Nicki Minaj’s second album is what you would call a huge disappointment. As one of Minaj’s hugest fans, it hurt to listen to this attempt to either be really deep or really Kesha. Expectations were high, but sadly this album didn’t meet them.
In Minaj’s last album critics and fans were stunned by the content and songs that were dropped. In Roman Reloaded, critics and fans alike were stunned again, but for the wrong reasons. Nicki Mianj claims to be a rapper, but in this album almost all songs show her trying to be a combination of Kesha, Madonna and Adele: a weird combination for the best female rapper.
Unfortunately, even her guest stars couldn’t help her desperation to be as profound as she was in her debut album. In songs with Drake, Nas and Young Jeezy, listeners could anticipate songs that would stay on repeat for hours, but with Nicki continuing to sing it gets annoying by the third hook. Her singing makes you want to fast forward until Drake’s and Nass’ part arrives. In most songs the featured artist does better than Minaj on any of her numerous verses. Another thing that Nicki is trying incorporate into her rap forte is adding multiple personalities such as the alter ego Roman. In one song on the original Pink Friday called Romans Revenge ft. Eminem, fans got a little taste of Roman and what she brought to the table and were excited to see a whole album dedicated to her style of rapping. Now that side of Nicki is being brought out, fans are begging for her to be shoved back in.
There is even more reason for this album to receive only 2 stars, I found only a handful of good songs from all 18 tracks. Songs such as “Beez In The Trap,” “Come On a Cone,” “Roman Reloaded” are actually really catchy and you’ll be surprised how many times these songs get stuck in your head. When Nicki Minaj would stick to her roots and rap or let her co-stars such as 2 Chanz and Lil Wayne get a taste of the spotlight the overall quality improved. Some songs, which are not nearly as good, still bring nice beats if you’re in the club or at a party will supply an endless amount of music to dance to. The best song on this CD is awarded to “Right By My Side” where Nicki and Chris Brown sing to each other and share real honesty the same way Brown did in “No Air” with Jordan Sparks. At the end of the song Minaj spits a quick stanza that could be an argument for her best performance.
