Jeff Kravitz/AMA2011/FilmMagic.comRappers, like Hollywood, love sequels: Jay-Z's 'In My Lifetime' and 'The Blueprint' trilogies, Lil Wayne's diminishing 'Tha Carter' series, Raekwon's 'Only Built for Cuban Linx' duo, etc. Now add Nicki Minaj to the list after she announced some new album details last night on Twitter. "Pink Friday: ROMAN RELOADED will be released on Valentines Day, 2012. Heeeee's baaaacccckkkkk," Minaj told her fans on the one-year (and three days) anniversary of the 'Pink Friday' release. "Its not called Roman Reloaded. Its called PINK FRIDAY: ROMAN RELOADED!!!!!! 4 WORDS!!!!" Oh good, a sequel, and so early in Minaj's career. Sequels are always superior to the originals, just ask Francis Ford Coppola. Even better, a sequel that's similar in name to an awful 'Matrix' installment from 2003.
What made the title 'Pink Friday' clever in the first place was that it was released in the vicinity of Black Friday, 2010. Valentine's Day 2012 is on a Tuesday. As for the other two words in the "4 WORDS!" title, 'Roman Reloaded' refers to Minaj's overused alter ego, Roman Zolanski. It's common for artists to pretend to be someone else on their records -- Eminem had the Slim Shady, Beyonce had Sasha Fierce, Garth Brooks was Chris Gaines, etc. — and Minaj has her gay British twin brother, Roman. The character first popped up when Minaj appeared on Trey Songz' "Bottoms Up (Remix)," but Zolanski really emerged on the 'Pink Friday' cut "Roman's Revenge," where Minaj's alter ego duked it out with Eminem's Slim Shady.
The thing is, 'Pink Friday' wasn't that great to begin with. The album spawned a lot of hits and catapulted Minaj to the pinnacle of female rappers, but on a whole, the LP was disappointing. After her jaw-dropping version on Kanye West's "Monster," 'Pink Friday' failed to showcase those skills again. The reason Weezy, Jay-Z, and Raekwon made sequels in the first place was because those initial albums are classics. 'Pink Friday: Roman's Reloaded' is like the part two of a movie that the critics despised but an audience of millions paid see anyway, like 'Alvin & The Chipmunks' or 'Transformers'.
Minaj also tweeted that she recently filmed a music video for "Turn Me On," her collaborative track with producer David Guetta that the pair performed at the American Music Awards. The song already appeared on Guetta's 'Nothing But the Beat', but given its success, it might get reloaded for 'Pink Friday 2'.