Dig These Discs :: Nicki Minaj, K. Michelle, Charli XCX, 5 Seconds Of Summer

Newcomer Charlie XCX drops her second studio album this month, and it's a stunner. K. Michelle gets sultry and slow in her second album, and Nicki Minaj shows her true (and almost obscenely filthy) self in her third studio album, "The Pinkprint." Aussie newcomers 5 Seconds of Summer release their debut live album in front of thousands of screaming girls in LA. Snow is falling, and the volume is rising with Dig These Discs!

"The Pinkprint" (Nicki Minaj)

Imagine my simultaneous horror and delight when my eight-year-old niece performed the choreography from the highly sexual Nicki Minaj video "Anaconda," with samples from Sir Mix-a-Lot's "Baby Got Back." Her moves were alarmingly perfect. The runaway hit single has proven to be a launch pad for her third studio album, "The Pinkprint," which drops this month on the Young Money label -- the lucky bastards who took a chance a few years ago with an unknown, pink-wigged, big-assed lady rapper. Although she's toned down her wild looks, Minaj's tunes are still over-the-top jaw droppers. She promises a return to her original, Jamaica, Queens mix-tape vibe with this new album chock full of songs -- a total of 22 cuts in the deluxe edition. She tries to forward the image of a strong woman, but many of the songs are about exes, longing for the past and an awful lot of pill popping. She starts with "All Things Go," referencing an abortion 16 years ago and the death of her young cousin. She goes with a slow synth sound in "I Lied" with Jessie Ware, and her old-school style comes out in "The Crying Game" as she raps about an abusive relationship, blood on her Asian rug, with those fast sing-song end rhymes that made her a household name. Rap meets pop in "Get On Your Knees" with help from Ariana Grande, a dominatrix-themed song with Minaj rapping, "Got a bow on my panties because my ass is a present." She teams up with Beyonce for "Feeling Myself," and pays tribute to Biggie in "Four Door Aventador." She swears she didn't fuck Wayne or Drake in "Only," and says, "Who had Kanye saying 'she a problem'?" in "Want Some More," rapping at her lightning-fast pace. After comments from Hot 97 dogging her single "Starships" as being too poppy caused her to turn her back on their Summer Jam concert, she responds in the R&B tune "Favorite" with a wink and nod to morning-show host Peter Rosenberg. Meek Mill puts his love up for sale in "Buy a Heart" and Lunchmoney Lewis adds flair to "Trini Dem Girls." Back-to-back cuts "Anaconda" and "The Night Is Still Young" are among the best of the album. Her hit singles include the R&B/hip-hop piano ballad "Pills n Potions," which sounds more like a Rihanna track than Minaj's typical fare. "Bed of Lies" is a slow song with pianos with guest vocals from Skylar Grey and fast rapping with Minaj, like, "put you in the crib and you ain't never pay a bill in it." "Grand Piano" follows a similar format. Critics have commented that only Minaj's six bonus tracks will redeem an album made up of mostly misses, with big shout-outs for "Shanghai," "Win Again," "Mona Lisa," and the radio-ready cut, "Truffle Butter" with Drake and Lil Wayne. Still, they also concede that it's her best album to date. And it's certainly ambitious. Whether you love her or hate her, it's far too late to deny it: Nicki Minaj is on the scene, and her bodacious ass isn't the only thing that's banging! She's truly skilled, and as promised, she's laid a blueprint (ahem, Pinkprint) for female rappers to come.
(Cash Money/Republic/Young Money Entertainment)

"Sucker" (Charli XCX)

Charlotte Emma Itchison, aka English sister Charli XCX, drops her second major label studio album this month, with help from Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo and Vampire Weekend's Rostam Batmanglij. It's not even out yet, but critics have already rated it one of the top albums of the year. She wrote the album so that girls could have a sense of empowerment, said Charli XCX, adding, "I think the album's very in your face from the first song. There is an aggression on the record and I think there's a very knowing, tongue-in-cheek tone to it all." The pop singer has already had phenomenal success with singles "Fancy" with Iggy Azalea, and "Boom Clap," not to mention the Icona Pop hit "I Love It," which she wrote. She launches her 13-track album with "Sucker," in which Charli says, "I'm a killer now." Her second single, "Break the Rules," dropped earlier this year, and it's a pounding, sexy pop stunner. She puts on the full English accent for the '80s punk pounder "London Queen." "Breaking Up" is easy to do, and your kiss is like a drug in her breakout hit, "Boom Clap." The scratchy electric guitars on "Gold Coins" evoke the post-punk era, and tunes like "Hanging Around" and "Need Ur Luv" have that simple three-cord vibe that makes them highly listenable. Charli is "Doing It" in the sassy track, and rocks like a motherfucker in the addictive, fast-moving "Body Of My Own." It's followed by the equally catchy cut, "Famous," which she says isn't about fame, but about going to a party and acting like an asshole. This talented young artist has extreme levels of potential to work with, and it's anyone's guess how far she'll go. For now, you can catch her live across the pond; Charli XCX will launch an eight-date UK tour on March 24, 2015.
(Asylum Records/Atlantic/Neon Gold)

"Anybody Wanna Buy a Heart?" (K Michelle)

K. Michelle hits the scene with her sultry voice, and a dozen new songs on her new album, "Anybody Wanna Buy a Heart?" She kicks things off with "Judge Me," defying anyone to deny they are human, just like her. "I broke another heart today, and I didn't care, I just walked away," she sings in the album's first single, "Love 'Em All," a production of Lil' Ronnie, Shea Taylor and B.A.M. It's a mix between R&B and rock, and it hits its mark. The beats run steady in "Going Under" as she samples the Grandmaster Flash slice, "It's like a jungle sometimes makes me wonder how I keep from going under." Piano classes up "How Do You Know?" And "Hard To Do" is a classic R&B cut, in the vein of Mary J. Blige's early tracks. "Maybe I Should Call" is the real-life tale of an old flame, and gives K. Michelle a chance to show off her vocal range. She gets funky with no regrets in "Something About the Night," singing, "is it the way you act like you don't care when I'm the only one who'll kiss you there, you know it's true." She delves into regrets but doesn't miss his lies in "Miss You, Goodbye," and counts off the men she let go in "Build a Man." Does she pick that 'right' man in "Drake Would Love Me"? We'll have to keep an eye on the gossip rags for that one. She even touches on country music in "God I Get It." Michelle said she loves the traditional instrumentation and captivating harmony of country, and she said the song is God "trying to help me and send me signs. I have to do better." This fall, she will launch her own VH1 series, "K. Michelle My Life," where you can learn more about this up and coming new artist, and see what else she is doing better.
(Atlantic Records)

"5 Seconds of Summer" (5 Seconds of Summer)

Australian pop rock/punk band 5 Seconds of Summer are a bunch of real cuties, but the quartet of Luke Hemmings, Michael Clifford, Calum Hood and Ashton Irwin reject the idea that they're a boy band. The former YouTube celebs toured with One Direction, but now they're here with their self-titled debut album, a collection of 16 live mixes of fan favorites. The first single, "She Looks So Perfect" is their actual first-ever single, released in February. Their second single, "Don't Stop," debuted at Number 2 on the UK Singles Chart, with an infectious hook that critics loved. 5 Seconds' third single, the slow cut "Amnesia," was one of the few not written by the band members, but by Good Charlotte, and has been embraced for their "affecting vocal performance." They start the album off with the flirty tune "18" and get wistful over a past romance in "Out of My Limit." They sing about being a fool for playing by the rules in "Disconnected" and wish to be back with her in "Beside You," which has a killer drum break. "Everything I Didn't Say" is another song about breakups and regret, which seems to be the M.O. of this band, to the delight of their legions of teenage fans eager to believe that their exes are wracked with guilt and pain over leaving them. Rather than wasting time alone, they're taking the "Long Way Home," with her, and they've got "Good Girls" sneaking out of the house to be bad. They perform some covers, including Green's Day's "American Idiot," a nod to their punk-pop standing, as well as The Romantics "What I Like About You," and "She Looks So Perfect" by Ed Sheeran. The album was taped in Los Angeles, and if the sound of an entire audience of girls singing along to every word is any indication, these guys have found a successful niche as a boy band, whether they like it or not. They've got their 5 seconds; now it's up to them how long they stay in the spotlight.
(Capitol Records)