Nicki Minaj- Pink Friday

Back in June, RedEye columnist Kyra Kyles wrote the article Nasty Girls of Rap, Pop, Rock and R&B,  a list of female artists that were known for their shock value. Amongst the list were Madonna, Lady Gaga, Trina, Lil’ Kim, and Nicki Minaj. When thinking of artists known for their perverse lyrics, names such as Spank Rock and Amanda Blank come to mind. Back then we only knew Nicki Minaj from songs such as “Bed Rock” or “Roger That.” So is Nicki Minaj nasty? Not quite. Foul and Tough? That’s more like it. Her debut album Pink Friday starts off just right, aggressive without trying too hard.  Her lyrics are more of earning her spot in the rap world. Track one she claims “What the fuck they gone say?/ I’m the best bitch doin’ it” Being surrounded by male MC’s, she does a fine job of holding her own and making it look easy.

What must be noted about Pink Friday are the big name male rappers that are featured. “Roman’s Revenge” includes a verse by Eminem, someone known for being foul mouthed and controversial. A few years back, he was at the top of his game. Nowadays,  the hype surrounding him and his music has died down a bit. Both his and Nicki’s styles compliment each other well. He offers legitimacy to the album and she gives him a youthful feminine touch that could help revive his career. Also featured is Will.I.AM whose style is strong and overpowering in “Check It Out” as it would be in any Black Eyed Pea’s song. Nicki doesn’t miss a beat and is adaptable,  making it her own. One would think that such high profile names would overpower Nicki on her own album. That didn’t happen. The lyrics in “Did It On’em” Minaj contends with “All these bitches is my sons/ If I had a dick I’d take it out and piss on ’em.” Acts such as Kanye West and Drake play backup to  Minaj, who dominates and simply uses big names to build her own reputation. What else would they be good for?

There are two criticisms of Pink Friday. The first being Rihanna, who lends her whiney vocals to “Fly.” The song and the album itself could do without her and Nicki was doing just fine, thank you very much. Second would be the timing. Pink Friday was released in November, but it has summer album written all over it. It starts off with a bang and lightens up with “Right Thru Me” and “Save Me.” Back in the warmer months we were all introduced  to “Your Love.” Her songs don’t contain the gloominess that goes along with the winter season, but the strong energy that most feel in the summer.

Nicki Minaj is fun with her random pop culture references and a style reminiscent of Missy Elliot. Minaj isn’t shy with her words and experiments with their delivery. Many are making comparisons of Minaj to Lil’ Kim, someone she has noted as a big influence. Such an idea didn’t sit well with Ms. Kim who released a track slamming Minaj earlier in November without being provoked. Perhaps this was Kim’s way of putting Minaj in her place, or maybe Minaj poses a legitimate threat to Lil’ Kim and her reputation. Out with the old, in with the new and it seems that Ms. Kim is jealous:
           See the fact is, what you doing I did it
           Lames trying to clone my style, run with it
          That’s cool, I was the first one with it
          You deluded Kim wannabe you just hate to admit it
          I’m the Blueprint you ain’t nothing brand new
          Check ya posters and videos, you’ll always be number 2 (Lil’ Kim)

Overall, Nicki Minaj is all about attitude and paying her dues. Pink Friday tells the story of her and the obstacles she climbed to claim her well deserved spot amongst the leading contenders of modern day rap music. She is a much needed change of pace amongst Jay-Z’s many comebacks and all the buzz about Lil’ Wayne’s incarcerations. The best part is she is actually attractive. You’d expect someone with such a potty mouth to have a face that matches. Her pink and feathery album cover  is sweet and deceitful. She’s Katy Perry meets Brooklyn. The next revolutionary force in girl power since the Spice Girls.

Mickey Avalon

Crack-addiction, male prostitution, Judaism, and “My Dick“; that’s what you get when listening to Mickey Avalon’s self-titled debut album. It would be easy to write off the white rapper from Michigan as just another honkey glamorizing substance abuse and STD’s to build legitimacy, but it is highly recommended to Wikipedia him before making judgments. Most of the content Avalon centers his album around he’s actually lived through.  In the chorus of “Friends & Lovers” Avalon concludes “All my friends and all my lovers are Dead.” In his mid-twenties, his sister overdosed. and his father died in a car crash on the way to AA. “Dipped in Vaseline” is reminiscent of Avalon’s days working as a prostitute. Avalon chooses his words cleverly to bring light to such heavy topics and is able to pack his whole life into a twelve track disc.

 MANIC

Have you ever wanted to see what Zooey Deschanel looked like before she was the beautiful front woman of She & Him and the star of 500 Days of Summer? Then go watch Manic, an incredibly low budget indie film that also stars her 500 Days co-star Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The film is centered around the juvenile ward of a hospital that is home to young adults with varying personality disorders and looks as though it was filmed on someone’s personal video recorder. Gordon-Levitt plays main character Lyle, a young man with severe anger outbursts. Levitt does a damn good job of capturing how out of control his characters rage becomes, but the film does little to elaborate on why this kid is so pissed off while explaining why more minor characters were placed under such treatment. If such drama is up your alley, the film is incredibly addictive and is most likely to leave a deep impression.

 SIX FEET UNDER

 

HBO series Six Feet Under captured the lives of a family run funeral home and the dysfunctions of the Fischer family as they lived directly above their business. They literally shared a home with the dead. In the first season, the youngest child Claire stole the foot of a dead man and stuck it in her boyfriend’s locker for revenge, middle son Nathan struggled with his homosexuality and being the only child dedicated to the family business throughout the whole series, and eldest David tried to accept the fact that he had become his father even though he tried his best not to. The characters are as well developed as the storyline as both evolved together throughout the  six seasons of the show. Death was a major concept that was never a taboo and the series ended with death by showing each characters demise in their future years.