Четверг 18 Ноя 2010, 2:51

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Like everybody else, I've been hearing a lot of buzz about Nicki Minaj for quite some time now. However, I actually had yet to hear any of her songs or see her videos. Nevertheless, I was really curious about her sound because the same circles that seem to like people along the lines of Lady Gaga or Ke$ha seem to like Nicki, too.

If you know anything about me and my ever-evolving musical tastes, then you already know that I've been exploring the somewhat alien world of pop lately and – much to the surprise of my formerly hipster-ish self – I've been liking it a lot. That said, I got my hands on a copy of Nicki Minaj's new album Pink Friday as a leap of faith, because I was curious about her. I've been known to do that if I'm really sure I'll like someone.

I'm actually listening to it for the very first time right now. Most of the songs are completely new to me with the exception of Your Love, which Slacker has tossed up on occasion for my listening enjoyment, but so far? I actually really like this album even on the first listen. It always takes a while for my true favorite tracks to emerge – especially in regards to an album that has so much of a rap/hip-hop vibe going on – but I've pretty much "hearted" half the tracks already after a single listen. I absolutely love Blazin' and Check It Out already and I can already see where many of the other tracks will grow on me as well.

I'm normally not the biggest fan of rap at all, but this is… different and very nice on a level I can relate to. As someone who grew up on 80's new wave, I can really appreciate the samples of certain songs and the new wave vibe that many of the songs do have. This is also very lushly and richly produced like a lot of popular music these days, but I'm not a critic of that method the way a lot of people are. On the contrary, I really like it and it's actually what drew me back to the pop genre for the first time since I was 12 or 13.

Plus, I really dig Nicki's persona and image. This "quirky and surreal" thing so many singers have going on these days is so much fun. Say what you will about it, but it reminds me of the old school Bowie days when a musician's art extended beyond the music they were actually putting out there to their clothing, hairstyles and image as well. I was bored with the music scene for sure, but this type of thing has given me something to be excited about again.