She’s the queen of rap, ya’ll. Once again, Nicki Minaj has taken the internet by storm with the release of her highly anticipated album “Pink Friday 2,” that came out Dec. 8 at midnight. With 22 tracks, including popular singles like “Red Ruby Da Sleeze” and “Super Freaky Girl,” Minaj features a variety of genres, themes, samples and features, all working together to define her new era of life as a wife and mother.
While no one knows the actual name of her toddler son born in 2020, the outside world knows him as ‘Papa Bear,’ a moniker given to him by his parents that has since become somewhat of a brand for the young boy. Right off the bat, Minaj takes the opportunity to reference her son in the album, with “Are You Gone Already.” You don’t even have to listen to the song all the way through to understand that it’s a dedication to her son, with audio at the beginning of him saying hello to all the Barbz.
This is probably one of the most emotionally vulnerable songs on the album, with references to Minaj’s late father and how he never got to meet her son, along with the possible themes of generational trauma and the growth Minaj has gone through since having a child of her own. I was personally convinced of these topics with lines from the song like “You’ve already made your peace with me / One day, you’ll have to forgive mommy / But she knows you know too much already.” This could be interpreted as her father speaking to her from the great beyond, but with most modern music, I hold the firm belief that art should be personally interpreted by the consumer, instead of an explanation being hand-fed to them.
Already with the first track’s thematic possibilities and a sample from Billie Eilish’s “when the party’s over,” “Pink Friday 2” sets itself apart from what the masses (or non-Barbz) consider Minaj to be as an artist. This is not to say that the queen didn’t come through with more expected tracks that remind her audience of previous albums. “Barbie Dangerous” and “FTCU” which are the next two tracks are both reminiscent of the rap style Minaj is known for.
As a proud ‘island girl’ with Trinidadian roots, Minaj incorporated more island-style music in some of the album’s tracks, expanding the record far beyond just ‘rap.’
If you have no idea what is happening and why “Pink Friday 2” is such a big deal to Minaj’s fanbase (Barbz, for those of you of advanced age), let me provide you with some highly needed context before I drop the bomb that is #GAGCITY on you.
Minaj signed to Young Money Entertainment in 2009, a record label owned by Lil Wayne, who is also featured on her latest album. Under that label, Minaj produced two top-charting albums that shook the radio waves in a lasting way. “Pink Friday” (2010) and the following “Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded” (2012) include some of Minaj’s best-known work that helped put her on the mainstream music scene, with hits like “Super Bass” and “Starships.” If you don’t know what those two songs are, I really can’t help you at this point, I suggest finding one of those Just Dance discs from 10 years ago to refresh your memory.
“Pink Friday 2” has taken up so much space on the internet the past couple months for a few reasons: Minaj hasn’t released a full-length album since “Queen” in 2018, she originally teased “Pink Friday 2” in 2020, but has pushed the release date back multiple times, creating a sense of anticipation and excitement for her fans, and finally, people love a revamp. The original “Pink Friday” album was released 13 years ago, and for a fan base as dedicated and loyal as Minaj’s, a continuation of a record that was so impactful for so many reasons connects Minaj to those who have been following her since her first release. In a way, “Pink Friday 2” is a symbolic marker of Minaj’s relationship with her fanbase, representing a career that has heavily prosperous due to the never-ending support from the Barbz.
The sheer force of Minaj’s fanbase could be studied for its impact on everything from music charts to internet disputes, along with popular culture in general. If you spend enough time on the internet, you’ll find out quickly that the Barbz take their queen seriously, and they will go to great lengths to defend her against criticism from any source.
While they take it upon themselves to be virtual security guards of sorts, they also have a large participation in social media culture, meme culture and internet slang. So, when Minaj released the album cover for “Pink Friday 2,” the Barbz were quick to embrace the AI-generated background of the image, in response to some criticism Minaj received for using AI in a world that is currently debating the benefits and dangers of computer-generated creative work.
Thus, in the face of the criticism, the Barbz gave birth to ‘Gag City,’ a fictional futuristic utopia based on the artwork from Minaj’s album.
The #GagCity trend on various social media platforms like Twitter (I’m not calling it ‘X,’ I don’t care), TikTok and Instagram involves fans of Minaj using AI Image generators online to create extensions of the album cover with different celebrities ‘arriving’ to Gag City, for the purpose of celebrating the album’s release on Dec. 8, which also happens to be the rapper’s birthday. I’ve included some tweets below that serve as examples for how fans are expanding the fictional city, and in turn, the buzz around “Pink Friday 2:”
@ARTPOPACT2daily on X – Online fans are taking it upon themselves to transport their favorite artists to ‘Gag City.’
@Wayne8Idc on X – With the recent release of Beyonce’s concert film, fans of both Beyonce and Minaj have combined the artists’ recent works in the form of ‘Gag City’ to increase the excitement over both projects.
@SexyyRed314_ on X – Even some other artists and celebrities have joined the trend, like rapper Sexyy Red, who has worked with Minaj on other music.
The trend of expanding Minaj’s fictional city caught on so fast, popular consumer brands joined in as well:
@redlobster on X – The Barbz will know this one is particularly funny because Minaj worked as a waitress at Red Lobster before fame (full circle moment!)
One thing about Nicki Minaj is that she’s never going to shy away from the creativity of her Barbz:
With the release of “Pink Friday 2” on Dec. 8 at exactly midnight, Twitter was flooded with live tweets by fans reacting to the album. The discussion surrounding Minaj’s project changes rapidly as listeners expressed their thoughts of surprise, appreciation and in some cases, disappointment for the long-awaited album.
While some thought it was an emotional success that delivered three-fold in terms of production, artist features and lyrics, others thought the album was neither good nor bad, but just simply did not live up to what the #GagCity trend promised. What is important to remember about art in the context of the internet is that not everyone can be pleased by the same projects, and a musical release as large as “Pink Friday 2” had impossible expectations placed on it by millions of people. Personally, as someone that has no musical background and no ground to stand on other than loving the tumultuous existence of online trends, I thought the album was a nice update on Minaj’s life in the past few years, with some tracks that were just enjoyable to listen to instead of requiring philosophical consideration.
The moral of this elaborate decade long story is that Twitter will never be truly satisfied and entertainment over actual appreciation is a far more valuable currency within internet culture’s economy. With that being said, see you in #GAGCITY!
