"Somebody call for the queen?" Nicki rapped on the intro of Young Thug's "Anybody" single that dropped earlier this year. It has been four years since Nicki's last album, The Pinkprint, and her Barbz (and haters) have been eagerly waiting for her return. Sure, sis has done tons of features and even released some music (No Frauds, Regret in Your Tears etc) in the meantime but nothing can satisfy a true fan the way that an album can.
Let's not act like we haven't been waiting on this album for one reason and one reason only, Cardi B. Cardi & Nicki don't really mess with each other like that whether it be because of the Motorsport video fiasco, Cardi's demeanor when asked about Nicki in interviews or the fact that some people think Nicki goes out of her way to acknowledge every other female rapper but Belcalis (Cardi's real name) and Reminisce Smith (REMY MA) of course. Whatever the reason, Cardi's success has no doubt infringed on the throne that had been in a chokehold solely by Nicki for the last decade.
So how was Ms.Female Weezy going to respond? Nicki released Chun-Li and Barbie Tingz in wait of her highly anticipated fourth studio album, Queen. Nicki dropped these two songs after a long ass hiatus away from social media. Barbie Tingz is hot period. I still play that jawn. Chun-li is what it is. You have to be in a certain type of mood for Chun-Li. FENDI PRINTS ON! BENTLEY TINTS ON!
Queen's tracklist includes 19 songs with features from Swae Lee, Eminem, Foxy Brown, Ariana Grande, The Weeknd, Lil Wayne, Future, and Labrinth. Whenever a new album drops from an artist I always skip over the singles so Chun-Li, Bed and Rich Sex got ignored. My first impression of Queen was that it was good. It was good to hear Nicki stop bullshitting and spit fr on a majority of the tracks. My second thought was...WHO THE HELL PICKS THE SINGLES?! Bed is mediocre, Rich Sex is meh and Chun-Li is cool or whatever. However, there are plenty of other quality songs better than all three of those singles that are worthy of radio play? I've never understood some of Nicki single choices over the span of her career. GIRL, YOU GOT HITS USE THEM.
So let's get down to my favs on the album, shall we? Ganja Burns is a cute little intro to Queen. The production isn't too much so you can focus on what's she saying and she even explained why she took her hiatus from her Barbz. Majesty featuring Eminem and Labrinth is pure entertainment. As per usual, Eminem steals the show and spits for two minutes. Then you have Barbie Dreams which is Nicki's second go at the Notorious B.I.G.’s “Just Playing (Dreams) iconic beat. Nicki first freestyled over the beat on her Playtime is Over mixtape in 2007 when she was working with Dirty Money. This track is hilarious and hard as hell showcasing the Nicki that we know and love. We even get an appearance from our good friend Roman Zolanski at the end. Nice to see ya, buddy. Now we all know that Nicki can't help but sing and that's fine. I personally don't like when she sings BUT songs like Thought I Knew You, Run and Hide, Nip Tuck, and Come See About Me might make me change my mind. They're all good. Next, we have the standout track for me, LLC, which is basically Nicki telling all her rivals yall made her go crazy and murder the beat. Good Form and Chun Swae round out some must-hear tracks from the album.
Overall, Nicki needed to deliver a solid project and she more than exceeded my expectations. If y'all wanted her to go somewhere that's not happening anytime soon. Now, it shouldn't take you as long to release another sis.
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