Kristin Robinson writes about Nicki Minaj's use of samples on Pink Friday 2.

Writing that

"The new album contains prominent samples or interpolations on nine of its 22 tracks. That's representative of a wider industry trend."

She continues

The opening seconds of Pink Friday 2 sound a lot more like a Billie Eilish record than a Nicki Minaj one.

That’s because the album’s first track, “Are You Gone Already,” is built on top of a sped-up sample of Eilish’s “When the Party’s Over,” particularly its harmonized intro.

But Minaj doesn’t stop there.

Nine of the 22 tracks on Pink Friday 2 contain a prominent sample (using a section of a previous recording) or interpolation (using a section of a previous melody or lyric without its original recording) of a previous song, from the Notorious B.I.G. sample in “Barbie Dangerous” to the Blondie sample in “My Life.”

Kristin also writes about the financial aspect of using samples in the article.

"While there are great potential upsides to these samples and interpolations, there’s a catch: Minaj will have to share a sizable portion of her publishing and master ownership with the rights holders of those older songs. "

Typically, the more integral the sample or interpolation is to the new song, the more leverage the sample or interpolation rights holders have. Ariana Grande‘s “7 Rings” famously had to cede 90% of its publishing to the owners of the Rodgers and Hammerstein catalog because the melody of “My Favorite Things” was such an essential part of “7 Rings.” she explained

Kristen also listed a breakdown of every sample and interpolation on Pink Friday 2.

1. “Are You Gone Already”
Sample: “When the Party’s Over” by Billie Eilish

2. “Barbie Dangerous”
Sample: “Notorious Thugs” by Notorious B.I.G. and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony

3. “FTCU”
Sample: “Fuck The Club Up” by Wacka Flocka Flame (Ft. Pastor Troy & Slim Dunkin)

4. “Beep Beep”

5. “Fallin 4 U”

6. “Let Me Calm Down” (ft. J. Cole)

7. “RNB” (ft. Lil Wayne and Tate Kobang)

8. “Pink Birthday”
Sample: “Pornography” by Travis Scott

9. “Needle” (ft. Drake)

10. “Cowgirl” (ft. Lourdiz)

11. “Everybody” (ft. Lil Uzi Vert)
Sample: “Move Your Feet” by Junior Senior
Interpolates: “I Just Wanna Rock” by Lil Uzi Vert

12. “Big Difference”

13. “Red Ruby Da Sleeze“
Sample: “Never Leave You Uh Oooh, Uh Oooh” by Lumidee

14. “Forward From Trini” (ft. Skillibeng and Skeng)

15. “Pink Friday Girls“
Sample: “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” by Cindi Lauper

16. “Super Freaky Girl”
Sample: “Can’t Touch This” by MC Hammer and “Super Freak” by Rick James

17. “Bahm Bahm”

18. “My Life“
Sample: “Heart Of Glass” by Blondie

19. “Nicki Hendrix” (ft. Future)

20. “Blessings” (ft. Tasha Cobbs Leonard)

21. “Last Time I Saw You”

22. “Just The Memories”

You can read the full article here.