Nicki Minaj - Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded

Nicki Minaj has managed to become a pretty big deal of late, appearing in venues from the Superbowl on down over the last year. Hopefully she's not getting fleeced six ways to Sunday through her YM/CMB deal, but regardless she has shifted a whole lot of units of Pink Friday already and stands to shift a gang more before the record runs its course.

Minaj does a valiant job of being all things to all people on Pink Friday. Opening with the 80s pop inflected Roman Holiday, things get a little more gutter with the following Come On A Cone before getting way street with I Am Your Leader, a track notable for a good Rick Ross guest verse and the first decent Cam'ron verse I've heard maybe ever, even if it does get a little Twista (never a good idea) towards the end.

Beez In The Trap features 2 Chainz, neck deep in his Sean Price transformation from his former Titty Boi appelation. He's better than I remember, and I would venture this track will continue his rise towards crossover notoriety. Wayne, Nas and Drake all make solid guest shots, as does the pretty irritating Beenie Man (why did it have to be Buju?). The guest shots are heavy, but it's important to remember the reason why we are here: Nicki can body a track and is arguably the best female MC since Lyte.

Rhyme skills aside, Minaj is also a fashion and pop culture icon, a hero to a zillion young girls around the world with ahas a Hulk-sized personae that dwarfs her diminutive frame. Things skew a little too much towards to the image end of things, but at the end of the day that demo is among the few that still pay for records and pony up absurd ticket prices to see her in enormous rooms. And let me reiterate: Nicki can rhyme her ass off, unlike a lot of image-driven artists in hip-pop today. Pink Friday is not going to bump G. Rap or Finesse off the JS-NYC playlists, but is a hell of a solid release for the hip-hop records of today.

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Damien Marley and Nasir Jones - Distant Relatives

This record had been on the radar for a minute, but seemed to get lost in all the internet gossip and/or mudslinging that came in the wake of the Nas/Kelis divorce. Of all the contrived pairings that have sprung up in recent years, this one seemed to make the most sense. Both parties are the sons of famous musicians, although the Marley legacy may very well hold a heavier weight in the equation. For the average American, though, the Nas factor may be the reason why the average head is checking in. I haven't followed Jr. Gong's career for long, but will give high marks to Welcome To Jamrock and Traffic Jam as top-notch crossover material. I am a much bigger fan of the Grants Pen spawned Supercat/Burro Banton era of dancehall than I am the new school of Jamaican Ying Yang twin schlock that I hear most of the time and the young Marley definitely can chat with the best of the old school. The pairing with Nas is somewhat unexpected, but not without its high points.

Probably the most surprising thing about Distant Relatives is how adult it is. Not Rudy Ray Moore, more grown-folks Curtis Mayfield kinda adult. Both parties are no stranger to addressing society issues, I'm just surprised that it's over tracks that are as mellow as they are. This is a real big-picture project, there are guest spots from the likes of our dear locked down Weezy, but it's on a track with Joss Stone. More often than not, the guest spots are from the likes of African rapper K'naan, Dennis Brown or even Stephen Marley. Again, far from bad, but not the tact I would have expected the duo to take. The JS-NYC horse sense is impeccable, as Distant Relatives hit the charts at number five, and they were on Kimmel fairly recently, so it would appear this project might have some legs, despite the JS-NYC perceived lack of ragamuffinery. Grab a copy and find out more about the charitable contributions that are slated to benefit from the project here.

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