Being perfectly honest I didn't know what to expect from Nicki on her sophomore release. Seeing the early tracklist and seeing guest spots on here from cats like Nas, Jeezy, 2 Chainz, Rick Ross, and yes Killa Cam, I really figured this may be a return to hip-hop form for the Queens MC. Early on you actually kind of believe that may be true and that Nicki may actually be trying to live up to her billing as one of the "hottest" MC's in the game. On the Hitboy produced "Come on a Cone" and "I Am Your Leader" with Ross and Cam, Nicki flexes her increasingly dormant lyrical chops.
"When I'm sittin with Anna, I'm really sittin with Anna
ain't a methaphor punchline, I'm really sittin with ANNA
Front row at Oscar delaren deposture, ain't a B**** that can do it not even my imposter
Put these B*****s on lockout, where the F**k is ya roster?"
-Come on a Cone
Aside from the hyperactive beat on "Roman Holiday" the production on the first half of this CD is fairly simplistic which may actually works since it helps calm down Nicki's flow in the best way possible.
On the CD's street single "Beez In The Trap" Nicki kicks some of the lyrics fans of her mixtape days would mess with.
"Man I been did that , Man I been popped off
and if she ain't tryna give it up she get dropped off
Lemme bust that U'ie lemme bust that open
Might spend a couple thou just to bust that open
Whip it up no jokin, like ya name Hulk Hogan
N***az move weight in the south but live in Hoboken
B**** I spit that crack, Like I'm in that trap
so if you need a hit then i'll whip that bat"
Things continue to stay on the right track for Ms. Minaj on the hip-hop side with "Champion" being the highlight track featuring heat from Nicki as well as her guests Drake, Jeezy, and Nas. Here's where everything starts to get uneven and fall apart. The "Hip-Hop" portion of the CD essentially ends on track 7 with the aformentioned "Champion" and devolves at a rapid pace.
Radio friendly tracks like "Right By My Side" with Chris Brown and "Sex In The Lounge" with Bobby V & Weezy are expected for a mainstream artist like Nicki. What's NOT expected is the complete fist pumping music turn this CD takes. The much maligned "Starships" single is just the beginning as each subsequent track literally sounds the same and it's not a good thing at all.
Ending the CD on the comical "Stupid Hoe" kind of brings things back around for Nicki's fans, especially those that liked her Trapaholics stuff but by this point they've had to suffer to half a CD of Nicki's best/worst LMFAO impersonation. I understand Nicki is buying into her role as the most commercially viable female MC since Eve and Lil Kim but at least with them they kept it hip-hop. I'm all for progression with artists and it's something I'd expect but this is not progression, it's essentially a regression on wax.
Overall Score: 5 out of 10
-Dre
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