‘Pink Friday 2’; what we know so far about Nicki Minaj’s first album in five years; release date, singles

Thirteen years ago, a Trinidad and Tobagon rapper released her debut studio album “Pink Friday” to almost universal acclaim, ushering in a return to raunchy rap and, more importantly, something fun yet palatable within the pop world. Thirteen years later, singer Nicki Minaj is set to release that album’s sequel, “Pink Friday 2” - her first studio album since 2018’s “Queen.” 

The album's existence was first hinted at on February 2, 2019, shortly after dropping her Audiomack-exclusive track "Barbie Goin Bad," a remix of Meek Mill's "Going Bad" featuring Drake. In this remix, referred to as "the fifth thing thing," there was a subtle reference to the upcoming album. 

Fast forward to June 28, 2019, when Minaj made an appearance on Jimmy Fallon's The Tonight Show - during the interview, she confirmed the much-anticipated news: "Well, there's definitely a new album, of course." However, she also admitted that the album was still in the works, lacking a finalized release date and even a name: "With this one, I don’t have a name yet."

Interestingly, by September 2019, Minaj took the industry by surprise when she announced her retirement from the hip-hop scene, a move that left her fans shocked and curious. Nonetheless, Minaj later backtracked on her statement and expressed regret for the premature declaration, acknowledging her error and issuing an apology for the confusion she caused.

So what could we and should we expect from Nicki Minaj’s follow-up to 2018’s “Pink Friday,” and will it have the same resonance now as it did back during her debut, given the style of hip-hop Minaj made a breath of fresh air seems omnipresent in today’s modern pop climate.

Have any singles been released from “Pink Friday 2” yet?

Two songs that will appear on “Pink Friday 2” have been released, with “Super Freaky Girl” making its way onto streaming platforms on August 12 2022 and leading Minaj to become the first solo female rapper to debut at the top of the Billboard Hot 100. Not since one of Minaj’s influences, Lauryn Hill with “Doo Wop (That Thing)” in 1998 has a female solo rapper achieved this feat.

That was followed up seven months later with Minaj dropping “Red Ruby da Sleeze,” which reached number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100, and alongside “Super Freaky Girl” both topped Billboard’s Hot Rap Songs and Digital Song Sales chart. We discovered both would appear on “Pink Friday 2” when the singer responded to a Tweet/post made by a fan saying one of the tracks would not appear - prompting Minaj to write "Not on my album? #ComeOnSon stupid."

That brings us up to this week’s “tease” of a new song from the album by Minaj on social media, “Last Time That I Saw You,” which has now prompted discussions that potentially Rihanna might be guesting on the album. When a fan asked her "Is Robyn Fenty on this album?", Nicki responded with: "Was pigs motherf**king flying?"

After some confusion, Minaj finished responding with: "I think that was a trick answer y’all that I gave y’all."

Are there any special guests that will feature on “Pink Friday 2”?

Well, asides from the rumour about Rihanna, no one as of yet has been confirmed to feature on “Pink Friday 2,” but if we were to mention some names and speculate - we’d hazard the following guesses.

Ice Spice has previously worked with Nicki Minaj on both “Barbie World” for the “Barbie” soundtrack and was involved in the remix of the rapper’s single “Princess Diana,” so we’d speculate that given Minaj has co-signed on two tracks with the up-and-coming hip-hop star, she could feature on the new album.

Megan Thee Stallion has also worked with Nicki Minaj before - who could forget “W.A.P” when it was released and Ben Shapiro’s subsequent “cover” of it on his show? We’d also be remiss to think Drake wouldn’t have a hand in the release either, given the close working relationship the two have shared in the past. 

When is “Pink Friday 2” getting released?

“Pink Friday 2” is currently scheduled to be released on November 17 2023 through Cash Money Records; we know that it will be available digitally, but it’s still early to tell at this stage if there will be physical formats or pre-order bonus packages ahead of the release date. 

Will Nicki Minaj tour “Pink Friday 2?”

She will indeed be touring “Pink Friday 2,” but the official tour dates have not been announced yet. How do we know she’s going to be touring the album? Her post when she first announced “Pink Friday 2” also had the message at its tail end stating "I will give tour deets closer to that time, but obviously the tour will start around the first quarter of 2024."