Nicki Minaj premieres two songs from her upcoming album, Pink Friday 2.
Minaj performs at the 2023 VMAs.
Pink is undoubtedly the color of 2023. If anyone heard this memo, it was Nicki Minaj. “Heard” might not be the right word; “dictated” is more fitting. Starting with her participation in the Barbie album and coming to a head with her upcoming album, Pink Friday 2, Minaj has been hyper-feminizing rap’s latest music since July, leaving a pink-colored world in her wake. This aesthetic is certainly not new for the rapper. Occupying a genre dominated by men, Minaj has always capitalized on her identity as a woman. She’s subverted audience’s expectations of stereotypical femininity through her identity as an unrelentingly powerful and confident rapper, while simultaneously bringing as much attention as possible to her femininity through her overtly-sexual music videos, lyrics, and outfits. Hyper-femininity is even baked into her fans, which the artist affectionately dubbed “Barbz.” Pink is inseparable from Minaj’s cultural image – both visually and representationally.
Her recent performance at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards was certainly no exception. As the MC and a performer, no better choice could’ve been made than to include Ms. Minaj. Her performance opens with “Last Time That I Saw You,” the lead single of Pink Friday 2. Standing on a triangular platform and engulfed by pink lights and smoke, Minaj is welcomed to the stage by a sea of cheering fans. The opening notes silence the audience as they expectantly await the motionless artist to sing. Sing – not rap. Most people would describe her as a rapper first, singer second, but no attendee of this performance would. Her voice is almost unrecognizable in this form. But the pink sparkly eye shadow, diamond-studded microphone, and knee-length hair show the viewers that it is unmistakably the Harajuku Barbie.
Unlike her typical rough, expressive, perpetually-changing-accented rapping voice, her singing is soft, smooth, and quiet. I would believe anyone who tells me that she’s lip-syncing to someone else’s song. Her voice is not alone in being unidentifiable. Her lyrics are absent of her iconic wordplay and memorable humor. Instead, she sings about feelings of regret following a breakup. However, these emotional but generally unmemorable lyrics could’ve been written by any number of artists.
Following the first iteration of the chorus, Nicki Minaj briefly raps, yet this too is unlike her typical music. Each line is a generic sentiment revolving around missing an ex, lines terminating in forced, unnatural rhymes. Her voice lacks the typical strength and expressiveness typically found in her raps. This results in a decent song, but one that doesn’t highlight Nicki Minaj’s strengths. The same cannot be said of the second half of her performance.
The Queen of Rap reminds audiences of her title’s origin in the following song. Dropping her large black dress, Minaj reveals a bedazzled two-piece outfit. “MTV,” she announces, “It wouldn’t be right if I didn’t give y’all a Pink Friday 2 exclusive.” The camera pans to the celebrity audience, where an unenthused Taylor Swift, no stranger to Twitter feuds with the rapper, claps. An animated Ice Spice dances behind the country-turned-pop singer. The co-rapper of Minaj’s “Princess Diana” and “Barbie World” turns to excitedly chatter to her neighbors, all while beaming with excitement.
Channeling her identity as Red Ruby da Sleaze, Nicki Minaj removes her diamond microphone from the stand, allowing her to freely strut across the now-red stage. The pop-ballad singer who was just occupying the stage is gone – Barbie is back. The backing track contains a much more conservative version of the hook; in her familiar style, with eyes wide and over-the-top facial expressions, she aggressively half-yells, half-raps over it. Assigning herself as the backing rapper and the primary rapper highlights the expressiveness of her live performance style.
As the opening hook ends, the camera zooms out for a brief period of time. Minaj is surrounded by smaller platforms occupied by backup dancers, a drummer, and keyboardist. Why the dancers are there is a mystery; they sway back and forth while waving their arms, dancing as though they’re teenagers at a concert rather than professionals, while Nicki Minaj’s energetic performance and dancing consumes all of the audience’s attention. Even more of a mystery is the drummer’s presence. While he hits a cymbal here or there (a suspicious choice, as there’s no acoustic music in the performance), he mainly bops his head and arms up and down, occupying the role of a glorified dancer. As there’s no keyboard in the song, the keyboardist’s presence is equally perplexing. At least the drummer can dance. The keyboardist simply stands there, watching Minaj. But who wouldn’t spend the whole time watching her if they were on her stage?
“When Barbie touch down, the baddest of bitches is out,” Minaj raps, referencing the all-encompassing theme of her career. She raps about the world’s undervaluation of her contribution to the genre, but no one would think this upon hearing the audience’s screams. As the song comes to an end, she shouts, “Barbz, I love you!” The rapper sheepishly smiles and strokes her hair as the audience screams their love. She gingerly picks her dress up from off the ground, hoists it over her shoulder, and begins her descent from the stage. It’s clear that Nicki Minaj’s legacy, much like the color pink itself, remains vibrant and indomitable.