Queen (Nicki Minaj album)

Queen
Studio album by Nicki Minaj
Released	August 10, 2018 (2018-08-10)
Recorded	December 2016 – August 2018
Genre	Hip hop
Length	66:19
Label	Young Money Cash Money Republic
Producer	Beats Bailey Ben Billions Big Juice Blank Boi-1da Chris Braide Cirkut Cubeatz DJ Wes Eminem Frank Dukes Illmind J Beatzz JFK J Gramm JMIKE J. Reid Kane Beatz Labrinth Mel & Mus Messy Metro Boomin Mike Will Made It Murda Beatz Nawakii Nicki Minaj Pluss Rex Kudo Ringo Sevn Thomas Sool Supa Dups Zaytoven
Nicki Minaj chronology
The Pinkprint (2014) Queen (2018)
Singles from Queen
"Chun-Li" Released: April 12, 2018 "Bed" Released: June 14, 2018 "Barbie Dreams" Released: August 14, 2018

Queen is the fourth studio album by Trinidadian-born American rapper Nicki Minaj, released by Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records and Republic Records on August 10, 2018. Queen features production by J. Reid, Big Juice, Supa Dups, Beats Bailey, Messy, and Ben Billions. It includes guest appearances from Eminem, Ariana Grande, The Weeknd, Future, Lil Wayne, Swae Lee, Foxy Brown, and Labrinth.

The album's lead single, "Chun-Li", was released on April 12, 2018, and peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. Another single, "Barbie Tingz", was also released alongside "Chun-Li", but ultimately did not make the final album cut. It is, however, included on the Target version of the album. The album's second single, "Bed", featuring American singer Ariana Grande, was released on June 14, 2018 alongside the album pre-order, and peaked at number 42 on the Hot 100. A promotional single, "Rich Sex", featuring American rapper Lil Wayne, was released on June 11, 2018. The album's release was delayed several times, before ultimately being released a week ahead of schedule. "Barbie Dreams" was sent to rhythmic contemporary radio on August 14, 2018, as the album's third single.

Queen debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 with 185,000 album-equivalent units, of which 78,000 were from pure album sales. The album received generally favorable reviews upon release, though some critics took issue with the album's length and lyrics.

Background

In October 2016, Minaj went into Hot 97's Ebro in the Morning, where she was asked for details about her upcoming album, responding, "The album is so freaking epic, but it's a journey right. Before my first album came out, I was on everybody's song; I had my own campaign without realizing it. Right now, I have to complete a few things for other people." During following interviews Minaj claimed her fourth studio album would be her "best body of work", "a classic hip-hop album that people will never forget," and an era "a billion times more epic than anything "Anaconda" could have delivered."

In October 2017, Minaj opened up for T Magazine about her vision for the album. "Sonically, I know what the album’s about to sound like," she said. "I know what this album is gonna mean to my fans. This album is everything in my life coming full circle. [...] Now, I can tell you guys what happened for the last two years of my life. I know who I am. I am getting Nicki Minaj figured out with this album and I’m loving her."

Music and lyrics

Queen is a hip hop album that incorporates elements of pop and R&B. The opening track "Ganja Burns" is a reggae-inspired island-pop song, in which Minaj defends her position in the music industry. The following track "Majesty", featuring Eminem and Labrinth, is a pop-rap song that "sinks under dated piano chords, melodramatic string swells and a grating vocal hook."

"Barbie Dreams" uses the beat of The Notorious B.I.G.'s 1994 song "Just Playing (Dreams)." Unlike him, who rapped about his desire for popular R&B singers, Minaj inverts his misogynistic rap to "roast" a myriad of male artists, some who are friends and collaborators of hers, including Drake, ex-boyfriend Meek Mill, Eminem, DJ Khaled, 50 Cent, Young Thug, Swae Lee, Lil Uzi Vert, Fetty Wap, Quavo, Future and YG. Minaj has clarified that the track only targeted individuals she loves, and claimed it is not actually a diss track.

"Rich Sex" is a trap song, in contrast to R&B song "Thought I Knew You" which "sports some of Queen's lushest production." In "Thought I Knew You", which The Weeknd helped write, the pair lament over estranged lovers with Weeknd's "buttery tenor serving as the perfect counterpoint to [Minaj's] clipped, Auto-Tuned raps and distorted vocals."

Swae Lee, of hip hop duo Rae Sremmurd, is also featured on the album. Brendan Klinkenberg of Rolling Stone opines that Lee steals the spotlight on this track with his "delicate falsetto" with Minaj "deploying clearly demarcated, darting verses." Minaj named their song "Chun Swae" after her collaborator. At the end of this track, Minaj boasts to her listeners "You're in the middle of Queen right now, thinking / "I see why she called this shit Queen/This bitch is really the fucking queen—ahh!" before bursting into her signature maniacal laugh.

"Sir", featuring Future, was one of two tracks added after the other 17 songs in the album. Variety described "Come See About Me" as "a soft, sculpted ballad that allows Minaj’s rap-singing romanticism to nestle in a richly opulent setting."

Foxy Brown is featured in the track "Coco Chanel". Andree Gee from Uproxx asserted that their collaboration in the "swaggering" track remained "true to both rapper’s Trini roots, with dancehall inspired drums fused over ominous keys."

Artwork

On June 7, 2018, Minaj released the cover art for the album on Twitter, shot by Mert and Marcus, which featured Minaj topless, sitting provocatively on a log. She dons pasties and a head-dress inspired by the ancient Egyptian queen Cleopatra.

Release and promotion

On May 7, 2018, Minaj announced the album's title and original release date during an interview at the Met Gala. It was initially scheduled for a June 15 release, but was later pushed back to August 10. On May 19, she performed "Chun-Li" and "Poke It Out" with Playboi Carti on the final episode of season 43 of Saturday Night Live.

Minaj performed a medley of "Chun-Li" and "Rich Sex" at the 2018 BET Awards. On April 13, 2018, she appeared as a guest on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.

Merchandise and tour bundles were sold with the album, while "Fefe", a single by 6ix9ine featuring Minaj and Murda Beatz, was added in the middle of the tracking week. Further promotion includes Minaj announcing that she will embark on her first co-headlining tour with Future, NickiHndrxx Tour, which will begin at the end of September.

Singles

"Chun-Li" was released on April 12, 2018 as the lead single of the album. On May 4, 2018 Minaj uploaded the music video for "Chun-Li" on her YouTube and Vevo account. It was directed by Steven Klein of Good Company Pictures. It peaked at number ten on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.

On June 14, 2018, Minaj released "Bed" featuring Ariana Grande as the album's second single along with the album pre-order. Its music video was released on July 6, 2018. The song debuted at number 43 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, and later peaked at number 42 in its ninth week on the chart.

"Barbie Dreams" was sent to rhythmic contemporary radio on August 14, 2018, as the album's third single. It debuted at number 18 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Promotional singles

"Rich Sex" featuring Lil Wayne was released on June 11, 2018 as the first promotional single from the album. The track debuted and peaked at number 88 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Other songs

"Barbie Tingz" was released on April 12, 2018, alongside "Chun-Li". It was originally intended to be included on Queen but did not make the standard cut and is instead present on the Target edition of the album.

A video for the opening track, "Ganja Burns", was released on August 13, 2018, with a similar "sunset-orange filtered Egyptian" setting to that of her album cover.

"Sorry" featuring Nas was released on August 11, 2018. It was excluded of the album because of a sample clearance.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	6.4/10
Metacritic	70/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Entertainment Weekly	B
The Guardian
HipHopDX	3.4/5
The Independent
NME
Pitchfork	7.6/10
Rolling Stone
Slant
Spin

Queen received generally favorable reviews upon release, though some critics took issue with the album's length and lyrical content. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 70 based on 21 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Ella Jukwey of The Independent wrote that 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. It may lack cohesion at certain points, but one thing is never in doubt: Minaj is still one of the best in her field." For Billboard, Kathy Iandoli stated that Queen "exists to exemplify Nicki’s proven longevity, which is enough of a rarity to finally declare her as well-deserved rap royalty", although was critical of the album's length. Briana Younger of Pitchfork gave the album a positive review, stating "the connections between past and present, between style and form, make Queen feel like her most creatively honest album." Erin Lowers from Exclaim! gave the album a generally positive review, saying it highlighted the rapper's "ability to adapt to an ever-changing sonic landscape," and concluding that Minaj wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

In a mixed review, Bryan Rolli of Forbes concluded that Queen is "a great 10-song album hiding inside a messy 19-song album", though complimented Minaj's lyricism, and said the album "gives fans plenty to sink their teeth into." In Los Angeles Times, Mikael Wood felt Minaj "spends so much time describing her dominance that a clear conclusion is that she fears it’s beginning to erode [...] all the back-in-my-day stuff suggests a lack of confidence in her unique perspective." For The Washington Post, Chris Richards said, "Queen only feels connected to the current rap zeitgeist in the saddest way — as another portrait of a visionary rapper in decline [...] A great Nicki Minaj comeback album would be the first great Nicki Minaj album, period." Carl Anka of NME wrote, "Unfortunately, in trying to take on all comers at once, there are parts of Queen that feel like an overreach. 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." Mosi Reeves of Rolling Stone wrote that Queen "brings a new Nicki Minaj character: the regal, haughty monarch, a woman who insists on sword-sharpened rhymes as a prerogative for excellence", however noted it to have "a flabby, meandering mid-section."

In an unfavorable review, The Hollywood Reporter's Jonny Coleman deemed the album "[a] joyless mess" and summarized, "Minaj doesn’t really investigate any of her issues with herself or others in any meaningful way on the new album. When all is said and done, it’s just another playlist of disconnected mish-mash bangers that we'll probably forget in two weeks." The Atlantic's Spencer Kornhaber criticized its lyrical content, writing, "When Minaj raps on “Hard White” that she “ain’t ever have to strip to get the pole position,” it’s a clear knock on the former exotic dancer who’s outcharting her lately, but it also undermines Minaj’s broader position that women who use sex appeal and their brains deserve respect. Rather than attacking the system that has all along made Minaj feel inadequate, she spends her energy building it up and passes her damage right along. Is there a smarter way?" Online hip hop publication HipHopDX criticised the album for a lack of depth and its run time: "Nicki Minaj has excelled to the point where Onika Maraj has resorted to being an alter ego when it comes to public appearances and the music. There are no deep layers to be uncovered on Queen."

Commercial performance

In Australia, Queen opened at number four on the ARIA Albums Chart, becoming Nicki Minaj's highest charting album in the country. In Canada, the album debuted at number two on the Canadian Albums Chart, behind Astroworld by Travis Scott. It serves as Minaj's fourth consecutive top-ten album in the country. In the United Kingdom, Queen debuted at number five on the UK Albums Chart, becoming the rapper's second top-ten album on the chart.

In the United States, the album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 with 185,000 album-equivalent units, of which 78,000 were from pure album sales. The latter also included tour bundles and merchandise bundles. The album debuted behind Travis Scott's Astroworld, which spent a second week on top. An article of The New York Times noted the album's first two singles "have failed to stick commercially."

Track listing

Queen — standard version

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Ganja Burns"	Onika Maraj Jairus Mozee Jeremy Reid	J. Reid	4:54
2.	"Majesty" (featuring Eminem and Labrinth)	Maraj Luis Resto Marshall Mathers Timothy Mckenzie	Labrinth Eminem[b]	4:55
3.	"Barbie Dreams"	Maraj Rivelino Wouter Chase Lett Melvin Hough II Rashad Smith	Mel & Mus Ringo	4:39
4.	"Rich Sex" (featuring Lil Wayne)	Maraj Reid Chase Lett Headley Aubrey Delaine Dwayne Carter	J. Reid Big Juice[b]	3:12
5.	"Hard White"	Maraj Matthew Samuels Ramon Ibanga Jr. Brittany Hazzard	Boi-1da Illmind	3:13
6.	"Bed" (featuring Ariana Grande)	Maraj Dwayne Chin-Quee Brett Bailey Mescon David Asher LunchMoney Lewis Benjamin Diehl	Supa Dups Beats Bailey Ben Billions Messy[a]	3:09
7.	"Thought I Knew You" (featuring The Weeknd)	Maraj Abel Tesfaye Hazzard Reid	J. Reid	3:18
8.	"Run & Hide"	Maraj Hazzard Rupert Thomas Jr. Masamune Kudo	Rex Kudo Sevn Thomas	2:34
9.	"Chun Swae" (featuring Swae Lee)	Maraj Khalif Brown Leland Wayne	Metro Boomin	6:10
10.	"Chun-Li"	Maraj Reid	Reid Nicki Minaj[a]	3:11
11.	"LLC"	Maraj Jason Fox Chase Lett Rasool Diaz Wesley Dees	Sool DJ Wes JFK	3:41
12.	"Good Form"	Maraj Michael Williams II	Pluss Mike Will Made It	3:19
13.	"Nip Tuck"	Maraj Jeremy Coleman Hazzard Daniel Johnson June Nawakii	Nawakii JMIKE Kane Beatz	3:27
14.	"2 Lit 2 Late Interlude"	Maraj Adam Feeney Hazzard	J Gramm Frank Dukes	0:55
15.	"Come See About Me"	Maraj Christopher Braide Henry Walter Hazzard	Cirkut Braide	4:06
16.	"Sir" (featuring Future)	Maraj Xavier Dotson Wayne Nayvadius Wilburn	Metro Boomin Zaytoven	3:44
17.	"Miami"	Maraj Douglas Patterson Diaz Shane Lindstrom	Murda Beatz	3:10
18.	"Coco Chanel" (featuring Foxy Brown)	Maraj Ashley Bannister Joshua Adams Inga Marchand	J Beatzz Blank	3:44
19.	"Inspirations Outro"	Maraj Adams Ashley Bannister	J Beatzz Blank	0:58
Total length:				66:19

Queen — bonus version (bonus tracks)

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
20.	"Fefe" (6ix9ine featuring Nicki Minaj and Murda Beatz)	Andrew Green Daniel Hernandez Maraj Lindstrom Kevin Gomringer Tim Gomringer	Murda Beatz Cubeatz[a]	2:59
Total length:				69:18

Queen — Target exclusive version (bonus tracks)

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
20.	"Barbie Tingz"	Maraj Reid	J. Reid	3:11
21.	"Regular Degular"	Maraj Invincible Cory Martin	Invincible	3:33

Notes

• ^{^[a]} signifies a co-producer.
• ^{^[b]} signifies an additional producer.
• "Ganja Burns" was intended to be titled "Ganja Burn", however when submitting the track listing, Minaj accidentally wrote "Burns" instead.
• "Fefe" is stylized in uppercase.

Sample credits

• "Barbie Dreams" contains samples from "Blues and Pants", written by James Brown and Fred Wesley, as performed by Brown; and interpolations from "Dreams and Nightmares", written by Robert Williams, Anthony Tucker, Maurice Jordan, and Permaine Preyan, as performed by Meek Mill, and "Just Playing (Dreams)", written by Christopher Wallace and Smith, as performed by The Notorious B.I.G.

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.

• Nicki Minaj – lead vocals (all tracks), co-production (track 10)
• Eminem – vocals (track 2), additional production (track 2)
• Labrinth – vocals (track 2), production (track 2), record engineering (track 21^[tv])
• Lil Wayne – vocals (track 4)
• Ariana Grande – vocals (track 6)
• The Weeknd – vocals (track 7)
• Swae Lee – vocals (track 9)
• Future – vocals (track 16)
• Foxy Brown – vocals (track 18)
• 6ix9ine – lead vocals (track 20^[bv])
• J. Reid – production (tracks 1, 4, 7, 10, and 21^[tv])
• Mel & Mus – production (track 3)
• Rashad "Ringo" Smith – production (track 3)
• Boi-1da – production (track 5)
• Illmind – production (track 5)
• Dwayne "Supa Dups" Chin-Quee – production (track 6)
• Brett "Beats" Bailey – production (track 6)
• Ben Billions – production (track 6)
• Rex Kudo – production (track 8)
• Sevn Thomas – production (track 8)
• Metro Boomin – production (tracks 9 and 16)
• Sool – production (track 11)
• DJ Wes – production (track 11)
• JFK – production (track 11)
• Pluss – production (track 12)
• Mike Will Made It – production (track 12)
• June Nawakii – production (track 13)
• JMIKE – production (track 13)
• Kane Beatz – production (track 13)
• J Gramm – production (track 14)
• Frank Dukes – production (track 14)
• Cirkut – production (track 15)
• Christopher Braide – production (track 15)
• Zaytoven – production (track 16)
• Murda Beatz – production (tracks 17 and 20^[bv])
• J Beatzz – production (tracks 18 and 19)
• Messy – co-production (track 6)
• Blank – production (track 18-19)
• Cubeatz – co-production (track 20^[bv])
• Aubry "Big Juice" Delaine – additional production (track 4), mixing (tracks 10 and 21^[tv]), record engineering (all tracks)

• Jaycen Joshua – mixing (track 4)
• Serban Ghenea – mixing (track 6)
• Wizard Lee Weinberg – mixing (track 20^[bv]), mastering (track 20^[bv]), record engineering (track 20^[bv])
• Manny Galvez – record engineering (track 4)
• Jeff Edwards – record engineering (track 4)
• Rashawn Mclean – mixing assistance (track 4)
• Mike Seaberg – mixing assistance (track 4)
• Jacob Richards – mixing assistance (track 4)
• John Hanes – mixing assistance (track 6)
• Laura Bates – mixing assistance (tracks 10 and 21^[tv]), record engineering assistance (tracks 10 and 21^[tv])
• Jason Delattiboudere – record engineering assistance (track 4)
• Brian Judd – record engineering assistance (track 4)
• Jamal Berry – record engineering assistance (track 4)
• Nick Valentin – record engineering assistance (track 6)
• William Knauft – record engineering assistance (track 6)
• Iván Jiménez – record engineering assistance (tracks 10 and 21^[tv])

Notes

• ^{^[bv]} refers to the track with that number on the bonus version.
• ^{^[tv]} refers to the track with that number on the Target version.

Charts

Chart (2018)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)	4
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)	19
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)	11
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)	8
Canadian Albums (Billboard)	2
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)	18
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)	8
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)	14
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)	18
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)	31
Irish Albums (IRMA)	5
Italian Albums (FIMI)	19
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)	8
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)	9
Scottish Albums (OCC)	15
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)	20
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)	15
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)	5
UK Albums (OCC)	5
UK R&B Albums (OCC)	1
US Billboard 200	2
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)	2

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Label	Ref.
Various	August 10, 2018	Digital download streaming	Young Money Cash Money Republic
	August 17, 2018	CD
	November 2018	LP

External links

• Official website