsay zoladz at vulture http://www.vulture.com/2014/12/pinkprint-is-a-badass-breakup-album.html
― franch montana (slothroprhymes), Tuesday, 16 December 2014 20:56 (nine years ago) link
molly lambert calling it nicki's erotica: http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/nicki-minaj-pinkprint/
― prolego, Tuesday, 16 December 2014 21:11 (nine years ago) link
yeeeeaaaahhh that one is a bit of a reach i think
― franch montana (slothroprhymes), Tuesday, 16 December 2014 21:26 (nine years ago) link
i guess both albums' lead singles shamelessly jack a rap song's beat and sing/rhyme over it
― you say tomato/i say imago (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, 16 December 2014 21:41 (nine years ago) link
garvey and zoladz both seem to be praising the idea of what the pinkprint is - and i agree w/zoladz that nicki's contradictions are her strengths and entirely agree w/her analysis of PF:RR - and the idea of her emotional honesty but neither of them quite get to defending it as pop music
― lex pretend, Tuesday, 16 December 2014 21:44 (nine years ago) link
i've kinda turned around on this and like a lot more of it than i did on first listen, altho you'd def have to cut the blatant sop-to-radio songs (pills/night is still young/bed of lies/only) & swap for the bonus tracks (or loosies like chi-raq, etc.) to have a truly dope fuckin album
― franch montana (slothroprhymes), Tuesday, 16 December 2014 22:07 (nine years ago) link
(anaconda can stay, i'm over the h8 on anaconda. whatever.)
― franch montana (slothroprhymes), Tuesday, 16 December 2014 22:08 (nine years ago) link
So... uh.... What's all this about? http://community.allhiphop.com/discussion/525230/nicki-minaj-producer-goes-in-on-theshitprints-flop
― longneck, Friday, 19 December 2014 07:27 (nine years ago) link
they spent a year promoting the album and the first week sales are pretty bad, compared to her other albums, compared to other rap albums released this year by supposedly smaller artists (J. Cole, Rick Ross).
― christmas with the canks (some dude), Friday, 19 December 2014 07:40 (nine years ago) link
She was on inside the nba tonight. Her standing next to shaq was O__o
― no but seriously im not a dick like that (Spottie), Friday, 19 December 2014 07:44 (nine years ago) link
jaywan inc is a troll btw. 100% fraud
― deej loaf (D-40), Friday, 19 December 2014 08:34 (nine years ago) link
i know nothing about the veracity of those tweets, i'm just saying they didn't set out at the beginning of this long-ass album campaign to do 150k the first week.
― christmas with the canks (some dude), Friday, 19 December 2014 09:40 (nine years ago) link
if she had dropped the album 6 months ago out of nowhere it would've done 500k week 1 probably
― J0rdan S., Friday, 19 December 2014 12:50 (nine years ago) link
I imagine it will get a bump next week when America gets christmas cash and iTunes cards
― RAP GAME SHANI DAVIS (Raymond Cummings), Friday, 19 December 2014 13:09 (nine years ago) link
at no point could this album have gotten close to 500k, but it definitely would've sold more with a fast release when "Anaconda" was peaking
― christmas with the canks (some dude), Friday, 19 December 2014 13:16 (nine years ago) link
it's even weirder because even though the release time was pretty protracted, she ended up with one of the biggest hits of the year + "bang bang", and it's not exactly like "pills n potions" was a flop. & "only" is gonna go top 10 too, probably.
― J0rdan S., Friday, 19 December 2014 13:16 (nine years ago) link
the pace of the campaign was weird. "Anaconda" dropping kind of abruptly killed "Pills"'s radio momentum but then "Anaconda" ended up not really doing much after the video blew up -- missed the top 20 on pop AND urban radio.
― christmas with the canks (some dude), Friday, 19 December 2014 13:23 (nine years ago) link
yeah -- i guess it will be interesting to see over the next few years if songs that have chart positions primarily inflated by viral videos (without being specifically viral in nature) correlate to disappointing sales for an album
― J0rdan S., Friday, 19 December 2014 13:25 (nine years ago) link
I'm kinda sorta getting the feeling that this whole crying-on-the-radio relatable/confessional Nicki thing is a huge & desperate marketing ploy trying to counter all of this stuff.
― longneck, Friday, 19 December 2014 14:35 (nine years ago) link
wayne's verse on "only" is so incredibly terrible
― you say tomato/i say imago (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, 19 December 2014 15:57 (nine years ago) link
I think it's pretty good! he gets the song's iffy concept out of the way in 2 terrible bars and then riffs a bunch of pretty sharp one-liners
― R'Accoongelo and The Vanuki (some dude), Friday, 19 December 2014 16:34 (nine years ago) link
― longneck, Friday, December 19, 2014 2:35 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
nah it's all too real (i mean, girl's 10-year relationship just ended, she's obviously going through stuff). and pulling the "i am a human being" card at this stage of her career would have been a timely move anyway. a pity that this doesn't mean it's any good, though pace r|t|c i've made my own pinkprint playlist of nicki 2014 and it's 20 trax inc features so
― lex pretend, Friday, 19 December 2014 16:41 (nine years ago) link
Yeah I think the emotion she's been showing in new songs/interviews is pretty genuine. I still think there's something rigid and performative about Nicki in confessional mode, though, kind of like Beyonce before 4. maybe she'll figure out how to really express that stuff on her fourth album too.
― R'Accoongelo and The Vanuki (some dude), Friday, 19 December 2014 17:52 (nine years ago) link
― christmas with the canks (some dude), Friday, December 19, 2014 5:23 AM Bookmark
It did go top 5 on rhythmic, which was probably more its natural home than either of those formats.
― Dej & the Fommly Loaf (The Reverend), Friday, 19 December 2014 17:55 (nine years ago) link
THESE CIVILIANS / WHAT UP NIGGA EXCUSE MY MILLIONS
― johnny crunch, Sunday, 21 December 2014 19:42 (nine years ago) link
Based on what Rhythmic charts look like I feel like I've never heard a Rhythmic station in my life
― some dude, Sunday, 21 December 2014 21:59 (nine years ago) link
So I basically fall into the "unconditional love" category of Evan R's Nicki fan taxonomy. Or, I was, at least, until this year's narrative of Nicki-falling-off started emerging, and I started doubting. Was not expecting to like the album, but have been all over it and am basically back into unconditional love territory. So, with that disclaimer, some stray thoughts:
- What's with the "Only" hate? I see it as the next chapter in Nicki's gaze-flipping... it's an uncomfortable listen and I kinda like that. Loved the duct tape bit and generally enjoy the delightful belligerence of Nicki's Bad Punchlines. I feel like people are jumping on the duct tape line excited to expose Nicki's lack of lyrical chops... c'mon.
- "Want Some More" is awesome. Love the "Thank youuuu!" and Nicki's take on 2014 The Year Of Weird Voices/Hooks. Jeremih's Future impression fooled me until I checked the credits.
- Big fan of the emotional opening run. I think her emotional output is sincere - pretty cynical to say she's manufacturing the straightforward lyrics, especially with the context of relationship evidence. The songs themselves are vulnerable enough. It would take a total cyborg (which Nicki, despite her career shrewdness so far, is not) to dedicate the album to her little brother and unborn child out of pure marketing calculation. "I Lied" is a great breakup hook, and her singing deserves more credit. I don't think I need to defend "Crying Game" to this board, thankfully.
- I, too, can't see the pop singles being huge chart hits, but I think "Pills N Potions" has been underrated this whole time - think it flopped under the weight of its hype, rather than any huge deficiency. It's a pleasantly understated song, with, dare I say, moments of sublimity. That said, I still don't go back to the other "back third" pop songs all that much.
- Despite its lack of perfect pop moments, the album is extremely listenable and well put together. Production is very polished. Features are especially well curated even though I too double-take at Breezy and Skylar Grey.
― fennel cartwright, Monday, 22 December 2014 05:50 (nine years ago) link
has anyone created an edited tracklist?
― j. winters (josh), Monday, 22 December 2014 06:46 (nine years ago) link
What's with the "Only" hate?
it's a bad song with bad raps
― emo canon in twee major (BradNelson), Monday, 22 December 2014 08:40 (nine years ago) link
sincerity and emotional honesty don't correlate with artistic quality is the thing
soz r|t|c but yes:
lookin' assfeeling myselfflawless (remix)boss ass bitchwamablestrini dem girlstruffle butterbig daddychi-raqshanghaino flex zone (remix)yasss bish!lowfour door aventadormona lisaput you in a roommy n*gga (remix)win again
― lex pretend, Monday, 22 December 2014 11:36 (nine years ago) link
obv i may be overrating "mona lisa" and "put you in a room" due to their oddness so they're subject to deletion
― lex pretend, Monday, 22 December 2014 11:41 (nine years ago) link
― you say tomato/i say imago (upper mississippi sh@kedown)
I dunno -- I'm really feeling this track. As usual with any listenable Wayne in the last few years it's timbre that matters for me, and I chuckle every time I hear the line about pissing greatness like gold is yellow or about Hollygrove as holy Mecca.
― guess that bundt gettin eaten (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 22 December 2014 13:11 (nine years ago) link
i totally get and kind of appreciate that the song was Nicki's chance to kind of refute the popular notion that she's involved in constant Young Money orgies, and that it would make more of a statement of Drake and Wayne were on the song backing up what she's saying, but somehow it all goes horribly awry in the execution. and i WISH "duct tape" was the worst or only clunker on the song, but i think at this point i'm more horrified that she does the "wouldn't _____ if their name was ____" thing twice and fucks it up both times with words that have never been anybody's name ever. i feel like the focus on Nicki as a punchline rapper has always been a little misguided, because her best lines tend to tell a little story or have vivid word choices, while her wordplay often leaves me tragically pining for the coherence and economy of language of old Fabolous punchlines.
― some dude, Monday, 22 December 2014 14:38 (nine years ago) link
. I feel like people are jumping on the duct tape line excited to expose Nicki's lack of lyrical chops... c'mon.
it's just a bad line and she does go out of her way to call attention to it, almost purposefully, but I guess i thought her chops were sort of beyond dispute? (her skills as a rapper/lyricist)
― waddy watchel (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, 22 December 2014 15:29 (nine years ago) link
that whole verse is unspeakably bad
― J0rdan S., Monday, 22 December 2014 16:32 (nine years ago) link
i actually think the hook is great and should have been used on a better song or at least a song where it made more sense
wamables
this sounds like an off-brand cheddar snack
― J0rdan S., Monday, 22 December 2014 16:33 (nine years ago) link
http://villagefarmgrocery.com/media/catalog/product/cache/2/image/34cbcb55cdc7f11f2af756fd8a287707/n/a/nabisco_sociables_crackers_6_shapes_7.5oz_3.jpg
― guess that bundt gettin eaten (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 22 December 2014 16:35 (nine years ago) link
i fucks with socialables
― waddy watchel (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, 22 December 2014 17:02 (nine years ago) link
several nicki songs i like to love have a terrible line or two but "only" fails in the other direction as well in that it doesn't have a single line from anyone that even nearly delights me after her opening statement
― lex pretend, Monday, 22 December 2014 17:22 (nine years ago) link
"Only" hook is pretty whatever imo, maybe it would sound good if it and the beat didn't sound like they were dropped in from completely different songs.
― some dude, Monday, 22 December 2014 17:32 (nine years ago) link
"only" hook is awful, both undercooked and overwrought, like uh most of the hooks on this record
― emo canon in twee major (BradNelson), Monday, 22 December 2014 19:28 (nine years ago) link