Minaj’s upcoming album Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded is named for her male alter ego Roman Zolanski — whom she channels on her monstrous rapid-fire raps (as opposed to her tarted-up Barbie-esque persona from her first album) — and this Grammy performance was a preview of what we can expect from her album. She took Lady Gaga’s pop performance art and combined it with spitfire rhymes for an erratic, off-the-wall effort that left most people confused. Minaj adopted a well-worn pop-music theme — naughty Catholic imagery — and managed to still make it shocking. But while Gaga’s performances are usually easy to understand (when she torches a bed while singing about a “Bad Romance,” the message is clear), Minaj’s work feels a little convoluted. Is it our fault for not understanding or hers for not communicating? Probably a little bit of both.
Grade: B–