On June 5, Trinidadian rapper Nicki Minaj surprised her fans by finally announcing the date of the release of her fifth album. The rapper took to Twitter to announce that her upcoming full-length album is slated to release on October 20. Excited and thrilled by the news, fans of the singer, popularly known as Barbz, got her name trending even if much remains unknown.
The tweet revealed little about the album, "10/20/23 The Album" followed by a CD and a ribbon bow emoji. Information about the album’s title is ambiguous; whether the record will be called 'The Album' or if that name is just being used as a stand-in until a later time and when the rapper would start releasing singles from it if she hasn't already.
It's also unknown which of Nicki's songs will be on the set. The singer may compile all the songs she has released since her last album's release into a new compilation-style effort, or she may decide to leave many of her most recent victories as singles and record brand-new music.
Queen, Nicki’s last album, was released in August 2018. It charted No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and had multiple major hits, such as Good Form, Chun-Li, and Barbie Dreams. Since then, Nicki has only released one compilation, Queen Radio: Volume 1, which debuted in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 in the summer of 2022.
Although Nicki hasn't put out a new album in five years, she has been quite active in the music industry. She has charted all three of her Hot 100 No. 1 singles: Say So featuring Doja Cat, Trollz featuring 6ix9ine, and her own Super Freaky Girl. She’s also been steadily releasing new music this year, including Red Ruby da Sleaze, Princess Diana, an Ice Spice collab and her Sexyy Red collab Pound Town 2. This project, which will be Minaj's fifth studio album, can be easily considered one of the most eagerly awaited releases of the year since its announcement.
Earlier this year, Nicki announced that she would be launching her record label as a subsidiary of Republic Records. While the rapper has yet to announce the name of the label, she has revealed her starting roster. These include Nana Fofie, Tate Kobang, Rico Danna and London Hill. Moreover, Nicki revealed that Patty Lauren, a longtime friend, has joined the label as A&R. Speaking about her new label, she emphasised the value of having an established artist on your side as an up-and-coming star, much as how Lil Wayne supported Minaj at the beginning of her career.