Music Review: Nicki Minaj "Pound The Alarm"

Nicki Minaj

Pound The Alarm

Album: Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded

Year: 2012

          Nicki Minaj gets drunk and parties hard at an exotic locale in the worldly “Pound The Alarm.”

                A calming steel drum opens the single, setting a tropical tone. It’s followed by a siren, getting instant attention. The pre-chorus starts the single. Laser lights are flashing in the club, switching from one direction to the next, and changing colors. She shows her glass to the nearest server and orders another Patron for herself. From the second floor, she observes the dance floor, spotting the DJ checking his playlist on his laptop. Once he looks up, she waves to him and he nods back. She and her friends adjust their clothing and check their makeup. They are ready to dance. (“Oh, oh, oh, come fill my glass up a little more/We 'bout to get up, and burn this floor/You know we getting hotter, and hotter/Sexy and hotter, let's shut it down.”)

           At the club, she wants be the person everyone envies and wants to know. She brings an entourage with her. Partying in Ibiza Town is where everyone wants to be seen and she intends on being noticed. She’s wearing custom-made shoes made by Italian designer Giuseppe Zannotti and skintight dress. A friend of hers comments on her shoes. She has connections and friends high up in the industry, telling she can contact her people about maybe getting something for her, too. She looks at the other women in the club with sequined halter tops and thigh length mini skirts. She spots some women dressed in a bit more modest attire and tells her friend she’s going to hang with them. She’s going to show them a good time and corrupt them some. It will be a night they won’t forget. Her friends laugh, saying she’s trouble as she downs her drink. She shrugs. She’s proud of her attitude and will say whatever’s on her mind as she walks downstairs to the main dancefloor.  (“Yo, what I gotta do to show these girls that I own them/Some call me Nicki, and some call me Roman/Skeeza, pleeza, I'm in Ibiza (whoa)/Giuseppe Zannotti my own sneaker/Sexy, sexy that's all I do/If you need a bad bitch/Let me call a few/Pumps on and them little mini skirts is out/I see some good girls, I'm a turn 'em out/Ok bottle, sip, bottle, guzzle/I'm a bad bitch, no muzzle, what?/Bottle, sip, bottle, guzzle/I'm a bad bitch, no muzzle, let's go.”)

       In the second pre-chorus, the synths are hitting their peak as she has her hands raised. She’s going to stay on the floor all night.  (“Music, makes me, high/Oh, oh, oh, come fill my glass up a little more…sexy and hotter, let's shut it down.”)

         In the-chorus, she waits for the siren to go off in the song, reverberating around the room, calling for immediate action. The synths scratch, clawing at the notes, shredding the notes.  (“Pound the alarm!/Pound the alarm!”)

        She sees a man ordering a drink by the bar and chatting with the bartender. He gestures, his eyes growing wide with excitement as he tells his story, and she’s entranced by him. She walks up to him and introduces herself. She tells him she’s interested and if he would like, they can home tonight. She’s says it’ll just be a one-night stand, nothing more. He agrees and they walk to the dance floor. (“I wanna do it for the night, night/So get me now, and knock this over/I wanna do it like you like, like/Come get me, baby, we're not getting younger/I just want you tonight, night/Baby, we won't do it for life, life.”)

          The  pre-chorus is sung again.

          In the second chorus, she repeats adds “the Alarm!” four times to the chorus.

           The first pre-chorus is sung again
 

          The chorus is sung again, with an extra “pound the alarm” to end the single.

         Minaj’s adminstrative, swaggering  vocals snap as she runs the evening.  She’s the star and it’s up to her to set the tone for the night. She’s comfortable where she is and in control. The indulgence is to be expected.

The glamorous “Pound The Alarm” is drenched with sweat and glitter, carrying around its scuffed heels into the early morning in time to see the sun rise over Café del Mar.