album Independent UK: "Nicki Minaj seems to be struggling to redefine herself."

[beyonceparkwood]

Quote

"Queen of rap rests on her laurels instead of proving why she still deserves the crown. While some moments of interpolation are more inspired, the musician’s increasing reliance on recognisable samples can start to feel like cruise control. But without the novelty of being the only major female talent in town, she seems to be struggling to redefine herself."

Thoughts? 

[HEAVYONIT]

This doesn't belong in this forum

 

 

[vale9001]

this shade

 

" But without the novelty of being the only major female talent in town"

 

 

 

Edited December 8, 2023 by vale9001

[Big Bad Wolf]

They hit the nail right on the head. Nicki has been artistically weak & stunted for years now. 

[ugo]

Many song has that same Barbie world formula which is use a nostalgic sample (aqua, sfg, girls just wanna have fun) and put a verse on it  

[xokuba]

I agree unfortunately...

[Both Sides Now]

32 minutes ago, vale9001 said:

this shade

 

" But without the novelty of being the only major female talent in town"

 

 

 

Are you misunderstanding? 
 

They are saying she is no longer the only major female talent in town like she was in 2010 and thus the novelty of being a female rapper isn’t enough. 

[Dialamba]

Nicki’s songs without samples are much better. Only Barbie dreams maybe Super freaky girls are used well. 

[Vespertine]

36 minutes ago, ugo said:

Many song has that same Barbie world formula which is use a nostalgic sample (aqua, sfg, girls just wanna have fun) and put a verse on it  

Yeah, and calling them just "samples" is honestly quite generous, because sampling often implies chopping the source material up and fashioning something new from it. A lot of Nicki's songs feel like glorified remixes now. 

[ugo]

1 hour ago, Vespertine said:

Yeah, and calling them just "samples" is honestly quite generous, because sampling often implies chopping the source material up and fashioning something new from it. A lot of Nicki's songs feel like glorified remixes now. 

There's a big difference between this (copy paste) and beyonce using part of the beat or just a guitar riff. This is just a lazy rehash.

Edited December 8, 2023 by ugo

[Bhabylon]

Well it’s true. She dumbed her music down even more for TikTok

[Frozen99]

the funniest thing is, those samples, or glorified remixes like @Vespertine said suck, i love interpolations (like barbie dreams on queen) and seeing how an artist changes someone else's work to make it their own. PF2 feels just as lazy as its title.

[imabadkid]

4 minutes ago, Bhabylon said:

Well it’s true. She dumbed her music down even more for TikTok

To be fair she’s HUGE on TikTok tbh. I’ve been on TikTok since the early days 2019 and sooooo much of her stuff goes viral on there so I don’t necessarily blame her 

[Joesuxx]

I agree, I wonder if the initial album plan was to be a full record of samples, however it’s more enjoyable than Queen. 

[Relampago.]

I think she has redefined herself just not in a good way.

 

She used to be the eccentric, multi-persona, pop rap star. Now she’s more just generic rap verse over and over. If she was still bringing out Roman and Martha and going full Europop trash (in a good way), this wouldn’t be the narrative. 
 

She’s gone from innovative and influential to bland and nostalgia act.

Edited December 8, 2023 by Relampago.

[Gossip_Boy]

Nicki is a very gifted rapper, no one can deny that, but this album (and a lot of her discography in general) shows she isn’t much of a musician or a creative.

[Just a Gay on ATRL]

Nicki has a more distinct style and image than her other rap contemporaries to the point a lot of the new rap girls look to her for inspiration. Her Barbie aesthetic and fusion between rap and pop is about as "defined" as it can get for an artist. You can call Nicki many things but not defined is not one of them lol.

[CatchIt]

2 hours ago, Gossip_Boy said:

Nicki is a very gifted rapper, no one can deny that, but this album (and a lot of her discography in general) shows she isn’t much of a musician or a creative.

You are so wrong good lord…

[HEAVYONIT]

Why is this thread still here? 

[RunUpDoneUp]

This literally sounds like something a critic with nothing to say would say: "uh, yeah, you know, they don't sound like they sound. Like, they not even real when you think about it."

 

This album is completely unexpected from what people thought she was gonna do. None of her peers are rapping like this, it's less gangster oriented, more upbeat and nonconfrontational in the original pink friday way. This is the "fun" Nicki people claim they wanted!

[KKW]

24 minutes ago, HEAVYONIT said:

Why is this thread still here? 

You know they can’t take the queen on here

[Drownxngshadows]

17 hours ago, beyonceparkwood said:

Thoughts? 

They didn’t lie

[Gorjesspazze9]

She just adapted with the times. Marketing to her Twitter Barbz & Tiktok teens.  She still outrapping her competitors. So it’s a Win-Win