Author: Kara B (Twitter @karabrazey20)
The Queen in Queens. On Friday September 23, 2022 at Citi Field in Queens, NY, the lights of the Big Apple welcomed its own back home. Nicki Minaj headlined the Rolling Loud Music Festival as the first woman to be bestowed the prestige. A historic genre defining moment in a global display ofthe power of her longevity, musical impact and influence.
Fifteen years into her career, Nicki Minaj headlined the most sought out musical festival for hip hop artist and drew an estimated crowd of 250,000 concert goers. A superstar. Global icon. Legend. Nicki Minaj is the only female rapper to headline multiple SOLD OUT American and UK music festivals in 2022.
Nicki Minaj’s discography is undeniably full of classics and hits, ranging across a multitude of genres. With the ability to create setlist to perform at the drop of a dime to satisfy every musical palette. If the current crop of female rappers would stop trying to be on Nicki’s level, WITHOUT putting in the work and take a step back from the label and social media facades, they would have learned something the past few years. The lesson of investing in self to perfect your craft. That is what we witnessed on stage Friday night.
A woman who understands the power of musical versatility and not allowing herself to be a caricature of what the industry thought she should be. Nicki followed her own creative intuition, spirit and entered a realm of new possibilities when she crossed over musically. She was mocked for it and now every new female rapper, is taking the same route with no discernable talent, other than reading words off the paper given to them. 
But, that is what makes Nicki Minaj above the rest. She is of raw and pure talent, introduced to us in an era when artistry mattered, and success couldn’t be bought. There were no handouts for Nicki when she had to prove herself Young Money worthy. Which is why Nicki headlining Rolling Loud Music Festival is a game changer.
Fifteen years in, Nicki Minaj is accomplishing what the “hottest new female rappers out” are supposed to be doing. With 20, 30, 50 million in radio play at the drop of their songs and yet they aren’t headlining. That should tell you that stats can be manipulated but people buying concert tickets can’t. The math ain’t mathing and I’m going to step out on a limb and say, festival organizers areaware of the lack of organic impact and influence the Propped Jesters have. 
Nicki The Beauty & Talent!
There is no denying Nicki Minaj’s beauty and that megawatt smile. I’ve always said, Nicki’s smile is her best accessory and her only needed one. ‘Nicki with the inches’ was a complete serve. She stunned with her signature black ankle length inches. She looked good. Nicki had 2 outfit changes and her body with those curves can stop runway traffic!!!
Now, into that show stopping performance. That crowd’s energy is what rock stars dream of. They were hype and recited every song lyric word for word as if Nicki paid to see them perform. Technically, that shouldn’t be a surprise, but you must remember with all the smear campaigns and the effort they put into suppressing Nicki’s music, you have to stand back in awe. 
Nicki opened with “We Go Up” and the crowd went into an immediate uproar, rapping the lyrics with hand gestures and all. Fivio Foreign popped out live and in person nailing his verse. It’s always special when the collaborators of a song perform together,and this was the perfect moment as they are both native New Yorker’s.
We know that one verse in “We Go Up” gets the attention and honey, they rapped it with their whole chest lol. That is what gettsssss me. But the highlight of that song was Nicki’s animation when she rapped “ugly”. I live for Nicki. Lil Uzi Vert came out and they performed “The Way Life Goes” remix and it was an awesome performance. The crowd really loved Uzi and he has such an energetic stage presence. And of course, Nicki performed her classic hits like “Beez In The Trap”, “Truffle Butter” and the grand slam “Chun Li”, which the crowd rapped to as if they were new releases. It was just amazing to witness Nicki’s musical power and stage presence with your own eyes.
The crowd was already fired up, but when she said,“make some noise for my sister Bia”, a second wave of cheers came. They were ecstatic to hear “Whole Lotta Money Remix” and Bia bought the energy. She performed earlier that afternoon and her stage presence was on point. Seeing Bia and Nicki interact, it appears so genuine and loving, you can feel their admiration for each other. But that seamless transition from “Feeling Myself” to “WLMR” was chef’s kiss. Nicki and Bia have great chemistry and I look forward to hearing from #BarBia in the future. Even the backup dancers appeared to get an extra life from this song. And seeing Bia and Nicki holding hands at the end was too cute.
We knew Nicki was going to rock the stage, but we were not expecting to hear the beat drop to “Chiraq”. The crowd went into ‘go-mode’ for a 6 year-old cut. That is impact and Nicki Minaj knowing her audience.
While Nicki was off stage for her wardrobe change, DJ Boof played classic Nicki cuts, like the iconic “Itty Bitty Piggy.” Mind you, Nicki was off stage and the crowd rapped that song from beginning to end, with the enthusiasm as if it dropped the day before. To see the love and musical appreciation in real time was mesmerizing and astounding. Nicki Minaj’s catalog transcends generations which proves the power of her music. In today’s music environment, it’s about the quick hits for streaming numbers and a catchy hook that lasts for a week or two. A lot of up and coming artist lack the passion in their craft to create a song that resonates with the public for over a decade. Every rap bitch and their mother should’ve been up celebrating. Nicki destroyed the ignorance of ageism, the shunning of being a diverse musical artist and most importantly, she proved the only limit to your dreams is you.
Of course, it’s not a Nicki Minaj concert if she doesn’t perform her iconic hit classic “Super Bass”. But the real moment came as time was winding down and she performed “Moment 4 Life” acapella. It was a tearful moment for many, both at the festival and at home. The song resonates with so many of us and seeing Nicki performing it with all her heart, we felt the power of the moment. It was amazing to see and hear. Then she walked back center stage, and the thunderous roar of the crowd was probably heard for miles, as Nicki received her love and flowers from the people whose lives she has touched with her music. Well done Queen. Well done.
I want to end with this. RnB and rap music has a purpose. As a people, black people, music was a way for artist to express what was happening in their era. Music is how we communicated with each other during slavery and the Civil Rights era. Those old hymns like “Swing Low Sweet Chariot” was a way to guide slaves to safety, “Precious Lord” was sung over the phone by Mahalia Jackson to Dr. Martin Luther King when he needed encouragement to face the bigotry of white America. We will never forget Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On”, or Sam Cook’s emotional “A Change Is Gonna Come”.
When Tupac rapped “Keep Ya Head Up” it became the anthem for generations to come. Because we felt it and we needed to be told ‘its gonna be alright’. These artistsand many still to this day, use music to heal and call out societal injustices. That’s the purpose of music,to entertain and inform.
Don’t let a cosplaying caricature of the worst types of stereotypes about black women or music labels who treat the culture as a cash cow, allow you to believe black artist and their talent is not to be appreciated and respected. Don’t let bitter black women with failed and stalled musical careers cause you to turn your back on the gift that is Nicki Minaj. We need her voice. We need her music. We need Onika.