Rating: an easy 10/10

Two words could describe Nicki Minaj’s new album Pink Friday 2. Gag. City. 

If you are unfamiliar with the paradise, the metropolis, and the 8th wonder of the world known as Gag City, it’s a term to describe the Barb’s (Nicki Minaj’s fanbase) reaction to PF2, a long-awaited sequel to Nicki Minaj’s 2010 debut album Pink Friday.

Gag is a term of shock and amazement, and Nicki gagged us all; she left us speechless and rendered the music industry helpless. As good as this album is, sadly there was more sampling than a Costco wholesale. 

For those unfamiliar with sampling, it’s when an artist reuses music in a new work. Speaking of samples, when you click the play button, you are instantly hit with Billie Eilish, a collab we never expected to see. But despite the backlash these samples ate. Everybody, and I mean everybody, loved “Everybody,” but a constant sound in the back of my mind kept bringing me back to Poppy’s iconic debut in Trolls. 

While the album features numerous collaborations and samples, it’s missing the anticipated appearance of Arianators in Gag City and the reunion of the iconic trio of Drake, Lil Wayne, and Nicki Minaj. 

One notable difference in this album is its maturity; reflecting Nicki’s growth since her last album, Queen. In a recent interview with Vogue, Nicki expressed that she can’t recognize herself in her previous music and aims to include less sexual explicitness, especially now that she’s married and a mother. 

Nicki didn’t just mother her child, she mothered this album and gradu-slay-ted from Gag University with a major in serv-ology and a minor in boots. She had people crying, dancing, rapping, and singing for the 70 minutes this album ran. Overall, Pink Friday 2 has been a monumental album to start the year 2024, with even more to come from her upcoming world tour.