Nicki Minaj’s fifth studio album, Pink Friday 2, was released on December 8, 2023, and came with several records that gained mass popularity on social media. Among them was “FTCU,” which Minaj teased a remix of on April 4, 2024, with a tweet to Sexyy Red: “You got your verse for ‘FTCU’? Finna drop the remix, [Sexyy Red].”
“FTCU” debuted at No. 42 on the Billboard Hot 100, while the Drake-assisted “Needle” entered at No. 34 and “Everybody” featuring Lil Uzi Vert at No. 26. The album’s release was initially scheduled for October 20, 2023, but was delayed due to “some really exciting news” that Minaj would share at a later time[2].
Minaj and Red previously collaborated on “Pound Town 2,” a remix of Red’s 2023 hit. Red praised Minaj for her dedication to music, saying, “She’s a sweet person, and you can really tell she’s really serious about her music… She gave me some of the best advice that I know I’ll always come back to”[1].
Pink Friday 2 follows Minaj’s 2018 album, Queen, and is a sequel to her monumental 2010 debut, Pink Friday. The album includes collaborations with J. Cole, Drake, Lil Wayne, Future, Lil Uzi Vert, 50 Cent, Monica, and Keyshia Cole, among others[5].
Upon its release, Pink Friday 2 debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, making Minaj the first female rapper in history to have three number-one albums. It earned over 228,000 album-equivalent units in its first week, with 92,000 coming from pure album sales, and achieved the largest vinyl sales week by a female rapper in history[5].
Minaj embarked on the Pink Friday 2 World Tour in March 2024 to promote the album[5].