Queen (Nicki Minaj album)

Queen is the fourth studio album by by Trinidadian-American rapper Nicki Minaj. It was released on August 10, 2018, through Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records and Republic Records. It is Minaj's first album in nearly four years, following The Pinkprint (2014).

Queen
Studio album by
ReleasedAugust 10, 2018 (2018-08-10)
RecordedDecember 2016 – August 9, 2018[1]
Studio
Genre
Length66:19
Label
Producer
Nicki Minaj chronology
The Pinkprint
(2014)
Queen
(2018)
Singles from Queen
  1. "Chun-Li"
    Released: April 12, 2018
  2. "Bed"
    Released: June 14, 2018
  3. "Barbie Dreams"
    Released: August 14, 2018
  4. "Good Form"
    Released: November 29, 2018

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?6.5/10[3]
Metacritic70/100[4]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [5]
Entertainment WeeklyB[6]
The Guardian    File:Star empty.svg[7]
HipHopDX3.4/5[8]
The Independent4/5 starsFile:Star full.svgFile:Star full.svgFile:Star full.svg [9]
NME3/5 starsFile:Star full.svgFile:Star full.svgFile:Star empty.svgFile:Star empty.svg[10]
Pitchfork7.6/10[11]
Rolling Stone  File:Star full.svg  [12]
Spin     [13]
Vice (Expert Witness)A–[14]

Queen was met with generally favorable reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 70, based on 22 reviews.[4]

Accolades

A summary of accolades by publication and rank
Publication Accolade Rank Ref.
Okayplayer The Best Albums of 2018 8 [15]

Track listing

Queen – Standard edition
No. TitleProducer(s) Length
1. "Ganja Burn"  J. Reid 4:54
2. "Majesty" (with Labrinth, featuring Eminem) 4:55
3. "Barbie Dreams"  
4:39
4. "Rich Sex" (featuring Lil Wayne)
  • J. Reid
  • Big Juice[b]
3:12
5. "Hard White"   3:13
6. "Bed" (featuring Ariana Grande)
3:09
7. "Thought I Knew You" (featuring the Weeknd)J. Reid 3:18
8. "Run & Hide"  
2:34
9. "Chun Swae" (featuring Swae Lee) 6:10
10. "Chun-Li"   3:11
11. "LLC"  
  • Sool
  • DJ Wes
  • JFK
3:41
12. "Good Form"   3:19
13. "Nip Tuck"  
3:27
14. "2 Lit 2 Late Interlude"   0:55
15. "Come See About Me"   4:06
16. "Sir" (featuring Future)
3:44
17. "Miami"   3:10
18. "Coco Chanel" (featuring Foxy Brown) 3:44
19. "Inspirations (Outro)"   0:58
Total length:
66:19
Queen – Digital standard edition[16]
No. TitleProducer(s) Length
20. "Fefe" (6ix9ine featuring Nicki Minaj and Murda Beatz)Murda Beatz 2:59
Total length:
70:00
Queen – Deluxe edition
No. TitleProducer(s) Length
20. "Good Form" (featuring Lil Wayne)
  • Mike Will Made It
  • Pluss
3:57
Total length:
70:16

Notes

  • ^[a]  signifies a co-producer.
  • ^[b]  signifies an additional producer.
  • "Ganja Burn" was incorrectly titled as "Ganja Burns" upon release
  • "Miami" features additional vocals by Douglas Patterson
  • "Fefe" is titled as 'FEFE' in the official tracklist and was added halfway through Queen's first week

Sample credits

  • "Barbie Dreams" contains interpolations from "Just Playing (Dreams)", written by Christopher Wallace and Rashad Smith, as performed by The Notorious B.I.G.; samples and interpolations from "Blues & Pants", written by James Brown and Fred Wesley, as performed by Brown
  • "Coco Chanel" and "Inspirations (Outro)" contain elements and samples from "Bun Up the Dance", written by Dillon Hart Francis and Sonny Moore, as performed by Dillon Francis and Skrillex

Personnel

Credits adapted from Queen album liner notes.[17]

Musicians

  • Nicki Minaj – main vocals (all tracks, featured on FEFE)
  • 6ix9ine – main vocals (track 20 (bonus))
  • Labrinth – main vocals (track 2)
  • Eminem – featured vocals (track 2)
  • Lil Wayne – featured vocals (track 4, track 20 (deluxe))
  • Ariana Grande – featured vocals (track 6)
  • The Weeknd – featured vocals (track 7)
  • Swae Lee – featured vocals (track 9)
  • Future – featured vocals (track 16)
  • Murda Beatz – featured artist (track 20 (bonus))
  • Foxy Brown – featured vocals (track 18)
  • Douglas Patterson – additional vocals (track 17)
  • Jairus Mozee – guitars (track 1)
  • Luis Resto – additional keyboards (track 2)
  • OP! – additional programming (track 3)

Production

  • Dwayne "Tha President" Carter – executive production
  • Bryan "Baby Birdman" Williams – executive production
  • Ronald "Slim tha Don" Williams – executive production
  • Nicki Minaj – co-executive production, co-production (track 10)
  • Jenny Beal – album production
  • Michelle Ayabarreno – album production
  • J. Reid – production (tracks 1, 4, 7, 10, and 21 (Target))
  • Labrinth – production (track 2)
  • Rashad "Ringo" Smith – production (track 3)
  • Mel and Mus – production (track 3)
  • Boi-1da – production (track 5)
  • Illmind – production (track 5)
  • Ben Billions – production (track 6)
  • Beats Bailey – production (track 6)
  • Dwayne "Supa Dups" Chin-Quee – production (track 6)
  • Sevn Thomas – production (track 8)
  • Rex Kudo – production (track 8)
  • Metro Boomin – production (tracks 9 and 16)
  • Sool – production (tracks 11 and 17)
  • DJ Wes – production (track 11)
  • JFK – production (track 11)
  • Mike Will Made It – production (track 12)
  • Pluss – production (track 12)
  • JMIKE – production (track 13)
  • June Nawakii – production (track 13)
  • Kane Beatz – production (track 13)
  • J Gramm – production (track 14)
  • Frank Dukes – production (track 14)
  • Christopher Braide – production (track 15)
  • Henry "Cirkut" Walter – production (track 15)
  • Zaytoven – production (track 16)
  • Murda Beatz – production (tracks 17 and 20 (bonus))
  • J Beatzz – production (tracks 18 and 19)
  • Invincible – production (track 20 (Target))
  • Messy – co-production (track 6)
  • Ashley "Blank" Bannister – co-production (tracks 18 and 19)
  • Cubeatz – co-production (track 20 (bonus))
  • Lowkey – co-production (track 20 (Target))
  • Eminem – additional production (track 2)
  • Aubry "Big Juice" Delaine – additional production (track 4)

Technical

  • Aubry "Big Juice" Delaine – record engineering (all tracks), mixing (tracks 5, 16, and 21 (Target))
  • Labrinth – record engineering (tracks 1, 2, 11, and 21 (Target))
  • Mike Strange – record engineering (track 2)
  • Joe Strange – record engineering (track 2)
  • Jeff Edwards – record engineering (track 4)
  • Manny Galvez – record engineering (track 4)
  • Shin Kamiyama – record engineering (track 7)
  • Randy Lanphaer – record engineering (track 9)
  • Swae Lee – record engineering (track 9)
  • Jeremy Reid – record engineering (track 18)
  • Wizard Lee Weinberg – record engineering (track 20 (bonus)), mixing (track 20 (bonus)), mastering engineering (track 20 (bonus))
  • Laura Bates – record engineering assistance (tracks 1, 3, 7, 10, 11, and 21 (Target)), mixing assistance (tracks 5, 10, 16, and 21 (Target))
  • Iván Jiménez – record engineering assistance (tracks 1, 10, 11, and 21 (Target)), mixing assistance (track 16)
  • Brian Judd – record engineering assistance (tracks 1, 4, 7, 9, 11, 13, and 17)
  • Nick Valentin – record engineering assistance (tracks 1, 2, 6, 8, 12–15, and 20 (Target))
  • Alex Estevez – record engineering assistance (track 2)
  • Todd Bergman – record engineering assistance (track 3)
  • Jamal Berry – record engineering assistance (tracks 4 and 15)
  • Jason Delattiboudere – record engineering assistance (track 4)
  • Ludovick Tartavel – record engineering assistance (track 5)
  • Yann Bordeo – record engineering assistance (track 5)
  • Iain Findlay – record engineering assistance (tracks 5 and 16)
  • Jordon Silva – record engineering assistance (tracks 5 and 16)
  • William Knauft – record engineering assistance (tracks 6, 11, and 15)
  • Cory Williams – record engineering assistance (tracks 9 and 14)
  • Matthew Sim – record engineering assistance (tracks 12, 17, and 18)
  • Jason Staniulis – record engineering assistance (tracks 12, 17–19)
  • Kenta Yonesaka – record engineering assistance (tracks 12, 17, and 18)
  • Shane Goodridge – record engineering assistance (tracks 18 and 19)
  • Jaycen Joshua – mixing (tracks 1, 3–5, 7, 9, 11, 12, 14, 15, 17–19)
  • Eminem – mixing (track 2)
  • Mike Strange – mixing (track 2)
  • Serban Ghenea – mixing (tracks 6 and 13)
  • Jon Castelli – mixing (tracks 8 and 20 (Target))
  • John Hanes – mixing engineering (tracks 6 and 13)
  • Ingmar Carlson – mixing engineering (track 8)
  • Josh Deguzman – mixing engineering (track 20 (Target))
  • David Nakaji – mixing assistance (tracks 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12, 14, 15, 17–19)
  • Ben Milchev – mixing assistance (tracks 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12, 14, 15, 17–19)
  • Jacob Richards – mixing assistance (track 4)
  • Rashawn Mclean – mixing assistance (track 4)
  • Mike Seaberg – mixing assistance (track 4)
  • Chris Athens – mastering (tracks 1, 3–19, 20 (Target), and 21 (Target))
  • Brian "Big Bass" Gardner – mastering (track 2)

Artwork

  • Marcus Piggott – photography
  • Mert Alas – photography
  • Jenna Marsh – creative direction
  • Joe Perez – creative direction
  • Katie McIntyre – type design, art direction assistance
  • Allen Chiu – type design drawing

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2018) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[18] 4
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[19] 19
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[20] 11
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[21] 8
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[22] 2
Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)[23] 44
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[24] 18
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[25] 8
Estonian Albums (Eesti Ekspress)[26] 11
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[27] 11
French Albums (SNEP)[28] 7
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[29] 18
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[30] 31
Irish Albums (IRMA)[31] 5
Italian Albums (FIMI)[32] 19
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[33] 80
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[34] 8
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[35] 9
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[36] 27
Scottish Albums (OCC)[37] 15
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[38] 19
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[39] 15
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[40] 5
UK Albums (OCC)[41] 5
UK R&B Albums (OCC)[42] 1
US Billboard 200[43] 2
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[44] 2

Year-end charts

Chart (2018) Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[45] 69
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[46] 40
French Albums (SNEP)[47] 185
US Billboard 200[48] 42
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[49] 25
Chart (2019) Position
US Billboard 200[50] 96
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[51] 67

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
United Kingdom (BPI)[52] Gold 100,000 
United States (RIAA)[53] Platinum 1,000,000 

xunspecified figures based on certification alone

Release history

Region Date Format Label
Various August 10, 2018
August 17, 2018 CD
November 2018
Japan September 26, 2018 CD Universal Music Japan[54]

References

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  4. 4.0 4.1 "Reviews for Queen by Nicki Minaj". Metacritic. Archived from the original on September 5, 2018. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  5. Thomas, Fred. "AllMusic Review". AllMusic. Archived from the original on August 20, 2018. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  6. "Entertainment Weekly review". August 13, 2018. Archived from the original on August 14, 2018. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  7. "Nicki Minaj: Queen review – uneasy coronation for rap's manic monarch". The Guardian. Archived from the original on August 13, 2018. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
  8. Clark, Trent (August 14, 2018). "Review: Nicki Minaj's "Queen" Is Far From A Royal Release". HipHopDX. Archived from the original on August 14, 2018. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
  9. Jukwey, Ella (August 11, 2018). "Nicki Minaj, Queen review: The most important album of her career so far". The Independent. Archived from the original on August 13, 2018. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
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  11. Younger, Briana. "Nicki Minaj: Queen Review". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on August 14, 2018. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
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  43. "Travis Scott's 'Astroworld' Spends Second Week at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart". Billboard. August 19, 2018. https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8470929/travis-scott-astroworld-no-1-second-week-billboard-200. Retrieved August 19, 2018. 
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  53. "American album certifications – Nicki Minaj – Queen". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
  54. "クイーン". Universal Music Japan. Retrieved June 17, 2020.