Nicki Minaj
Rapper Nicki Minaj, who has had much success on the pop charts with songs like Starships and Super Bass, says the re-release of her sophomore album is nostalgic for her early fans.
"The feel of the re-release is kind of like my first sound, like the mixtapes," she said of Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded -- The Re-Up.
The re-release comes seven months after Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard charts. That album features pop, dance, R&B, reggae and rap sounds. It's a far stretch from when Minaj kicked off her career as a sexed-up street rapper, signed by Lil Wayne in 2009 after she released three buzzed-about mixtapes. Her official debut, Pink Friday, is near double platinum and was nominated for a Grammy Award.
But the 29-year-old says she's "back to basics" on her eight-track Re-Up, which features Lil Wayne, Tyga and some of Minaj's proteges.
"It sounds probably more hood in some ways, for a lack of a better word," she said.
Her pop fans won't be disappointed, though: There's also the Dr. Luke-produced, dance-flavored Va Va Voom.
In a recent telephone interview, Minaj talked about her new music, artists she is mentoring, and working (kind of) with Mariah Carey on American Idol.
1 What's the energy like on the re-release?
I studied a lot of the production side of this particular re-release. It was just important that the beats sounded a certain way.... I was really able to step up the writing on it as well.
2 This album features some of your signed artists, Parker and Thomas Brinx. How's it feel to pay it forward?
It's exciting because I think that I'm finally in a position to open doors for other people and it's a great feeling because I feel like they're so, so talented. Parker, he's actually from London and he's a writer, producer, singer ... and I'm going to be putting out music with him at the top of the year.... Brinx was someone that I knew for a long time. I was rapping with him before I even got a deal and his skills have always been so exceptional.... So I always felt like if I got an opportunity I would bring him along, and now I have that opportunity.
3 What are your favorite albums of the year?
I really have been enjoying all of the hip-hop albums that came out because I feel like hip-hop artists have been taking their careers into their own hands, and I just want to give a salute to everyone because it's not easy.... The music has been sort of changing and adding new sounds to the game and introducing new people to the game, so I would just give a big nod to hip-hop for 2012.
4 Is working as a judge on American Idol what you thought it would be like?
No.... They're very long days and that's the biggest thing I didn't really expect.... I'm used to being able to handle my business at any time, and when it's American Idol, sometimes we're in one place for eight hours judging people and I can't go to my BlackBerry every five minutes like I'm used to. So that kind of slows my business down and that is something that I never could have foreseen. But, as a whole, I love the experience that I'm getting.
5 How are you and Mariah Carey, another new judge on Idol, getting along?
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-- Meskin Fekadu, The Associated Press
