"I got 'em scared, shook, panickin'," Nicki Minaj boasts in her Eminem duet "Roman's Revenge," and anyone who's heard this one-of-a-kind MC knows she isn't kidding. Her mixtapes and guest shots made her massive — she totally stole Kanye West's "Monster," rhyming "Tonka," "Willy Wonka" and "bad bitch that came from Sri Lanka." On Pink Friday, the year's most anticipated hip-hop debut, she's already rapping about the superstar life. In the standout opener, "I'm the Best," she wonders, "Which world tour should I go on today?"

Photos: Nicki Minaj's Best Looks

Friday is surprisingly pop — there's nothing as weird or striking as her "Monster" cameo. Instead, Minaj aims for a Rihanna-style crossover approach, singing R&B choruses over electro floss and toning down her nasty side. Ri herself guests on "Fly," while Natasha Bedingfield does the hook-girl honors on "Last Chance." "Blazin" is a Kanye rematch, except this time he gets all the best lines (especially "I got two White Russians, but we also need some drinks").

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“Ambling Alp”

The "Ambling Alp" was the nickname of the six-and-a-half-foot-tall Primo Carnera. Though the song is named after the Italian-born 1930s heavyweight champion, Yeasayer are actually paying tribute to boxing legend Joe Louis with this first-person psychedelic dance-rock tune. “I was always interested in writing a song that had boxing mythology in it,” Yeasayer’s Chris Keating said. “It’s pretty fascinating: There were so many amazing characters, and it was so closely entwined with 20th century history.” Yeaseyer also invokes German champ Max Schmeling and hints at the historical significance placed on the historic bouts between the Nazi-era boxer and the African-American Louis.