REVIEWS
on the record
Fully Booked
CONTEMPORARY FICTION
The Queen of the Tearling By Erika Johansen
POP/ROCK/PUNK
R’N’B/HIP-HOP
The Pinkprint By Nicki Minaj
Miss Minaj is back with a rap vengeance,
and you know what? It’s as fierce and amazing as her attention-grabbing music videos. Admit it, when Nicki’s good, she’s very, very good, and we’ve heard plenty of new material from her upcoming third studio album, The Pinkprint: there’s the big-booty anthem Anaconda; the captivating ballad Pills N Potions; the Soulja Boy featuring Yasss Bish!; as well as the catchy Chi-Raq. And, thanks to an accidental track-list leak from Amazon France, we now know that the 16-song record will feature the likes of Ariana Grande and Beyonce (fitting as Nicki recently revealed in an MTV interview that this album’s title is a nod to Jay-Z’s famous ’01 LP, The Blueprint). We can tell you what we DON’T want from The Pinkprint - no cartoonish wigs and silly costumes and definitely no guest spots from underwhelming rappers (*ahem Lil Wayne). What we do want is a back to basics Nicki Minaj with her unmistakeable cut-throat lyrics, aggressive delivery, and priceless zingers, just like her early days!
American Beauty/ American Psycho
By Fall Out Boy When Fall Out Boy made their longawaited comeback in 2013 with the chart-topping album Save Rock and Roll, fans, and needless to say, music-lovers everywhere, were quick to voice how impressive the record was (we still sing along to My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up) at the top of our voice!). So, when the four-piece announced, on the famous Zane Lowe radio show, that the band’s sixth album will be released in Jan 2015, it’s no wonder we felt a mix of anxiety and excitement all at once. The title track, American Beauty/American Psycho, is a wild song. In all honesty, it didn’t grab us like the previous album’s hits, but we’re secretly hoping it’ll grow on us. On a more positive note, other previews off the album, including Centuries, and Immortals (on the Big Hero 6 soundtrack), were more like the pop-punk stalwarts sound that loyal fans will appreciate.
“In all honesty, it didn’t grab us like the previous album’s hits, but we’re secretly hoping it’ll grow on us.”
It’s Kelsey Glynn’s 19th birthday and she is being escorted, by soldiers, back to her place of birth, to take possession of what’s rightfully hers - the throne to her kingdom. Kelsea’s character is truly, rebellious, and, like many teens, she has high principles and believes she knows better than her elders. Kelsea will either become the most fearsome ruler the kingdom has ever known . . . or be dead within the week. If you’ve just read something so epic as Game of Thrones, or something as gripping as the world of The Hunger Games, then don’t expect to be thrilled with this read. BUT, if you’re looking for light fantasy with a butt-kicking heroine then this is the book for you.
BIOGRAPHY/NON-FICTION
City of Lies
By Ramita Navai Interestingly written and brimming with insights; City of Lies consists of eight intimate written portraits of eight Tehranian souls. Navai reveals their lives, their times, and (more often than not) their crimes, at least in the eyes of Iranian authorities, in a city where people are seemingly living one life publicly and another privately. Navai writes that it’s a place where “truth has become a secret,” in a book that provides a rich, absorbing and exotic insider’s glimpse into the local personalities, the unremarkable busy bodies and hysterical intrigues buzzing about the city.
fact magazine
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