Toward the end of her gig Wednesday night at L.A. Live’s Nokia Theatre, Nicki Minaj admitted she’d had some pre-show jitters after waking up hoarse the morning of the show, which already had been rescheduled from Aug. 5.
“All I could think about was the headlines: ‘Nicki Minaj moves, then cancels L.A. show,’” she told the capacity crowd, beaming at their adoration. “But you know what? It’s the love in this room that brought my voice back, so thank you very much!”
Given that her vocals were sharp from the get-go, that couldn’t have been totally true. Yet it was an appropriately complimentary sentiment for her Southern California fans, who reacted with glee no matter what the female rapper/singer chose to perform, be it scattered verses of hardcore hip-hop or her more prominent electro-pop flavored tunes as of late.
Minaj’s giving attitude was prevalent throughout the night, likely because, following a high-profile appearance at KIIS-FM’s Wango Tango at Home Depot Center in May, this was her first headlining concert in L.A. That led to a longer than usual set for this third-to-last date of her Pink Friday world tour, topped by quite a few extras to reward supportive admirers.
Those special nuggets included a guest spot from rapper 2 Chainz (who also opened the show) on the hard-hitting “Beez in the Trap” plus surprise verses from Sean Kingston (for the Rasta-toned “Letting Go”) and Young Money star Tyga as part of the finale.
Read more on Nicki Minaj’s performance on the Soundcheck Blog.
Photos by Kelly A. Swift, for the Orange County Register; Article by David Hall, for the Orange County Register.
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