Month: December 2023

December is usually pretty quiet when it comes to new music releases, but Nicki Minaj just came through with one of the year’s final major albums in Pink Friday 2. Minaj got a little help from her friends on the project, too, as there are a number of featured artists involved.

Who is featured on Nicki Minaj’s Pink Friday 2?

Featured on Pink Friday 2 are J. Cole, Lil Wayne, Tate Kobang, Drake, Lourdiz, Lil Uzi Vert, Skillibeng, Skeng, Future, and Tasha Cobbs Leonard. Additionally, SZA makes a surprise cameo on “Needle” video a sampled voicemail, while Billie Eilish’s “When The Party’s Over” is sampled on “Are You Gone Already.”

What is Nicki Minaj’s Pink Friday 2 tracklist?

To see all the features in context of the album, check out the tracklist:

1. “Are You Gone Already”
2. “Barbie Dangerous”
3. “FTCU”
4. “Beep Beep”
5. “Fallin 4 U”
6. “Let Me Calm Down” Feat. J. Cole
7. “RNB” Feat. Lil Wayne & Tate Kobang
8. “Pink Birthday”
9. “Needle” Feat. Drake
10. “Cowgirl” Feat. Lourdiz
11. “Everybody” Feat. Lil Uzi Vert
12. “Big Difference”
13. “Red Ruby Da Sleeze”
14. “Forward From Trini” Feat. Skillibeng & Skeng
15. “Pink Friday Girls”
16. “Super Freaky Girl”
17. “Bahm Bahm”
18. “My Life”
19. “Nicki Hendrix” Feat. Future
20. “Blessings” Feat. Tasha Cobbs Leonard
21. “Last Time I Saw You”
22. “Just The Memories”

Pink Friday 2 is out now via Young Money/Republic Records. Find more information here.

Nicki Minaj’s highly anticipated new album Pink Friday 2 has arrived as one of the final major releases of 2023. Given Minaj’s star power, she was able to pull some big-time collaborators into the fold for the project. That includes longtime associate Drake, who features on “Needle.”

The track also features a surprise cameo from SZA via a sampled voicemail that introduces the track. She says, “I mean, I don’t know if I like girls, I saw Sheila at Seraphin. Maybe we had too much tequila. Actually, yeah, we definitely had too much tequila ’cause I don’t know why I’m even playin’ on your phone right now. I’ma just block you, bye.”

Drake offers the song’s first verse and a catchy chorus, on which he sing-raps, “Pull up the Maybach and bend your leg back / Let’s engage that, don’t delay that / You’re like a needle, life’s a haystack / Friends they can leave us, you could stay back.”

This collaboration resolves the For All The Dogs situation: A link-up between the two was previously teased, but when Drake’s latest album dropped, Minaj was nowhere to be found on it. Now, though, they finally managed to make something happen before the year ended.

Listen to “Needle” above.

Pink Friday 2 is out now via Young Money/Republic Records. Find more information here.

Nicki Minaj is back. Tonight, the illustrious hip-hop artist released her long-awaited fifth studio album Pink Friday 2. Over the course of the album, Minaj grapples with a whirlwind of emotions, from love, loss, grief, and newfound motherhood. On a standout track, “Let Me Calm Down,” she teams up with J. Cole as she finds herself conflicted as someone attempts to reconnect with her.

“I knew if that if it was meant to be, that one day I would let him / Twenty years later them decisions, I don’t regret them / Just wish you would give me space when I really need it / To be alone in my zone when I’m really heated,” raps Minaj on one of the song’s verses, showcasing her confusion about the place this person once had in her life.

Cole then pops in with a verse of his own, offering a special message to the song’s subject. He better get right if he wants Minaj in his life.

“They talkin’ slick and make you wanna pull a Rated-R / You like her, love her like a brother, like a manager, an A&R / Plus a therapist when it start rainin’ hard / Her life was trauma filled, it left her with a tainted heart,” he raps.

You can listen to “Let Me Calm Down” above.

Pink Friday 2 is out now via Republic. Find more information here.

One of the coolest things about the In-Season Tournament semifinals came by way of the broadcasts. Both ESPN and TNT had television rights to one of the games, and instead of getting territorial, there was a ton of crossover between the two networks, whether that came in pre and postgame analysis or the broadcasts themselves, where analysts from both networks teamed up and called the game.

The best part, unsurprisingly, came at the very end of the night, when Stephen A. Smith and Michael Wilbon joined Inside the NBA. Wilbon, bless him, was largely left unscathed, because the Inside guys decided to use the crossover event to cook Smith mercilessly. Things started cordially enough, as everyone on set expressed their long-standing admiration for one another. And then, it was time for “Shaqtin’ a Fool,” which took a few playful jabs at Smith before the haymaker: His terrible first pitch at Yankee Stadium from earlier this year made it into the segment.

If this did not humble Smith, what happened next certainly did. It came time to do their final segment of the night, which was asking Smith to play “Who He Play For?” The funniest part did not involve Smith — that would go to Charles Barkley guessing that Garrett Temple plays for the New Jersey Nets, which no longer exist — but you can tell that he hated every second of this.

At the end of “Shaqtin’ a Fool,” Smith made it a point to promise that he will exact revenge.

“All I’m gonna do is remind y’all this: I got a two hour weekday show, five days a week,” Smith said. “I’m gonna get y’all. I’m gonna get y’all for this. I don’t know how yet, but I’ma get y’all.”

Nicki Minaj is back. Tonight, the illustrious hip-hop artist released her long-awaited fifth studio album Pink Friday 2. Over the course of the album, Minaj grapples with a whirlwind of emotions, from love, loss, grief, and newfound motherhood. On a standout track, “Let Me Calm Down,” she teams up with J. Cole as she finds herself conflicted as someone attempts to reconnect with her.

“I knew if that if it was meant to be, that one day I would let him / Twenty years later them decisions, I don’t regret them / Just wish you would give me space when I really need it / To be alone in my zone when I’m really heated,” raps Minaj on one of the song’s verses, showcasing her confusion about the place this person once had in her life.

Cole then pops in with a verse of his own, offering a special message to the song’s subject. He better get right if he wants Minaj in his life.

“They talkin’ slick and make you wanna pull a Rated-R / You like her, love her like a brother, like a manager, an A&R / Plus a therapist when it start rainin’ hard / Her life was trauma filled, it left her with a tainted heart,” he raps.

You can listen to “Let Me Calm Down” above.

Pink Friday 2 is out now via Republic. Find more information here.

Fred Again.. continues to deliver the hits. Tonight (December 8), the prolific DJ and producer has teamed up with Baby Keem for a trippy new single, “Leavemealone.”

On the song, Fred drops a hypnotic beat, featuring vocal chops and samples of Keem’s fan-favorite tracks, “Bullies” and “South Africa.”

Fred first shared the song at the Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom in Chicago during a set in August. Though, at the time, “Leavemealone” was unfinished. Still, he continued to play it at shows and festivals, before finally getting Keem to clear the sample.

As Fred Again.. continues to develop a cult-like following, In an interview with GQ Australia, he noted the feeling he gets seeing fans move to his music, and how they have interpreted it in their own ways.

“The feeling that feels most meaningful to me,” he says, “will also feel that way to other people, I think. It sounds unbelievable now, but when I was making the first sh*t, I really thought ‘this is just only for me’. And there was all sorts of anxiety and stress with trying to make just that right. So, yeah, I think that’s been a very powerful thing to see how much other people have taken that feeling in and made it their own.”

You can listen to “Leavemealone” above.

Fred Again.. is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

One of the coolest things about the In-Season Tournament semifinals came by way of the broadcasts. Both ESPN and TNT had television rights to one of the games, and instead of getting territorial, there was a ton of crossover between the two networks, whether that came in pre and postgame analysis or the broadcasts themselves, where analysts from both networks teamed up and called the game.

The best part, unsurprisingly, came at the very end of the night, when Stephen A. Smith and Michael Wilbon joined Inside the NBA. Wilbon, bless him, was largely left unscathed, because the Inside guys decided to use the crossover event to cook Smith mercilessly. Things started cordially enough, as everyone on set expressed their long-standing admiration for one another. And then, it was time for “Shaqtin’ a Fool,” which took a few playful jabs at Smith before the haymaker: His terrible first pitch at Yankee Stadium from earlier this year made it into the segment.

If this did not humble Smith, what happened next certainly did. It came time to do their final segment of the night, which was asking Smith to play “Who He Play For?” The funniest part did not involve Smith — that would go to Charles Barkley guessing that Garrett Temple plays for the New Jersey Nets, which no longer exist — but you can tell that he hated every second of this.

At the end of “Shaqtin’ a Fool,” Smith made it a point to promise that he will exact revenge.

“All I’m gonna do is remind y’all this: I got a two hour weekday show, five days a week,” Smith said. “I’m gonna get y’all. I’m gonna get y’all for this. I don’t know how yet, but I’ma get y’all.”

Tems‘ spiritual journey continues. Tonight (December 8), the Nigerian singer has shared “Not An Angel” her reflective new single on which she feels the need to move on after the end of a relationship.

Over sparse drums and pulsating beats, Tems is at more principled place, moving forward from the wreckage of a lost love.

“’Cause I’m not an angel / I’m just a girl that knows the truth / And I couldn’t save you / You couldn’t see what I’ve been through / I’ll cut my losses in peace / I don’t need nothin’ else from you /’Cause I’m not and angel / I know I did all I could do,” she sings on the song’s chorus.

Tems has become known for her personal approach to songwriting and lyricism. In an interview with Interview Magazine, she opened up about her songwriting process and how she lets her emotions lead the way.

“Sometimes I freestyle to a point where I can’t feel my feet. I’ve entered somewhere and I don’t even know where I am anymore,” she said. “I’m just pouring out my gut and then when I’m done, I don’t remember what I just did. If you didn’t record it, it’s almost as if I blacked out.”

You can listen to “Not An Angel” above.

Fred Again.. continues to deliver the hits. Tonight (December 8), the prolific DJ and producer has teamed up with Baby Keem for a trippy new single, “Leavemealone.”

On the song, Fred drops a hypnotic beat, featuring vocal chops and samples of Keem’s fan-favorite tracks, “Bullies” and “South Africa.”

Fred first shared the song at the Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom in Chicago during a set in August. Though, at the time, “Leavemealone” was unfinished. Still, he continued to play it at shows and festivals, before finally getting Keem to clear the sample.

As Fred Again.. continues to develop a cult-like following, In an interview with GQ Australia, he noted the feeling he gets seeing fans move to his music, and how they have interpreted it in their own ways.

“The feeling that feels most meaningful to me,” he says, “will also feel that way to other people, I think. It sounds unbelievable now, but when I was making the first sh*t, I really thought ‘this is just only for me’. And there was all sorts of anxiety and stress with trying to make just that right. So, yeah, I think that’s been a very powerful thing to see how much other people have taken that feeling in and made it their own.”

You can listen to “Leavemealone” above.

Fred Again.. is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

The Los Angeles Lakers ran the New Orleans Pelicans off the floor in their In-Season Tournament semifinal matchup on Thursday. Thanks to a dominant performance from LeBron James, L.A. picked up a 133-89 win to set up a showdown with the Indiana Pacers on Saturday night with the NBA Cup on the line.

Zion Williamson was among the Pelicans players who struggled on the evening, going for 13 points on 6-for-8 shooting with three rebounds and two assists in 26 minutes of work. For a player who is capable of better, it was a tough game to watch, particularly for Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley. And after the game, both Hall of Fame inductees took some time to critique Williamson for not playing like the guy that New Orleans is hoping can be the face of the franchise.

Kenny Smith asked Shaq about the players he looked up to and struggled against the most, and two immediately came to mind: David Robinson and Hakeem Olajuwon. His issue, he said, was that he didn’t work hard as he thought he was, which led to a series of takes about Williamson.

“Does not run hard — it’s not a diss, this is gonna be a lesson from one great big man to another guy that can be a great,” Shaq said. “Does not run hard. I had the same problem my first, second year — I thought I was running hard. Charles talks about this all the time, my talent’s gonna get me 20. When I start going to 20, 30, and 40, it’s because I started doing certain things.

“He doesn’t create easy points for himself,” Shaq continued. “I saw a couple times when he had a couple times at the basket, he don’t seal, right? He doesn’t demand the ball … and he doesn’t have that look. Like, I’m not the greatest athlete ever, but I know a look when I see it. In every sport, I know a look. Tiger Woods had that look, Jack Nicklas had that look. He just doesn’t have that look. And he doesn’t rebound. He does not rebound.”

Smith brought up that Shaq was only saying this because he believes Williamson can be the best player in the league, which led to Shaq saying that he used to be the same type of youngster that Williamson is right now. It was around this time that Barkley chimed in and expressed his disappointment in the Pelicans star.

“The thing that disturbs me is he’s not a young kid,” Barkley said. “When Moses [Malone] told me I was fat and lazy, I was a rookie. He’s been in the league long enough — he’s got two guys on the team that are better players than him and they shouldn’t be. He was the No. 1 pick in the Draft. He should be a better player than [Brandon] Ingram, we like Ingram. Obviously we love C.J. [McCollum]. He should be the best player and he’s not close.”

Barkley then repeated his long-standing belief that Williamson needs to get in better shape before bringing up how he doesn’t rebound enough, which has meant he’s only accrued two double-doubles in the game.

“My grandma was alive, she used to call me every game I didn’t get double-figure rebounding and just kill me,” Barkley said. “A big guy that talented should never get less than 10 rebounds. He should be averaging 11, 12 rebounds a game, but he doesn’t run the floor at all.”

Barkley did make it a point to say some of the blame falls on the Pelicans for using him as more of a point-forward, and stressed that instead of being someone who initiates the offense, he has to be “a finisher.”