Arriving on our shores for her first headline run since her
breakout over the past couple of years, US rap superstar Nicki Minaj plays to a
packed out crowd here at the NIA tonight, which is suspiciously cut in half for
a show that sold out in seconds – had promoters had the foresight to realise
the rush for tickets would be as frantic as it was, then they surely would have
opened up the entire arena; this girl could have sold the tickets, and the anticipation
is huge, as a packed crowd awaits her arrival on stage.
Stooshe open things up, and while I only caught the latter parts of their set, their latest single Black Heart went down a storm, and with their current chart success, they look to be one of the break out acts of the year if they can keep their current form up.
When it comes to current form though, Minaj is on fire, her
voice being almost everywhere over the past year or so. She has guested on
tracks with almost everyone imaginable, all while putting together her
sophomore cut, the outstanding Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded. The album is one of
the best albums released so far this year, and she comes over to the UK riding
high on considerable chart success all over the world.
Her “Barbz” are out in force tonight too, ready to witness
their idol in action, and her Minajesty does not disappoint. Cracking through a
set that consists of 20 plus songs (although some are only performed in part)
she raids her catalogue for some of her biggest hits to date.
She opens with a vicious and hard hitting run through of her
more pointed rap numbers, the likes of Did It On’ Em and Stupid Hoe sounding as
emphatic as their recorded counterparts, and the likes of I Am Your Leader and
Beez In The Trap come out early too, to rapturous applause.
What is noticeable early on, something which is a recurrent
theme throughout, is that there are a number of occasions where only part of a
song is played, rather than the track in full, which is what you would
conventially expect. I’m still not entirely sure that I follow the logic behind
such an approach, but this is not the first (nor the last) time that this will
take place. It seems to be happening more and more these days. It gives the set
a great energy, as the songs flow thick and fast with highlights coming just as
quick; the downside only really being evident on those numbers that you really want
to hear in full, and which you are sometimes robbed of; the problem of such a
view I suppose is that any view on this is so subjective that people will
always have differing views as to the “essential” cuts that must be played in
full.
It doesn’t ruin the spectacle though, and Nicki Minaj puts
on one hell of a show, backed with dancers, costume changes and stage sets
which punctuate her show tonight, while her hits rain down thick and fast. She
is on top form, in fine voice, and is simply awesome in this surrounding.
Moment For Life is as epic as you would expect, but the
highlight of the set comes in the form of the dance based segment. It takes in Automatic,
recent single Starships, the heart stopping Pound The Alarm and Whip It, all of
which form the killer core of her recent album, and sees her transcend her rap
roots into an altogether more commercially accessible sound. My personal view
is that this is where she operates best, even when considering her incredible
rap talent; these songs are anthems, and see the set soar, having the same
effect on the live show as it does to the recorded output.
This aside though, there are great moments where she raps like
her life depends on it, and she even manages to delve into some of her latest
collaborations, pulling out the likes of the Guetta-spun Where Them Girls At?
And Turn Me On, two further moments of great power, with huge choruses, and which
get the crowd singing every word right back at their hero. She even digs a
little further into her locker on occasion to gift her Birmingham fans with
rarer cuts from her mixtape output from back in the early days, paying tribute
to those fans who have been with her from the very beginning.
Overall, it is a highly accomplished and hit-packed live
show, giving the people exactly what they want. As she closes out on a huge
Bedrock, followed by the irrepressible Super Bass (following a nice exchange
with a number of fans she invites onto the stage), Birmingham are left in no
doubt that they have just spent the evening with a bona fide superstar, and
someone who is going to be at the top of the game for a very long time.
Minaj is utterly unique in her style and her talents, and
quite simply there is no-one else on the planet right now who could sound
anything like her. It is this eccentricity and dominance in a field of one that
has seen her transcend the scene and blur the boundaries between innumerable
numbers of genre; this girl is the real deal, and her star will only continue
its ascent in the coming months.
Setlist - Roman's Revenge / Did It On 'Em / I Am Your Leader / Beez In The Trap / Stupid Hoe / Dance (A$$) / Right By My Side / Moment 4 Life / Automatic / (DJ Interlude) / Starships / Pound The Alarm / Whip It / Where Them Girls At? / Turn Me On / Till The World Ends (DJ Interlude) / Save Me / Fire Burns / Marilyn Monroe / (DJ Interlude) / Fly (DJ Interlude) / Roman Reloaded / Come On A Cone / HOV Lane / Bedrock / Super Bass
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