It might be time to take a seat if you were anxiously waiting for Nicki Minaj to drop her вЂњreturn to true hip-hop formвЂќ album this week. Tshepo Mokoena: вЂMinaj appears to have made an album on her own termsвЂ™ Amanda Holpuch is a Guardian US reporter who recently wrote about Pirate Joe, the man who (legally) smuggles Trader JoeвЂ™s goods across the Canadian border.Strip the cotton candy hair and gloss-soaked lips from Minaj and you have the same versatile rapper with no time for your criticism and more powerful rhymes than you can bat a thick false eyelash at. And when Jeremih asks if he can be hers on Favorite, the closest thing the album has to a love song, Nicki conditions that proposition: вЂњI donвЂ™t wanna hype ya/But you a lucky nigga if my mean ass like ya.вЂќ On Big Daddy, Meek Mill raps about his patriarchal nickname but it is just a platform for Nicki to remind everyone that she is in charge. This is because she is more than established in the rap game, as she reminds you every time a male is allowed on one of her tracks. The motherhood theme runs throughout her catalog and while it is usually a reference to her influence on other rappers, on The Pinkprint it is a warning that you are in Nicki MinajвЂ™s world and you arenвЂ™t getting out, even with a fight. вЂњYou my son, IвЂ™m just not showing yet,вЂќ she calls out on Want Some More, ripping apart critics as she heads into the inimitable rap speed that has kept her ahead of the competition. Opening track All Things Go is Nicki at her most vulnerable, leaving everything on the table to get ready for the fight: six songs later she has dispelled rumours of sleeping with Drake and Lil Wayne (with their support), rapped angrily about breakups and sung with teen-bop sensation Ariana Grande about making their sexual partners вЂњbeg for itвЂќ. With only a toned-down dusting of the sugary EDM pop tracks that marked Nicki MinajвЂ™s past studio albums, The PinkprintвЂ™s simple flow opens the door for people who want to soak up the empowering lyrics Minaj has made her name with.

Ben Westhoff is the Guardian US hip-hop critic and author of Dirty South: Outkast, Lil Wayne, Soulja Boy, and the Southern Rappers Who Reinvented Hip-HopДЄmanda Holpuch: вЂYou are in Nicki MinajвЂ™s world and you arenвЂ™t getting out, even with a fightвЂ™.So while itвЂ™s difficult to call The Pinkprint a good album, it re-establishes Minaj as, at the very least, unworthy of your barbs. Inevitably everyone (meaning the young men who dominate internet discourse) will complain about The Pinkprint, even though everyone (meaning the young pop fans who actually spend money on music) will buy it. Turns out Minaj can do a credible Elton John thing too, yet another impressive skill, though none of this really adds up to a compelling album. And then thereвЂ™s a third section of the album, songs like All Things Go and Grand Piano, which are genuinely moving, emotionally wrenching ballads. Then thereвЂ™s the handful of radio-friendly Dr Luke songs, which hip-hop fans will shrug off, though the island girls-tribute Trini Dem Girls really moves. Want Some More, Win Again and Feeling Myself all feature genuine spitting theyвЂ™re self-affirming tracks that taunt her opponents in the classic hip-hop tradition, over compelling, exotic beats from producers such as Hit-Boy, Sak Pase, Zaytoven, and even former Love and Hip Hop Hollywood star Yung Berg. But advance singles dumped cold water on that premise, particularly Anaconda, whose nearly softcore video has more YouTube views than the US population, but contains everything her critics loathe: product placement, an obvious Sir Mix-a-Lot sample, and вЂњ anti-love, disharmonious messages.вЂќ On вЂњOnly,вЂќ meanwhile, Drake and Lil Wayne coarsely explain why they havenвЂ™t had sex with her and what would happen if they do, while its lyric video contains Nazi imagery.Д«ut elsewhere The Pinkprint delivers on its promise. With a title referencing Jay-ZвЂ™s classic The Blueprint, early indications seemed to promise a return to the form she displayed early in her career. Coincidence or not, The Pinkprint seemed poised to do just that. When at Summer Jam 2012 Peter Rosenberg dissed her song Starships as not being вЂњreal hip-hopвЂќ, it felt like a вЂњhate isnвЂ™t the opposite of loveвЂќ moment many folks interpreted his words as a call for her to do what sheвЂ™s capable of. These are talents only a handful of earthlings possess, but hip-hop aficionados remain upset that she often lets her most base commercial instincts take over, rather than crafting masterpieces. SheвЂ™s an absolute beast of a rapper and can craft pop hits in a way that seems effortless. Nicki Minaj is so routinely trashed in comment sections that itвЂ™s worth acknowledging just how extraordinary she is.

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