It was the perfect message in a performance that closed out Minaj’s headline-making week: tweets about her lack of VMAs nominations turned into a Twitter debate with Taylor Swift, and boyfriend Meek Mill — more on him soon — called out Drake for ghostwriting his raps, mentioning Minaj in his shade-laden tweets. (He apologized to Minaj, but, for the record, still thinks Drake and his comeback track are “soft.” We know this because he said so while opening for Minaj.)
Minaj seemed unfazed about whatever waves she made last week. Her main goal was making sure everyone knew she’s still at the top of her game with The Pinkprint, her 2014 album, which was her most personal and provocative collection to date.
She barreled through career highlights (“Superbass,” “Monster,” “Pound The Alarm”) and Pinkprint hits (“The Night Is Still Young,” “Crying Game,” “All Things Go”), brought out guest star and mentor Lil Wayne, shared an onstage love fest with Meek Mill, invited fans on stage to sing “Whip It,” and reminded us that she’s rap music’s queen.
“Stop hating on people and start living your life,” Minaj said to the crowd in one of a handful of heartfelt monologues. “There will always be petty people in your life. Don’t even give them a tenth of your energy. Eventually everyone who doesn’t have your best interest at heart will fall away.”
From there, Minaj easily transformed from feminist rapper to sincere balladeer and back again. She became all the characters in her discography, weaving between lyrics about cunnilingus, falling in love and independence, never letting on that something was amiss even while fumbling a few verses here and there. It didn’t matter, though, since the audience was able to fill in the blanks for her.
