Nicki Minaj is back with a brand new album – but does she win over the critics? Love London Love Culture finds out by rounding up the reviews…
The Guardian: *** “when her own flow reaches equilibrium – vowels pitching and rolling in her Queens accent, but always kept in alignment – there are few who can match her.”
Pitchfork: ” with Queen, Nicki jettisons all the industry madness, drowns out the noise, and creates rap the way she believes it should sound.”
NME: *** “There is a better ten track effort hiding in Queen, but you get the impression Nicki kept tracks like ‘Miami’ to hedge her bets in a bid for streaming success. The ‘Queen’ is back, but only just.”
Consequence of Sound: ” These days, her emotional range feels effortless. Like a veteran politician, she’s capable of being all things to all people at once.”
The Independent: **** “Queen is the most important album of Minaj’s career so far. It’s the first time in her career that she has faced real opposition, and this latest record suggests that competition brings out the best in her.”
Vulture.com: “Queen is solid — was probably always going to be solid. It’s a bubbly batch of warm-weather sounds and longing love songs pitched perfectly toward that space where the summer sun starts setting a little earlier, and the light chill on the air tells you the party’ll soon be over.”
Slant Magazine: ** 1/2 ” Queen tries so hard to impress everyone that it risks failing to satisfy anyone.”
Queen is available to buy and download now.