Has there been a worse rollout than the one Nicki Minaj just had for Queen? I’ll answer that for ya…no. The buildup to this release has been handled horrendously and that combined with her recent ‘meltdown’, has all served to overshadow what was a surprisingly good project. I had little hope for Queen after her string of woefully uninspiring singles but those weren’t good representatives of what she had actually cooked up and Queen is easily her best project in quite some time. Most of her bars are on point and can stand up to any rapper in the game (regardless of gender), she has genuinely compelling pop songs, her more straight up rap fare goes hard, and she has maybe the best flip of a Biggie record I’ve ever heard. It’s not all hits though, the second half could have used some trimming, but there’s more than enough here to remind everyone why she blew up to such extraordinary heights in the first place. It’s a shame though that she won’t just let the music speak for itself.
They done went to witch doctors to bury the Barbie
But I double back, kill bitches, bury the body
And that go for anybody, you’ll be thoroughly sorry
I could wage war or I come in peace like Gandhi
All my powers back now I’m scary to zombies
Bring the heat to her, sizzle ’em, ain’t talking Kalonji– “Ganja Burns”
Have you heard Queen? What’d you think about it? Did it surpass your expectations for the project, especially after its horrendous rollout? Should Nicki Minaj fall back more and let the music speak for itself? Let me know in the comments below and be sure to leave your own ratings and reactions for the album.
