Opening with “All Things Go” and flowing into “The Crying Game,” she played the dark character up while a ballerina clad in white fluttered around her. Not the bubblegum-cartoon Minaj of yesteryear. Minaj stepped on stage dressed in all-black lace, her head draped in a veil and her expression hauntingly serious. Here are the 7 things we learned at the Nicki Minaj concert. To see her live is to understand how this 5-foot-2-inch girl raised in Queens became the most-charted female rapper in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 and winner of four American Music Awards, eight BET Awards and five Billboard Music Awards. Minaj brings her songs to life in ways that radio and music videos cannot. Seeing Minaj is not the same as just listening to her. She’s a performer, tried and true, who taps into as many facial expressions and vocal stylings as possible to diversify her songs and reach an audience of varying demographics. She’s also funny, stern, sensitive, passionate and right at home on the stage. She’s the epitome of that saying, “Not everyone’s cup of tea, but definitely someone’s shot of tequila.” She’s dramatic. When Minaj’s name is brought up in small talk, a range of reactions usually ensue.
Nicki Minaj brought The Pinkprint Tour to Sleep Train Amphitheatre on Thursday night, a dynamic spectacle of the superstar’s talent, her range in characters and of course, her famous backside.