Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded – The Re-Up
Studio album (reissue) by Nicki Minaj
Released	November 19, 2012
Recorded	2012
Genre	Hip hop dance-pop R&B
Length	101:30
Label	Young Money Cash Money Universal Republic
Producer	Carl Falk Nicholas Cooper Jean Baptise Rico Beats Boi-1da BlackOut Movement Cirkut Crazy Mike DJ Diamond Kuts Dr. Luke Flippa123 Grizzlee Hit Boy Parker Ighile Jimmy Joker Jonas Jeberg Juicy J Kane Ke'Noe Kool Kojak Stephen Kozmeniuk Alex Da Kid The Maven Boys Mel & Mus Oak Felder Alex P Party Animal RedOne J.R. Rotem Nikhil Seetharam T-Minus Pop Wansel Rami Yacoub
Nicki Minaj chronology
Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded (2012) Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded – The Re-Up (2012) The Pinkprint (2014)
Singles from Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded – The Re-Up
"The Boys" Released: September 13, 2012 "Freedom" Released: November 2, 2012 "High School" Released: April 16, 2013

Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded – The Re-Up is the reissue of rapperNicki Minaj's second album,Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded (2012). It was released on November 19, 2012, byYoung Money Entertainment,Cash Money Records andUniversal Republic Records. Released seven months after the original,The Re-Up features seven newly recorded songs and an exclusive behind-the-scenes footageDVD. The new material incorporateship hop,dance-pop andR&B styles. As co-executive producer, Minaj enlisted collaboratorsBoi-1da,Juicy J andT-Minus.

Upon its release,Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded – The Re-Up received generally positive reviews from music critics, who complimented the balanced variety of genres. Its three singles "The Boys", "Freedom", and "High School" peaked at numbers 41, 31, and 20 on the USBillboardHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart respectively, and the latter peaked at number 64 on theBillboardHot 100. The album was additionally promoted through thePink Friday: Reloaded Tour and Minaj's performance of "Freedom" at the 2012American Music Awards.

At the2012 MTV Video Music Awards, Minaj announced thereissue ofPink Friday: Roman Reloaded, commenting "I'm putting lots of new songs on there and I'm actually going to drop my new single like next week. Barbz, you are gonna spaz. You are gonna love it. You are gonna go crazy!"^[1] Its artwork was released the following month, featuring an image of Minaj from the music video of her song "I Am Your Leader".^[2] In November, she added that the expanded album would contain an additional disc with seven newly recorded songs and an exclusive behind-the-scenesDVD to supplement the standard edition of the original album.^[3] The project served as the main focus of her three-partE! specialNicki Minaj: My Truth.^[4]

"High School"

A sample of "High School" by Nicki Minaj featuring Lil Wayne, which incorporates prominent elements ofhip hop.

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Minaj commented onOn Air with Ryan Seacrest that "I feel like the music is such a better representation of me where I am now as an artist in my career. As long as people can hear the music, I'm good."^[5] Much of the new material incorporateship hop andR&B styles previously seen in Minaj's earlier mixtapes. The opening track "Up in Flames" incorporates a "slow, heavy and melodramatic beat", where Minaj addresses her wealth and delivers negative remarks directed towards her adversaries.^[6][7] The second song "Freedom" was compared to material from her debut studio albumPink Friday (2010);^[8] it utilizes minimal production^[9] and reflects on Minaj's rise to prominence.^[8] The third song "Hell Yeah" features Parker and further criticizes Minaj's opponents. She references her much-publicized on-set tension with fellowAmerican Idol judgeMariah Carey in the line "But I'm quick to check a bitch if she’s outta line" and references the series' personnel in the line "Shout outMike Darnell andNigel [Lythgoe] / Why these bums so mad that the queen onIdol".^[10]

The fourth track "High School" featuresLil Wayne and discusses sexual desires with a man who had been in prison.^[11] The fifth song "I'm Legit" featuresCiara and was characterized by having "snappy flows" and being "primed for the streets and clubs".^[10] The sixth track "I Endorse These Strippers" featuresTyga and Brinx; its lyrics were described by Sal Cinquemani ofSlant as "less clever than inexcusably archaic".^[12] The seventh song "The Boys" features American recording artistCassie. It incorporates both hip hop andelectropop influences,^[13] and has been described as a "girls' night anthem".^[14] The final track "Va Va Voom" was previously included on the original deluxe version ofPink Friday: Roman Reloaded, and also contains prominent electropop styles.^[15]

"The Boys", a collaboration withCassie, was released as the lead single fromThe Re-Up on September 13, 2012.^[16] The song peaked at number 41 on the USBillboardHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.^[17] Its music video premiered throughVevo on October 18, 2012.^[18]

"Freedom" was released as the second single digitally throughiTunes on November 2, 2012.^[19] The song peaked at number 31 on theBillboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.^[17] Its music video premiered on106 and Park on November 19, 2012.^[20]

The third single "High School" featuresLil Wayne and was released on April 16, 2013.^[21] The song peaked at number 64 on theBillboardHot 100, and at number 20 on theBillboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.^[17][22] Its music video was released byMTV on April 2, 2013.^[23]

In 2021, the track "I'm Legit", featuringCiara received a resurgence almost 9 years since its original release onTikTok, being used in many videos.

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	72/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[24]
Boston Phoenix	[25]
The Independent	[26]
Los Angeles Times	[10]
Slant Magazine	[12]

Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded - The Re-Up received generally positive reviews frommusic critics. AtMetacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received anaverage score of 72, based on eight reviews, an improvement over the average score of 60 received by the original release ofRoman Reloaded.^[27][28] David Jeffries ofAllMusic opined that "the too-popRoman Reloaded now feels more balanced once this eight-track EP worth of material tips the scales", adding that the additional tracks and DVD is "the better deal and bigger picture" than the original.^[24] Dan Weiss of theBoston Phoenix complimented Minaj's rapping, commenting that "the rapper who rhymes "fri-vo-lous" with "po-ly-ga-mist" is X-Acto sharp as ever".^[25] TheLos Angeles Times' Gerrick D. Kennedy noted the variety of genres incorporated in the reissue, stating "Sure, she flirts withdance pop andR&B balladry, but you can forgive her for wanting to satisfy different tastes. Here, it actually works".^[10] Andy Gill ofThe Independent provided a mixed review, feeling that the material was generic and "does not add much to the Minaj experience".^[26]Slant Magazine's Sal Cinquemani criticized the lyrical content and featured guests, adding that "as long as [Minaj] keeps comparing herself to Jesus, we probably shouldn't hold our breath".^[12] Kyle Anderson ofEntertainment Weekly panned the album and placed it at number two on his list of The Worst Albums Of The Year, writing that the album was "soul-less, lazy, and totally unnecessary."^[29]

Charting together with the originalPink Friday: Roman Reloaded (according to the rules byBillboard),The Re-Up sold 36,000 copies in first-week sales and rose eighty spots on the USBillboard 200, from number 107 to number 27, with a 591% sales gain.^[30] An associate fromBillboard commented on the commercial performance ofThe Re-Up stating that "expanded reissues aren't always guaranteed big sellers. It really depends on the extra content and timing of the release ... Nicki's reissue was seemingly timed to profit from holiday shopping", also adding that the sales ofThe Re-Up were actually better than similar reissues by Minaj's contemporaries.^[31] In New Zealand, the album charted withinRoman Reloaded release and debuted at twenty-one.^[32]

Minaj commented that of the album's limited availability, "it's hard to get the album because the stores basically said that the last few re-releases [stores] had put out did not do well and they didn't want to take a chance. Target and Wal-Mart are not selling the album, and Target is actually my biggest retailer. Best Buy only took limited [stock] because they wanted to play it safe. It kinda sets you up to fail."^[33]Walmart responded that they do not issue albums with theParental Advisory label, whileTarget sold the record on their website anyway.^[31]

Notes

• (*) Denotes co-producer.

Credits adapted fromAllmusic.^[14]

Performance

Producers

Technical

Notes

• A^ In these territories,The Re-Up was combined with the original chart entry forPink Friday: Roman Reloaded, and thus re-entered the chart as one release.

• 2012 compilation albums
• Albums produced by Alex da Kid
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• Cash Money Records albums
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